Archives Expert Profiles

Most companies these days are feeling the heat of the VUCA world we live in, and creating new businesses has become a top priority on their corporate agendas. However, this is no easy task. In fact, launching a corporate startup today has only a 3% chance of becoming a USD50M+ business. That means 29 out of 30 launches will fail.

Thankfully, there’s a solution that can help you beat the odds.
The Lean Scaleup.

Lean Scaleup is a comprehensive guidebook. It offers the principles, tools, and step-by-step guidance you need to succeed. Drawing on five years of research, testing, and codifying dozens of new-business building approaches, methodologies, and tools, Lean Scaleup is the ultimate resource for any company looking to create a successful new business.

In addition to the playbook, Lean Scaleup is also a team of transformation partners to help accelerate your company’s learning cycle.

So if you’re ready to take on the challenge of creating a new business, Lean Scaleup has everything you need to succeed.

Transform your future with Babson. Our innovative, flexible learning programs empower you to stay ahead, build new skills, and thrive in the ever-changing world of business.

Successful organizations need processes and leadership that leverage innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. Babson College is uniquely qualified to help. With the launch of our integrated professional and executive learning programs, we support learners anywhere at any age.

We offer a vast portfolio of in-person, live-online and on-demand programs focused on leadership team development, managerial training, organizational capacity building, custom learning solutions, corporate partner programs for professional development, MBA and certificate programs, recruitment, business advisory services, entrepreneurship resources, and so much more!

Our world-class faculty deliver this content at our comfortable executive conference center right on campus, offsite at client organizations, and/or through our state-of-the-art digital learning platform for online learners. Choose the learning path specifically designed for you.

Innovation Navigator® is a decision-support software solution offered by SmartOrg, designed specifically to help organizations excel during the Incubation phase of innovation projects. This software bridges the gap between existing tools that focus either on the sourcing and selecting creative ideas during the Discovery phase, or managing tasks and resources during the Acceleration phase.

Innovation Navigator helps Innovation Managers quantify a business case by connecting critical inputs to the uncertain issues that will influence the success or failure of the project, then construct a learning plan to deliver evidence that improves confidence in the business case and unlocks additional funding.

With a systematized method for Incubation in place, Innovation Navigator also provides Innovation Executives with portfolio-level views of their innovation pipelines. This allows for streamlined comparisons of project value and uncertainty and a unique ability to prioritize resources on high-value experiments that can lead to breakthrough growth.

VentureFuel is an independent innovation advisory firm that helps the world’s best organizations commercialize innovation to ignite change by collaborating with startups. Our programs help clients learn, test, build and invest in emerging technology. We transform startup collaboration from a cost center to a source of growth with tangible strategic and financial outcomes. VentureFuel provides organizations like Comcast NBCUniversal, Biogen, Hershey’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, AARP Foundation and the State of California with the tools to drive transformative change with less risk, more speed, and greater proximity to the market than traditional innovation models.

As a leader, you’re responsible for shaping the future—driving alignment, inspiring your teams, and bringing great ideas to life. Whether you’re charting a new course, accelerating innovations, or leading a transformation, success depends upon clarity, momentum, and stellar execution.

Partnering with Territory experts means sharpening strategy, building alignment, and activating change. Through strategy, innovation, transformation, and storytelling, we demystify the business and cultural complexities that leaders of organizations face every day. Our highly visual, hands-on approach brings teams together to solve complex challenges, uncover opportunities, and create solutions that drive impact.

We craft strategies that inspire creativity, coach teams to embrace innovations and craft transformational initiatives that make change clear and achievable. And, because great ideas need great communication, we help you craft your message to ensure it resonates, aligns, and moves people to act.

innosabi is for those who believe that better is always possible. For those who seek to push boundaries, embrace innovation, and shape the future of their industries. At innosabi we provide the platform that makes this mindset a reality.

Built to adapt. Designed to scale. Engineered for those exploring, engaging with, and embedding innovation. Our Innovation Management Platform (IMP) enables organizations to drive innovation. Companies like Coca-Cola, Danone, AstraZeneca, BASF, and Deutsche Telekom rely on us to accelerate progress and create lasting impact.

Our platform works around your needs, seamlessly integrating into existing workflows while offering enterprise-grade security, compliance, and scalability. With dedicated support and a user-first approach, we ensure that innovation flows effortlessly.

