Tips for ideation

1. HOW TO BUILD A
100M BUSINESS?
ALAR KOLK – EUROPEAN INNOVATION ACADEMY

2. 4 COMPANIES * PHD * SPACE
6 BOARDS * 3 CEO POSITIONS * 2 VP
Alar Kolk - Connect with me in LinkedIn
15 YEARS * 4000 STUDENTS * 3000 CORPORATES * 1000+ STARTUPS

3. WHAT INNOVATION
WANTS?

4. INNOVATION IS AN INVENTION, PAIRED WITH A
PROCESS AND A MARKET
Innovation Ambition
Customer Development
NPD, Design, CX,
Commercialisation
PROCESS
Product, Service
INVENTION
Customer
User’ Problem
MARKET
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

5. INNOVATION IS A PRODUCT OR A SERVICE
COMMERCIALIZATION IN THE MARKET

6. INNOVATION IS ABOUT COMMERCIALISATION
Innovation Ambition
INVENTIONINNOVATION COMMERCIALISATION= X

7. A STARTUP IS AN ORGANIZATION
FORMED TO SEARCH FOR A
REPEATABLE AND SCALABLE
BUSINESS MODEL
STEVE BLANK

8. How to make money
MONEY
What its product is
PRODUCT
Who its customers are
CUSTOMER
WHAT IS A STARTUP?
Innovation Ambition
A startup is a
company that is
confused about:
Dave McClure, 500 Startups

9. STARTUPS FAIL
Innovation Ambition
9/10 startups fail
products

10. PROBLEM-SOLUTION FIT
STARTUP LIFECYCLE & VALUE CREATION
PROBLEM IS NOT WORTH SOLVING
SOLUTION IS NOT SOLVING THE
PROBLEM
NO VALUE CREATION FOR A
CUSTOMER
Failure reasons
Source: Omar Mohout, 2015

11. Innovation Ambition
PROBLEM SOLUTION FIT
A PROBLEM WORTH SOLVING?
PROBLEM SOLUTION

12. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS INNOVATION TOOL.
ORIGINS FROM DESIGN THINKING & LEAN ENTERPRISE.
PROBLEM
SOLUTIONCUSTOMER

13. Innovation Ambition
ARE YOU SOLVING THE RIGHT PROBLEM?
Most firms are not and that undermines their innovation efforts…
Indeed, when developing new products, processes, or even
businesses, most companies aren’t sufficiently rigorous in
defining the problems they’re attempting to solve. Without that
rigor, organizations miss opportunities, waste resources, and
end up pursuing innovation initiatives that aren’t aligned with
their strategies.
“IF I WERE GIVEN ONE HOUR TO SAVE THE PLANET,
I WOULD SPEND 59 MINUTES DEFINING THE
PROBLEM AND ONE MINUTE RESOLVING IT”
ALBERT EINSTEIN

14. WHAT
PROBLEM DO
YOU WANT
TO SOLVE?
IS IT A PROBLEM/ PASSION
THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE?
IS THIS PROBLEM SERIOUS
ENOUGH AND WORTH
SOLVING?
HOW OFTEN THE PROBLEM
OCCURS?
B2B – a problem or pain
B2C – a need

15. Innovation Ambition
FREQUENCY
Google’s “toothbrush test” – Larry Page insists that new products or services must be
important enough that people will use them at least twice a day.

16. FREQUENCY
Low
PAIN
High
High
PROBLEM/PAIN MAPPING
Innovation Ambition
1
2
3
1 = not enough business, no demand
2 = strong pain, demand = business
3 = no money from customers

17. Mosquito Bite Problem
Innovation Ambition
Source: Omar Mohout, 2015
Google Drive or Microsoft
Excel is often used as an
alternative.

