2014: the year that no one asked for permission.

You may also call this the year of “the rebel” or the year of “wait whatttt?”, but to me, the glue of 2014, is that no one asked for permission. It’s been a year of breaking the rules and breaking the internet.Let’s review some highlights:

• Beyonce drops a video album out of thin air, and it’s AMAZING.
• Some dude asks the Kickstarter universe to help him make potato salad, and then his wildest dreams are fulfilled with $55,000.
• A charity campaign took the interwebs by storm as 3.7 million videos were uploaded of people dumping ice water on their heads. Even President Obama did the ice bucket challenge.
• Some bad ass guys base jumped off the Freedom Tower.
• Kim Kardashian….

I think the connecting thread here is simple. It’s a rebel’s state of mind.

In startup land, this is the new status quo. If Uber can completely disrupt the taxi market overnight and Airbnb can upend the hotel industry, then what’s next? This “permissionless innovation” allows step function changes to industries, which means, for any brand to survive, it NEEDS to think like a rebel.

So, here’s to a new year of embracing boldness, bravery, and rule-breaking. Because, after all, isn’t it better to ask for forgiveness than permission?