Costas Papaikonomou, The Grumpy Innovator: Why Good Ideas Don't Always Win

Costas Papaikonomou, The Grumpy Innovator: Why Good Ideas Don't Always Win

From TRENDSETTERS by Deborah Malone

June 5, 2026 · 35 min

About this episode

Deborah Malone interviews Costas Papaikonomou about the complexities of innovation and why good ideas often fail.

Innovation is one of the most celebrated—and misunderstood—concepts in business. In this episode, Deborah Malone speaks with Costas Papaikonomou, product innovation veteran, entrepreneur, investor, and author of The Grumpy Innovator series and The Disruption Fallacy. Drawing on decades of experience helping global companies create new products and growth opportunities, Costas challenges conventional thinking about disruption, innovation, and progress. Together, they explore why good ideas often fail, why weaker ideas survive, and why the most valuable opportunities are sometimes hiding in plain sight.

People in this episode

Host: Deborah Malone

Guest: Costas Papaikonomou

Topics covered

  • innovation
  • business strategy
  • product development
  • disruption
  • entrepreneurship

Keywords

  • innovation
  • disruption
  • business
  • entrepreneurship
  • product development
  • growth opportunities
  • ideas

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Grumpy Innovator, The Disruption Fallacy

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