It's our fault. We could live the mundane yet uncomplicated life of hunter-gatherers. Instead, we went after progress by taking advantage of knowledge accumulation — the ability neither chimpanzees nor any other creature possesses. 

Idea by idea, stacked on top of one another — it's how we push our world forward. Our hands, which used to grip a hammerstone to crack something, today hold a smartphone to call an Uber. Both are outcomes of our inventiveness but are unlike in their complexity.  

We've been getting better at meeting our needs to the extent that we've hit the ceiling on many fronts. After moving from deliveries counted in days to shopping brought by Flink in minutes, we are at the point where cutting extra time won't change much. 

It's time to tackle unsolved problems instead of pushing the envelope in areas filled with self-contentment. Plenty of issues are waiting to be cracked, yet it will demand more sweat. 

The blend of complexity and hurdles calls for more resources of all types:

• More people: Extensive collaboration becomes a necessity, which is best illustrated by the scientific circle. Since the turn of the millennium, the average number of coauthors on a multidisciplinary research paper has increased from 2.7 to 5.4. If it's not impressive, take notice of the paper on an improved measurement of the Higgs boson mass, which has 5,154 authors. It's what pushing back the frontiers means.
  
  

• More time: At other times, an idea cries out for a lengthy period to bring in a solution. In the case of Hövding, the maker of the safest cyclist "helmet" in the form of an airbag, it took 7 years to move from an idea to the shopping shelves.
  
  

• More money: Expanding teams and drawn-out timeframes aren't the only reasons behind swelling funding. A growing number of ideas requires cutting-edge technology that ramps up capital expenditure. For instance, Starlink, in an attempt to deliver satellite internet to most remote parts of the globe, estimates $10 billion in setup costs.

But, but, but! A shipped solution is only half the battle. The home run is to make a profit. And even turbocharged by a breakthrough idea, it could be a struggle. Since its commercial kick-off in 2020, Starlink has brought only $1.6 billion in revenue, which keeps it far from breaking even. 

But even without their audacity, those who consider bringing new business ideas to life should prepare for more blood, sweat, and tears.