LEGO is not just some toy for children—I firmly believe, it is a powerful symbol of creativity and innovative thinking. And it comes as no surprise that it has acquired next to cult status in startup culture.
- First, psychologists have long noted that the ability of an adult to ‘listen to their inner child’ is directly linked to creativity and willingness to experiment. LEGO allows adults to return to a state of free play, where there’s no fear of making mistakes, but on the contrary, it is appreciated.
- Second, LEGO is a material metaphor for modularity. Startups constantly talk about ‘building blocks’—namely, the idea that one can take individual elements and quickly assemble various configurations, test and adapt. This is the same as in programming with libraries or APIs, or in business modeling with ready-made templates. LEGO literally embodies this principle in a manually feasible, tactile manner.
- Third, there is a social dimension. In many accelerators and innovation programs, LEGO is used as a design thinking tool. It helps teams quickly visualize abstract ideas, discuss prototypes, and align visions.
Thus, LEGO’s popularity in the startup environment is not just due to mere nostalgia or fondness of playing. It is also deeply rooted in psychological and methodological factors: it supports an innovative mindset, allows for easy prototyping, and teaches you to think in ‘blocks.’ This is exactly what innovators are looking for when working with uncertainty.
Salome Mikadze is a Stanford-trained Knight-Hennessy Scholar, award-winning entrepreneur, and global product strategist. She is the co-founder of Movadex, where she helps startups across the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine build sustainable and adaptive digital technologies. Her expertise spans modern product architecture, MVP development, and strategic innovation for startup growth. Salome is passionate about guiding teams from rapid experimentation to building world-class products.
