The term ‘start-up’ is everywhere. We hear about entrepreneurs every day on expert industry blogs or other media. People have been starting businesses since time began, so why all of a sudden are we so interested? Online media and communities give us access to these creative and driven individuals or groups, allowing us to see that ideas spawned in the back bedroom, shed, or garage can, with the right tools, nurturing, and business nous, become a livelihood and for a lucky few, a life-changing experience. Seeing their stories lets us see that these little strokes of genius that keep our brains occupied during evenings and weekends can turn into something more than just a hobby.

One key difference with starting a business today is that it’s easier. This doesn’t mean that it takes less work or requires less planning. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Today, the big difference is that the tools and platforms needed to develop an idea are more accessible than ever. Farnell element14 sees some exciting developments coming from the start-up innovator community, a group called professional makers or MakerPros. These are Makers who have come up with great ideas and brought them to life. Individuals creating their own businesses to deliver new innovative products and solutions is now part of the mainstream.

The harsh truth as we know, is that even some of the best ideas end up as nothing more than missed opportunities, dinner party banter, or project plans sitting redundant at the bottom of a drawer. Not everyone with a great idea has the resource or the experience to actually see it through, so how can you ensure that these great ideas don’t stay relegated and that these designers and engineers remain inspired to create?

Thankfully there are opportunities to be had. Farnell element14 celebrates the enormous power of technology and reaches out to these designers and engineers, and inspires them to use technology to create projects that change the world and provides the support to bring the projects to life.

To do this, the company launched a global ideas challenge called Change the World, looking for people from across the globe to think about small things that could make a big difference, leaving a positive impact on society. This competition is for people of all ages and experience, whether they work in electronics engineering or not.

Maybe you already have an idea but don’t have the means to step away from a day job or university to make it a reality—this is your chance. The challenge is also open to students at secondary or primary school, who see the world more simply but don’t have the resources or experience to bring an idea to production. Let Premier Farnell help.

Steve Carr is Premier Farnell’s Global Head of Marketing. He has over a decade of experience within the demand creation environment focussed on new and emerging technologies and more than 25 years of executive experience within the electronics industry covering multiple disciplines.