I have spent the last four and a half years studying, researching and developing the link between creativity and innovation. After all, I spent my early years surrounded by artists and art on the one hand (my mother is a well know art historian and curator) and the Letts media business on the other. In my twenties and thirties my day job was founding, developing and exploiting cool media, Internet and software innovations and my night job was as photographer and artist.

I built a series of tech and Web ventures, most of which became international successes, and I also became a successful artist so I increasingly realized that the links between creativity, innovation and art were strong. Very strong. You see, the reality is that Sergey Brin or Steve Jobs have more in common with Leornardo Da Vinci than they realize. Art is visual and intellectual. So is invention. Visual design is becoming increasingly essential to products, workplaces, packaging and marketing. Creativity is the trigger to innovation and innovation the key to economic wealth. Even governments are starting to get it. And no one knows more about creativity than artists. They possess the ‘secret’ whether they know it or not. And boy did the likes of Leonardo or Picasso know it.

The problem is how do you do innovation? How do inventors, entrepreneurs or artists know how to develop an original idea, be it a new widget, gadget, foodstuff, book, song, or artistic style/movement and then know how to exploit it commercially. Well, the answer is that most do not. It is far too often limited to random luck, the connected or wealthy few or the natural born entrepreneur. So, I set myself a challenge – to come up with a step by step, practical guide to developing an idea, taking it to market and making money out of it by developing it commercially. An innovation and start-up system. A process for taking invention to innovation. A system and toolkit for entrepreneurs, inventors and artists to be more successful in the marketplace.

It took me a few years but I got there. I developed Innovate (TM) with its 7 stages and 49 phases designed to take you from idea to concept through market launch and onto building a successful venture, product, art movement, book, magazine or more. Just follow each step in turn and tomorrows artists and entrepreneurs will have a tried and tested blueprint for success. A method by which to turn their concept into commercial reality. A map for the modern day pioneer – the entrepreneur; the artist; the inventor; the writer; the celebrity.

And today Innovate is freely available – open for anyone to access and use to help them through their journey of self discovery and trip through rags to riches to rags to riches. Too many people told us that what we had was indeed unique and potentially invaluable. So we have made it freely accessible at Innovatrs.net. Join us. Innovate – Change Your Life.