Innovation Program

Guiding in-house startups from idea to executive pitch. Increase your chances of success of new ventures with an innovation accelerator. We have also created our very own business toolkit that you can use right now to assist you on your startup journey.

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE BUSINESS TOOLKIT
ABOUT

Accelerator journey format

Here are a few questions to help you assess key elements in scoping an accelerator.

  • WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ACCELERATE?
    Are they focused on existing or new products/offerings?
  • HOW WILL DECISIONS GET MADE?
    Consider which of four operating models is most suitable, based on the desired level of independence and autonomy.
  • WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER?
    Do you know your market segment, or is there a white space or unmet need to explore?
  • WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE, BOTH PEOPLE AND BUDGET?
    How much capacity of available to dedicate to this project?
  • DO YOU HAVE A SET TEAM IN PLACE?
    Will the team have prior knowledge about the project, or be multidisciplinary?
PURPOSE

Strengthening your corporate venture teams’ innovation muscles.

  • CLARITY ON TARGET CUSTOMER
    Who’s your customer? What is their current situation? What could you improve upon to help them?
  • SPOTTING GAPS IN THE MARKET
    Is there really an opportunity in the market or are you chasing another flop?
  • COMING UP WITH NON-OBVIOUS SOLUTIONS
    The first idea that comes to mind is unlikely to be the best one. Creativity is crucial in this process.
  • TRANSLATING IDEAS INTO TESTABLE HYPOTHESES
    What are the most critical assumptions about the solution?
  • EXPERIMENT DESIGN
    What experiment can you run to validate or invalidate the assumptions, requiring the smallest amount of time and money?
  • BUSINESS MODELLING
    What’s a smart way to capture some of the value you are creating to make this initiative worth pursuing?
PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Ready to accelerate your venture?

LETS TALK
HIRE ONE OF OUR ENTREPRENEURS ON A SHORT-TERM BASIS TO JOIN YOUR CORE VENTURE TEAM.

Our clients usually hire us for a variable period between 1 and 4 days per week. The format we prefer is 4 days a week as this makes the venture move as fast as possible.

Our entrepreneurs have close ties with different startup ecosystems. In order to blend in and find partners, suppliers and other resources to help you out, we will use our extensive network to find a solution.

Our lean entrepreneurs are not standard consultants, but talented people who like to get their hands dirty. They will inject an entrepreneurial mindset to your corporate startup.

Based on the maturity of your venture, we choose the best entrepreneur to fit your needs.

What do you and your team need to solve?

Does the approach to new initiatives needs to be bottom-up or top-down? How do you set up the team for success? What governance structure do you need? When you select people to participate in your innovation program, what are the right criteria to use? How do you manage expectations within the organisation?

Experience supported by a library of tools:

  • Scoping matrix (set targets)
  • Innovation culture checklist
  • Demolition canvas
  • How to scope ambitions and goals guide
  • Innovation accounting
  • Definitions for success criteria

Creativity is not just a gimmick. You need a skilled team knows the goal (and limitations) of different creativity techniques. What triggers can be used to unlock creativity, and how? In this context, we also refer to some of the principles used in Design Thinking (such as using empathy to start an ideation process).

Experience supported by a library of tools:

  • Analogy thinking templates and examples
  • Futurescan model (prediction template / foresight)
  • Idea capturing (options and formats)
  • Online experts a (collection and gathering)
  • Empathy and user observation
  • Where to get inspiration (sources)

In order to move from a high-level idea to a more concrete concept, you’ll need to understand all the underlying assumptions about the idea. In this context, we refer to the Lean Startup and how validated information can be used to improve ideas. What are our options for evaluating the value proposition? One very practical concern is how to find your first test users for your first experiments. The team will make evidence based decisions by default.

Experience supported by a library of tools:

  • Solution and problem interviews checklists
  • Experiment mapping (template)
  • Innovation battlefield framework
  • Paper/digital prototyping tools
  • Lean canvas/experiment board
  • Experimentation tools (B2B & B2C)
  • Evidence based decision making (set priorities)

As early as possible, you’ll need feedback on the potential value of your  projects. How big is the market? What marketshare are you able to claim? What are your options to generate new revenue? What is the impact on other stakeholders and business units? How do you get support within the organization? The entire tam will learn the different tools to tackle all questions related to business models.

Examples of tools:

  • Business model kit (visualisation)
  • Business model canvas
  • Decision trees (revenue models)
  • Financial plan template
  • Ballpark figures
  • TAM, SAM & SOM
  • Patterns in business modelling
  • Testing of pricing assumptions

Once your internal startup is ready to go to market, you’ll need a new set of skills. At this stage, you need different innovative methods to evaluate the success of early-stage business development, growth hacking, and practical client research services to take the first steps in the market. Also, you’ll have to advice your management on the strategy to scale up: partner up, build yourself, acquire, spin-in, spin-out, etc.

Experience supported by a library of tools:

  • Roadmap builder
  • Investor persona sheets
  • Team designer (skills)
  • Stakeholder checklist
  • Hands-on project management tools
  • Tracking of assumptions and iterations
  • Build, partner or acquire decision framework