Innovation is not just a process—it’s a mindset. And with innosabi, it becomes an integral part of your company’s DNA.

As part of the Questel Group, innosabi is more than just an Innovation Management Platform. We connect the dots between innovation and intellectual property, offering organizations a seamless path from ideation to protection and commercialization.

Alloy Partners (formerly High Alpha Innovation) is a venture builder that co-creates advantaged startups with corporations and entrepreneurs. The company works with partners through their journey from defining a venture strategy to systematically conceiving, launching, investing in, and scaling a portfolio of venture-backed startups.

Alloy Partners combines the resources, market access, and scale of large organizations with the speed, focus, and entrepreneurial talent of startups. This thesis has proven effective in helping organizations reclaim progress and create new pathways for growth.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Indianapolis, the Alloy Partners portfolio includes over 30 companies and six venture studios started in partnership with leading organizations across industries, including Elanco, Capital One, Catalyst by Wellstar, University of Notre Dame and Koch Industries.

The company’s portfolio includes leaders in supply chain asset recovery (Amplio), the world’s first carbon marketplace for the livestock industry (Athian), a wood waste renewable energy platform (Chuck) and an AI-powered MLR review platform (Revisto).

Managing innovation at a large company is never easy. You have an endless list of stakeholders to engage, countless data points to consider, and plenty of landmines to avoid. But it doesn’t have to be so difficult. With the right tools, you can bring all of these elements together to find clear insights that help you make the decisions that matter. That’s where we come in.

With the AI-enhanced Qmarkets platform you can easily define and manage intelligent crowdsourcing processes to identify, review, and implement the most relevant ideas, trends, or insights, and deliver immediate ROI for your organization.

With renowned clients like Ford, Intel, Coca-Cola, and Nestle, we have a wealth of best-practices to help you achieve your goals. Whichever path you choose, we are obsessed with your success, and will be with you at every step of your innovation journey.

At Stryber, we’re all about pioneering new ways to grow business. We believe that this can only succeed if strategy and execution go hand in hand.

We’re industry-agnostic, having worked with clients across a wide range of industries, from Financial Services to Food and Retail, with a strong footprint across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

What sets us apart? Instead of trying to find growth from within existing organizations—often hitting barriers of internal resistance—we excel in reshaping the rules. We think outside the traditional boxes, employing fresh organizational and operational strategies to ensure growth doesn’t remain an ambition, but becomes a reality.

Since starting in 2016, we’ve launched over 100 businesses, by applying our solid, data-driven methodology, that is all about action and results. No buzzwords, no fluff. Just clear, proven strategies to create new ways to grow at scale.

Find out how we can help you to create scalable new business or to overcome stagnating growth at www.stryber.com

WhatAVenture is a leading European corporate venture builder with a strong client footprint in Austria, Germany and Italy.

We are a trusted partner for top corporates, supporting them in successfully setting up venture building structures, validating business ideas and launching ventures in the market.

We are visionary venture architects, hands-on entrepreneurs and investors. Our expertise extends from setting up venture governance, to building and scaling new ventures, crafting impactful business models, establishing compelling brands, assembling high-performing teams, and driving go-to-market. From conceptualization to execution, we provide hands-on support, adapting to diverse needs and situations.

Learn more at www.whataventure.com

ITONICS provides the #1 Innovation Operating System (OS) for organizations seeking to operationalize innovation and drive growth systematically.

Unlike traditional innovation management software, the ITONICS Innovation OS seamlessly connects foresight, ideation, and portfolio activities with your strategic goals in one collaborative system.

Centralize your innovation intelligence, align efforts, and steer decision-making to move from strategy to execution with speed and agility.

27pilots – a Deloitte Business is the leading provider of Venture Client solutions. These enable companies to effectively and purposefully buy from startups and to use them for their own benefit.

27pilots’ services and solutions focus on building and operating world-class Venture Client Units and capabilities within companies. The Venture Client Model was developed by 27pilots founder Gregor Gimmy, who was innovation manager at BMW in 2015, where he set up the world’s first Venture Client Unit – the BMW Startup Garage – and led it until 2018. In June 2018, he spun off 27pilots to enable more companies around the world to build and operate Venture Client Units with consulting, technology and data.

