Letter from the Editor

Back in 1968, systems scientist Dr. George Land and psychologist Beth Jarman were commissioned by NASA to conduct a study that could identify the kind of creative engineers and scientists capable of making breakthrough discoveries for missions. The test, called the Creative Thinking Assessment, was designed to measure divergent thinking. This is your ability to generate multiple, novel solutions to a problem.

In the process of developing this study, they wondered if they could apply the same tests to children. So they selected 1,600 children ages 4 to 5, and followed them for the next two decades, testing their creative aptitude every five years. The results were startling.

At 5 years old, 98% of the children were considered creative geniuses. At 10 years old, that number had dramatically dropped to only 30%. Then 12% at 15 years old. By the end of the two decades, when the subjects were about 25 years old, only 2% of them were categorized as creative geniuses.

Education and social conditioning weeded the creativity right out of them. Land described it like this:

"We are born creative geniuses, and the process of education de-geniuses us.”

When you think about it, it makes so much sense. My son used to make giraffes with wings out of his Legos when he was young. I always encouraged his wild imagination. But, for many children, they're told, "Don't be silly. Giraffes don't have wings. Fix that!" After years of being told to stop crafting giraffes with wings or drawing purple polka-dotted dogs, it's no wonder so many people are creative dolts by adulthood. They are no longer permitted to let their imaginations soar.

Let it roll

So imagine how refreshing it was to hear Clay co-founder and COO Varun Anand, at a special INBOUND breakfast hosted by HubSpot for Startups, talk about the importance of infusing creativity into the DNA of Clay. Whether it's hiring a full-time claymation animator or sponsoring a joint-rolling seminar, Clay's commitment to igniting and fueling that creative fire that burns inside all of us is inspiring.

In this month's issue, we'll dive deep into how and why they do this and the impact it's had on their business. Speaking of creativity, we have our second installment of our new comic series "Dot & Dash." It connects perfectly with Clay's cover story.

We have a healthy dose of inspiration for you founders with smaller businesses that are still growing and coming into your own. From Tofu's journey of building an AI-powered marketing platform; to facing the challenges of whether or not to accept a buyout offer as Frame.ai did with HubSpot; to how PopCom founder Dawn Dickson overcame the dual glass ceilings of race and gender.

As you read this month's stories, I challenge you to tap into your 5-year-old creative genius, and don't squelch any ideas that come to you while you read. If an idea or story ignites a flame in you to try something different or out of the ordinary, stoke that flame!