Chapter 1: Iteration

Iteration: Why your first idea probably isn't the best one (And that's okay!)

By Karla Guilford-Miller, IYC innovation Coach, Atlanta

Let’s be real—whether you’re a teenager writing an essay at midnight or a CEO pitching to investors, your first draft is rarely genius. It’s usually a mess. And that’s where iteration comes in.

Iteration is just a fancy word for “try, tweak, repeat.” Think of it as the gym workout your ideas have to go through before they’re ready to show off.

Classroom Example: The Dirt That Didn’t Work

In one high school class, students teamed up with local farmers to design a new type of topsoil that would help crops grow stronger and faster.

Prototype #1? A clumpy, mud pie mixture that held water about as well as a colander. Farmers politely nodded but you could see them thinking, “Bless their hearts…”

Instead of stopping there, the students tested again. They adjusted the compost ratio, added different nutrients, and ran soil absorption experiments. By the third or fourth round, they had a mix that actually improved plant growth.

The farmers were impressed. The students were proud. And the mud pie? Retired with honor.

Entrepreneurship Example: The Lemonade Stand CEO

Imagine a kid running a lemonade stand. Day 1: the lemonade is basically sugar water that could knock out an elephant. Sales? Zero.

Day 2: she experiments with less sugar, adds a “Buy One, Get One” sign, and suddenly the neighbors are lining up. She iterated her recipe and her business model. That’s entrepreneurship in action.

Even companies like Netflix started out mailing DVDs in red envelopes. Now they’re streaming (and canceling) your favorite shows. The product changed because they weren’t afraid to iterate.

Why Iteration Matters

For Students: Your rough draft is just the warm-up act. The magic happens when you revise, get feedback, and try again.

For Everyone Else: Iteration is proof that mistakes aren’t failures—they’re test runs. You’re basically a scientist in your own life lab.

The Funny Truth

Iteration is like dating in high school: the first try usually doesn’t work out. But every “lesson learned” helps you figure out what you actually want (and what definitely doesn’t work).

Or think of iteration like cooking. The first pancake? Always lumpy and weird. But by pancake number three, you’ve got yourself a golden masterpiece.

Final Takeaway

Don’t fear the first draft, the first prototype, or the first pancake. They’re all part of the process. Iteration is how ideas grow up.

So whether you’re a student rewriting an essay, a teacher revamping a lesson, or an entrepreneur tweaking your pitch—remember:

The goal isn’t to get it right the first time.

The goal is to get it better every time.