In January 2023, 27pilots became part of Deloitte and is responsible for the global venture client solutions offering under the brand 27pilots – a Deloitte business. Well-known clients include Airbus, the BMW Group, Bosch Group, Siemens Energy and Holcim.

Yambla is a pioneering idea management platform designed to empower organizations to harness the full potential of their collective creativity and innovation. Our mission at Yambla is to provide a dynamic digital space where ideas are born, nurtured, and transformed into actionable plans. With Yambla, organizations can cultivate a culture of innovation, foster collaboration among team members, and drive strategic growth.

The Yambla platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools and features specifically crafted to streamline the idea management process. From idea generation and brainstorming to evaluation and implementation, Yambla provides a centralized hub for capturing, refining, and tracking ideas throughout their lifecycle. Our intuitive interface and customizable workflows make it easy for teams to collaborate effectively, regardless of their location or time zone.

One of Yambla’s key strengths lies in its ability to facilitate transparent and inclusive idea management. Through features such as voting, commenting, and idea categorization, Yambla enables organizations to crowdsource input from stakeholders at all levels, ensuring that the best ideas rise to the surface. Additionally, Yambla offers robust analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing organizations to gain valuable insights into their innovation process and make data-driven decisions.

At Yambla, we’re passionate about driving positive change through innovation. Our dedicated team is committed to continuously enhancing the platform to meet the evolving needs of our users. Whether you’re a forward-thinking startup, a large enterprise, or a nonprofit organization, Yambla provides the tools and support you need to turn ideas into reality and stay ahead of the competition. Join the Yambla community today and unleash the full potential of your organization’s innovation engine.

Pilot44 is a brand innovation and venture building studio. We are a proven team of entrepreneurs, technologists, and makers from early-stage startups to global consumer brands revolutionizing how corporations innovate and grow. We are trusted by some of the largest organizations in the world to grow iconic brands and build entirely new businesses and products that touch billions of consumers.

We’re not consultants; we’re cofounders. Over nearly a decade we have developed a unique set of tools, methodologies, and expertise that bring together the agility of a startup with the horsepower of the enterprise to deliver tangible business outcomes in record time. Collectively we have created over $500M in value for some of the most sophisticated organizations in the world including Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Diageo, Sanofi, Pepsi, Kellogg, Albertsons, and more.

Our firm is based in San Francisco with offices in Singapore, Sydney, and Warsaw. To learn more please visit www.pilot44.com

Enriched by experience with hundreds of longstanding, blue-chip customers, Sopheon provides the ability to control and manage innovation and new product development programs and pipelines more effectively and efficiently. Sopheon solutions deliver an innovation decision command center that gives companies complete visibility, smarter decision-making, and better time to value.

Sopheon offers a flexible and scalable single innovation system that integrates with any system or innovation process, is straightforward to deploy and use, and which is based on deep industry best practices and powerful decision support and data visualization capabilities.

Sopheon clients enjoy superior strategy-to-execution performance and growth because they can consistently innovate, define and develop a successful portfolio of products, and achieve faster time to market.

Disruptive Edge is an innovation consultancy working across industries to help some of the world’s largest companies win through innovation by providing two key offerings; Innovation-as-a-Service and Innovation Architecture.

Innovation-as-a-Service: We help our partners innovate with the highest return and lowest risk possible. Each step in our proven innovation process can be isolated and repeated, enabling us to efficiently and effectively fail or validate innovative concepts at low cost.

Innovation Architecture: Building a proper innovation function is like building a factory: a strong foundation with all key components is required for it to function. The better it’s built, the more you’ll get out of it and the fewer repairs you’ll need down the road.

Our team consists of brilliant testing leads, consultants, analysts, designers, and seasoned subject matter experts, who have experience advising some of the world’s most innovative organizations.

U+ runs InnovationOps, delivering digital innovation with startup DNA. To date, we have brought 120+ successful businesses to market, creating over $2 billion in new value.

