Dr. Ozan Ozerk Highlights Why Disruption Must Mature

A new article by Dr. Ozan Ozerk, published on the Forbes Finance Council, examines the limits of the tech world's obsession with disruption and calls for a more responsible, system-aware approach to innovation. The piece, titled "Why Creative Disruption Needs to Grow Up", outlines how the original spirit of creative destruction has been distorted and why lasting progress depends on more than bold ideas.

In the article, Dr. Ozerk reflects on how Silicon Valley popularised the language of disruption, turning it into a marketing mantra rather than an economic principle. He traces this trend back to pitch deck culture, where every startup claimed to be the next revolutionary challenger. But as he notes, this rhetoric flattened the original theory. Joseph Schumpeter described creative destruction as a process in which progress happens when innovation can take hold across the wider system. Citing recent work by Nobel laureates Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt, Dr. Ozerk stresses that innovation succeeds only when institutions can adapt alongside it.

Using fintech as a real-world case study, Dr. Ozerk highlights the achievements that once made the sector a textbook example of modern disruption. Payments accelerated, onboarding became effortless, digital brands reshaped personal finance and financial services embedded themselves into platforms far removed from traditional banking. Yet despite the hype, established banks did not disappear. Instead, they modernised, absorbed new ideas and reshaped their own offerings. As he explains, fintech did not demolish the financial system; it quietly rebuilt the wiring while the system continued to operate.

Dr. Ozerk also examines the gap between fintech's promises and its unintended consequences. While accessibility improved, many of the most celebrated tools introduced new risks. Zero-commission trading encouraged impulsive behaviour. Embedded credit enabled overspending. Predictive models built on biased data repeated the very inequities technology was supposed to solve. These shortcomings, he argues, emerged because disruption advanced faster than critical thinking, creating incentives that rewarded engagement instead of financial well-being.

The article goes on to describe how systemic barriers, not only flawed products, often undermine innovation. In digital assets, inconsistent U.S. regulatory approaches slowed legitimate development and produced confusion for builders and consumers. In other cases, ambitious firms fell short of their own claims, such as the failure of Solid, whose collapse left customers with frozen funds before the company entered bankruptcy. Dr. Ozerk also points to entrenched market power in areas like card payments, where decades of dominance limited room for challengers to scale.

Looking ahead, he argues that the pattern first seen in fintech is now unfolding in other high-stakes sectors. Healthcare, law and education are all experiencing early waves of automation and AI-driven change. These fields are deeply regulated and directly tied to public outcomes. Mistakes carry consequences far more serious than in financial services.

Dr. Ozerk concludes that the next chapter of innovation requires a more mature mindset. Disruption should not be confused with destruction. It must be grounded in responsibility, stability and awareness of the systems it touches. As he writes, innovation remains a powerful force, but for it to endure, it must grow up.

Read the full article on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesfinancecouncil/2025/12/01/why-creative-disruption-needs-to-grow-up/

Contact Person: Dr. Ozan Ozerk
Email: info@ozanozerk.com
Country: United Kingdom
Address: The Bower, 207-211 Old Street, London, England, EC1V 9NR, UK
Website: https://www.ozanozerk.com/

Dr. Ozan Ozerk, born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1979 and raised in Norway by academic parents specializing in education and learning disabilities, has built a remarkable career bridging medicine, technology, and finance. After serving as a Norwegian Armed Forces Ranger and completing medical school at the University of Oslo (2000-2008), he co-founded the pioneering social network Biip.no in 2005, which was acquired by Egmont and Nettavisen for over 100 million krone in 2008.

Following years as an emergency room doctor until 2015, he pivoted to fintech, establishing a portfolio of successful ventures. A Forbes Finance Council member since 2021, Dr. Ozerk is recognized as a fintech pioneer and advocate for financial inclusion, frequently sharing his insights on the industry's future through interviews and opinion pieces.

This release was published on openPR.