Resource Magicians

2.6 million years ago humans started a journey that would take us to the moon, build virtual worlds and create artificial intelligence. The first step to all of this? Knocking two stones together to make the first tool, setting in motion an irreversible cycle of experimentation and innovation. 

Mixing existing resources to make the impossible, possible.

The handcart and the Falcon rocket are two vastly different examples of human ingenuity and engineering, and yet they share so much: they were both made using the same natural resources that have been present on our planet for billions of years. We just combined those same resources in ever more innovative ways to create every more complex tools, materials and products.

From basic tools to AI - Same Resources

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

This simple concept underscores the remarkable ability of humans to repurpose and innovate with what is available to hand. No new resources arrive on our planet from the outside, we drink the same water that Ghengis Kahn drank and bathe in the same water that Napolean loved to steam in, and yet we, unlike any other creature on our planet, are able to imagine things that do not yet exist and seek out ways to make our dreams a reality, mixing and combining the same basic resources we have always had, in millions of new and unexpected ways. 

Humans playing 

When I watch my kids play with Lego I am always delighted to see a super power in action, as they use the same blocks to make something new every time they play, it's a wonder, and uniquely human. They don’t come to the Lego box with a clear plan, they see where the resources take them, experimenting and adapting as they go. Often a light bulb moment happens and they deconstruct their half built house to make a petrol station, which then inspires a moon base that becomes a hotel.  They are happy to make an imperfect start, no hesitation just finding resources and building, they discover new possibilities as they play.

Of course,  in every Lego box there are an infinite number of possible outcomes. As in life…

Let’s push the lego analogy a little further. In the wonderful Lego Movie Emmet and Wyldstyle are “Master Builders”, capable of building anything with Lego, without the constraints of instruction manuals, they are freestyle lego masters who rebel against their nemesis, President Business. President business builds following instruction manuals, he even glues his Lego models together to keep them fixed forever.  Emmet and Wyldstyle are using resources to hand to inspire new products. President business is a managerial or causal thinker, starting with the outcome in mind, building to instruction and avoiding failure, mitigating risk. 

Bricolage

When we talk about this uniquely human skill we are really talking about Bricolage. Bricolage is the skill of using whatever resources are at hand and recombining them to create something new, we’ve relied on this method since the dawn of civilization. 

Bricolage in entrepreneurship is all about getting creative and making the most of what you’ve got. It’s like being the ultimate DIYer, figuring out how to use the resources right in front of you—no matter how limited they might seem—to build something valuable.

Instead of waiting for the perfect budget, the ideal team, or fancy tools, entrepreneurs who embrace bricolage find clever ways to work with what’s on hand. Maybe it’s using free online tools to create and share content, turning your laptop into a store, your phone into a studio or your life into a book. It’s a mindset that thrives on improvisation and problem-solving, where "doing more with less" isn’t just a necessity—it’s an advantage.

The Resource Canvas allows you to gather your "lego", your resources and play. Mixing and combining resources that you own to create new opportunities. It is resource led ideation, enabling an immediate start.