There are three parts of U+ that all work together:

1. Corporate Venture Building
Digital innovation with startup DNA, enabled by AI. We have created over $2B in new value by delivering successful businesses to market. Our methodology emphasizes building new ventures that align with growth strategies, supporting existing business units or spinning out as separate entities. Simultaneously, we concentrate on revitalizing underperforming ventures, showcasing the effectiveness of our methodology in driving success. We handle everything from conception to scaling, ensuring that our clients’ ventures are successful at every stage of development.
https://u.plus/

2. Fifthrow (previously, U+AI)
U+AI shortens Market Research, Venture Discovery & Validation from 5 months to 2 weeks. Fully AI-integrated InnovationOps platform that automates everything except the building of the ventures. It’s 100x faster and 10x cheaper than any consultancy.
https://www.fifthrow.com/

3. U+ Nova
A true index fund across all technologies, partnering with GCV Global Industry Councils that provide a platform for CVCs to connect and explore innovation and investment opportunities both within a sector focus and collaboratively across sectors. It is a technology agnostic fund indexed on the best CVCs. We focus on creating ventures and managing investment portfolios to deliver tangible near-term impact to the bottom line.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/uplus-nova

What we offer:

☑️ Venture Building (Product development, marketing & design)
☑️ Innovation Strategy Advisory
☑️ SaaS AI InnovationOps Platform
☑️ Startup acceleration
☑️ Venture Investing and M&A Support

Get in touch via https://innovate.u.plus/contact-us.

Founded in 2014, Rohrbeck Heger is a leading strategic foresight consultancy. Our mission is to increase firms’ chances of long-term success and enhance their sustainable competitiveness. We develop tailor-made solutions to systematically improve the future fitness of any organization. To achieve this, we support our clients in building and leveraging strategic foresight capabilities to create value: mitigating threats, grasping emerging opportunities, and creating a prosperous future. Our renowned collaborative, systematic, and methodical approach ensures that our clients focus their R&D spending towards high-margin innovations. We help clients develop processes to trigger and fuel new innovation initiatives. Work with Rohrbeck Heger and increase your organizational agility and ability to anticipate and act on change and engage with future uncertainty.

In 2021 Rohrbeck Heger joined Creative Dock Group, the largest independent corporate venture builder in the EU and MENA, enriching its innovation and venture development capabilities with added foresight expertise.

Wazoku is an innovation SaaS business that helps some of the world’s biggest organizations to innovate at scale. Whether it’s making the most of your employee’s ideas, identifying new partners to collaborate with, or exploring the boundless potential of open innovation – or all three! – Wazoku makes innovation happen.

We combine the tools, frameworks, and capability building that enables your organization to land & scale your innovation program. With AI-powered software, market-leading analytics, skills training, proven Challenge Driven Innovation® methodology and the world’s first accredited open talent crowd, Wazoku is the global home for innovation.

We believe innovation requires diversity to be successful and that everyone should have a voice and role in the innovation process.

We are changing the world, one idea at a time.

Yumana provides you with the best-in-class solution to drive your innovation portfolio from idea to value.

Why? Because corporate innovation is not easy. And we made it our mission to help you turn it around.

1. We give you the opportunity to learn how to collect and engage from the best:

With Yumana’s methodology, co-built with industry leaders, draw from your peers’ experience and learn how to maximize engagement from your target audience.

Our user-centric, data-driven and AI-powered platform is the right tool for you: it is key to attracting your target users and making them the ambassadors of your innovation program.

Get advice from our team of experts: they led more than thousands of projects to success! They’ll fill you in on which drivers to activate to maximize engagement.

2. We give you the best tools to focus your resources where they will have the greatest impact

You’ve collected more ideas than you can handle on your own? You don’t know which contribution to kill and which to keep? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Designed to make your life easier, Darwin is your new intelligent innovation assistant. Combining AI with your platform’s data to identify the most promising ideas for your business, it helps you direct your efforts where they will quickly bear fruit.

3. We help you get to the business value of your innovation program

Don’t worry about proving your program’s worth anymore. With Yumana’s customized dashboards, increasing your program’s value becomes easy.

Track your communities’ engagement, identify roadblocks and use real-time data to only act on the ideas with the highest potential. Whether it’s operational performance, revenue generation or environmental impact, the Yumana Suite will help you reach your goals while demonstrating your program’s true value.

Choose Yumana for your organization

More than 100 clients have chosen to work with us: Orange, L’Oréal, Vinci, Carrefour, Safran, Thales and many more. Every year, we help them engage hundreds of thousands of employees and get to the business value of their innovation program.

But don’t just take our word for it: try Yumana for yourself!