Innovation systems that are guided primarily by market demand are not on their own sufficient to deliver a better future. On the contrary an exclusive focus on technology- and market readiness in the innovation ecosystem will accelerate negative trends from obesity and mental ill-health to climate change biodiversity loss and rising inequality. Positioning human needs at the core of incubator practice does not imply rejecting technology and market readiness. Rather it reframes markets as one coordination mechanism among several operating within boundaries defined by human flourishing inclusion and biophysical limits. Incubators can thus evolve from being accelerators of growth alone to becoming deliberate stewards of innovation pathways ensuring that early-stage ventures contribute to flourishing lives for all on a flourishing planet.