“What is it you do that you’re the best in the world at?” Bobby Axelrod, familiarly known as Axe, asked his wife Lara. Axe is the star character in the hit TV show “Billions”, where he runs an incredibly successful hedge fund.

Worth billions, he’s the personification of wealth. And Lara is the stereotypical trophy wife who decides she wants her life to “account for something”.

So, she created a loosely-labelled “health care” business to aid worn-out executives by providing them with restorative IVs. Believing her business is distinctively unique — as nearly every entrepreneur and innovator does — she decided it’s time to take the business to the next level by raising capital.

Also, desiring outside validation that she had a great business, she avoided taking family money. “You’re sure you’re ready?” Axe doubtingly questioned her, knowing that she wasn’t.

“I’m ready!” And, she ignored his subtle advice darting straight to the street for funding,

When her attempt for a capital raise didn’t go as she planned, Axe’s next words were, “You offer a service you didn’t invent, a formula, you didn’t invent, a delivery method you didn’t invent.

“Nothing about what you do is patentable or a unique user experience. You haven’t identified an isolated market segment, haven’t truly branded your concept. Do you need me to go on?”

Those are harsh words spoken from a husband to his wife after she faced investment rejection. But a wake-up call to us, especially in our innovation era.

What is it that you do that you’re the best in the world at? Or are you looking to the Valley for their next best idea? Perhaps, your approach to innovation is the same as Lara’s: copy somebody else’s idea, offer their same service, and address their same market segment (perhaps in a different geographical location but essentially the same segment).

This isn’t innovation, it isn’t creating anything new, it isn’t being the best in the world.

This is being a “copynovator (a person whose innovations are copies of others work).

You may be tempted to justify your actions by pointing to businesses who copied somebody else and ultimately became famous. For example, you may point to the Spanish retailer Inditex’s brand Zara who’s business model is built on copying leading designers products.

While they do copy others, what made them recognisably successful is their unique formula: Zara is a fast-follower who quickly sees what’s popular and has a manufacturing process that gets to the shop floor faster and makes more inventory turns annually. They are the best fast-follower in the fashion world.

Great innovators don’t spend countless hours on Google or travelling around the world searching to see what others are doing. Anyone can copy or import what somebody else is doing.

Innovators that we hold in esteem solved problems and created opportunities. Innovators bring a fresh perspective, fresh ideas and redefine challenges that others may not even be thinking about. Entrepreneurs see opportunities where others don’t and bring passion to help others.

This raises a question that I’m wrestling with: Why do we obsess with what others are doing around the world and in the Valley particularly? Why do we celebrate importing their ideas here?

Shouldn’t we celebrate the real innovators, those who come up with new methods, ideas, products, and services? The real entrepreneurs who birth ideas from their passion rather than importing what’s the best around the world.

Thankfully, Dubai has created a great platform and is open to invite businesses from around the world to join it: 1776, HyperLoop, top hospitals, universities, etc. Now it’s time to celebrate Made in Dubai in addition to being attracted to Dubai.

Be the best instead of settling for finding the best.

Axe gave us the best explanation of what makes an innovator a great innovator, a start-up a great start-up: offer a service that you invented, invent a formula, come up with a new delivery method.

Do something that you can patent. Identify an isolated, unreached market segment.

Have a brandable concept. Become the best in the world, which you don’t do by being a copynovator.

Again, I want to ask, “What is it you do that you’re the best in the world at?”

— The writer is a CEO coach and author of “Leadership Dubai Style”. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com