innovators
Those who originate
Innovators are people who introduce new ideas, methods, or products.
The term emphasizes being first—innovators don't just improve things, they create what didn't exist before: Early innovators in aviation faced ridicule.
In marketing, innovators are the small segment who adopt new technologies before anyone else, ahead of early adopters and the mainstream.
Those who open territory
- groundbreakersInnovators who start trends
- pathfindersThose who discover routes
- forerunnersThose preceding others
- originatorsThose who create first
founders · vanguards · trendsetters · precursors · avant-garde · discoverers · initiators · revolutionaries
Creators of new devices
- designersThose who plan appearances
- engineersTechnical problem solvers
- architectsBuilding design professionals
- developersThose who create software
programmers · makers · builders · craftspeople · artists · composers · writers · tinkerers
Act of finding something
- inventionNew device or method
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- progressMovement toward improvement
- improvementPositive change in quality
leap · milestone · evolution · transformation · ingenuity · creativity · insight · genius
Newly launched businesses
- incubatorsControlled-environment growth chambers
- acceleratorsThings that speed up
- labsScientific workspaces, shortened
- skunkworksSecret innovation unit
think-tanks · ventures · firms · garages · workshops · hubs · studios · foundries
Predictors of coming developments
- dreamersThose with ambitious visions
- idealistsPursuers of perfect visions
- strategistsDesigners of careful plans
- forward-thinkersThose who anticipate change
anticipators · forecasters · imaginers · utopians · speculators · planners · prophets · seers
Things transforming entire fields
- challengersThose who compete against
- rebelsArmed opposition fighters
- nonconformistsThose defying established customs
- iconoclastsAttackers of cherished beliefs
radicals · upstarts · outsiders · contrarians · provocateurs · agitators · insurgents · troublemakers
trailblazers
Those who open territory
- groundbreakersInnovators who start trends
- pathfindersThose who discover routes
- forerunnersThose preceding others
originators · founders · vanguards · trendsetters · precursors · avant-garde · discoverers · initiators · revolutionaries · reformers
inventors
Creators of new devices
- designersThose who plan appearances
- engineersTechnical problem solvers
- architectsBuilding design professionals
developers · programmers · makers · builders · craftspeople · artists · composers · writers · tinkerers · hackers
discovery
Act of finding something
- inventionNew device or method
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- progressMovement toward improvement
improvement · leap · milestone · evolution · transformation · ingenuity · creativity · insight · genius · eureka
startups
Newly launched businesses
- incubatorsControlled-environment growth chambers
- acceleratorsThings that speed up
- labsScientific workspaces, shortened
skunkworks · think-tanks · ventures · firms · garages · workshops · hubs · studios · foundries · consortiums
futurists
Predictors of coming developments
- dreamersThose with ambitious visions
- idealistsPursuers of perfect visions
- strategistsDesigners of careful plans
forward-thinkers · anticipators · forecasters · imaginers · utopians · speculators · planners · prophets · seers · futurologists
game-changers
Things transforming entire fields
- challengersThose who compete against
- rebelsArmed opposition fighters
- nonconformistsThose defying established customs
iconoclasts · radicals · upstarts · outsiders · contrarians · provocateurs · agitators · insurgents · troublemakers
- creative rolescreators, designers, inventors, dreamers, visionaries
- creatorsartist, author, composer, designer, inventor
- American IconsAbraham Lincoln, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr.
- innovationinvention, breakthrough, invent, create, inventors
- notable peoplepoliticians, artists, leaders, writers, scientists
- Tech InnovatorsThomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Alan Turing
innovatorsimitators
Those who replicate others
copycats · followers · copiers · plagiarists · mimics
innovatorstraditionalists
Upholders of established customs
conservatives · preservationists · reactionaries · conformists · obstructionists
- young innovatorYouthful creator of novelties
- technological innovatorsCreators of new technologies
- medical innovatorsThose who advance medicine