Bricolage Theory
Bricolage Theory: Making Something Out of Nothing How do entrepreneurs build companies when they have zero capital, no investors, and limited resources? They practice Bricolage . The concept is credited to French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss (1962) . In his book The Savage Mind , he introduced the concept to show that indigenous peoples were just as innovative as "civilized" peoples, but their method of innovation was different. He compared two distinct archetypes: the Engineer and the Bricoleur . The Great Debate: Bricoleur vs. Engineer This analogy is the foundation of the theory. It describes two opposing ways of solving problems: The Engineer (Rational Planning): The engineer plans ahead. Before starting a project, they gather the exact raw materials and tools designed for the specific task. If they lack a resource, they wait until they can acquire it. The Bricoleur (Radical Experimentation): The bricoleur "makes do" with whatever ...