18. Shark Bite Problem
Innovation Ambition
Source: Omar Mohout, 2015

19. THE GREATEST DANGER
FOR MOST OF US IS NOT
THAT OUR AIM IS TOO HIGH
AND WE MISS IT, BUT THAT
IT IS TOO LOW AND WE
REACH IT.
MICHELANGELO

20. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS INNOVATION TOOL.
ORIGINS FROM DESIGN THINKING & LEAN ENTERPRISE.
PROBLEM
SOLUTIONCUSTOMER

21. Innovation Ambition
WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER?
DEMOGRAPHICS
BEHAVIORS
APPEARANCE
NEEDS
INFLUENCERS
BAYER PERSONA
CONTENT
BUYING PROCESS
B2C B2B

22. Innovation Ambition
WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER?
https://xtensio.com/

23. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS INNOVATION TOOL.
ORIGINS FROM DESIGN THINKING & LEAN ENTERPRISE.
PROBLEM
SOLUTIONCUSTOMER

24. Innovation Ambition
HOW DO YOU SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
UNIQUENESS OF YOUR SOLUTION?
EASY OR COMPLEX SOLUTION?
SOLUTION IS SUSTAINABLE?
SOLUTION IS EASY TO PROTECT?

25. „KNOW YOUR COMPETITION, BUT DO
NOT COPY IT!“
ERIC SCHMIDT

26. YOUR SOLUTION SHOULD BE
10X BETTER THAN THE
ALTERNATIVE, NOT 10%

27. THINK 10X, NOT 10%

28. Think 10x, not 10%
Make long-term bets1
Paul-Henri Ferrand, Google VP

29. Think 10x, not 10%
Make long-term bets1
Adopt rapid experimentation2
Paul-Henri Ferrand, Google VP

30. Think 10x, not 10%
Make long-term bets1
Adopt rapid experimentation2
Use data to drive insights3
Paul-Henri Ferrand, Google VP

31. Innovation Ambition
10X Cases
Source: Omar Mohout, 2015

32. Innovation Ambition
10X in 3 Years

33. Innovation Ambition
REASONS 2 SWITCH OR STAY
Source: Omar Mohout, 2015

34. 2015 2018 2021
Ericsson 2015. monthly ExaBytes
10 X Innovation Ambition
Global Mobile Traffic

35. 10 X Innovation Ambition
VR Hardware & Software Forecast
Source: Goldman Sachs, 2016

36. 10 X Innovation Ambition
AI Financing History

37. 10 X Innovation Ambition
Disruptive Tech

39. DISRUPTION

40. MARKET10X
Risk / Innovation
Tesla-
fication
TECHNOLOGY1
0X
Risk/Innovation
“ZERO”Risk
-Customerlock-
in
-Cashcow
AVERAGE Market Risk
- Sci-Fi tech already built
- Market mistrust
- Long evangelization
Uber-
ization
LOW TECH RISK
- Market is ready
- Generic tech platform
- CX & Design
Disruption
- 10X technology
- 10X market
(transformation)

41. A DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION CREATES A
NEW MARKET, DISPLACING ESTABLISHED MARKET
LEADERS. A PROCESS WHICH MAKES SOLUTIONS
MORE SIMPLE, CHEAPER AND ACCESSIBLE.
Broken
Trust
Many
Intermediaries
Limited Access
Expensive
Complex Product
Experience

42. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS INNOVATION TOOL.
ORIGINS FROM DESIGN THINKING & LEAN ENTERPRISE.
PROBLEM
SOLUTIONCUSTOMER

43. Innovation Ambition
PROBLEM SOLUTION FIT
A PROBLEM WORTH SOLVING?
PROBLEM SOLUTION

44. TODAY @ TEAM
MENTORING SESSION
15.00 – 18.00

46. WHAT
PROBLEM DO
YOU WANT
TO SOLVE?
IS IT A PROBLEM/ PASSION
THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE?
IS THIS PROBLEM SERIOUS
ENOUGH AND WORTH
SOLVING?
HOW OFTEN THE PROBLEM
OCCURS?
B2B – a problem or pain
B2C – a need

47. PROBLEM-SOLUTION-CUSTOMER FIT
WHAT IS YOUR FIT?

48. PROBLEM-SOLUTION-CUSTOMER FIT
WHAT IS YOUR FIT?

49. PROBLEM-SOLUTION-CUSTOMER FIT
WHAT IS YOUR FIT?

50. FIVE WAYS TO BUILD A $100M BUSINESS
Innovation Ambition
1,000 ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS PAYING YOU
$100K+ PER YEAR EACH; OR
10,000 MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES PAYING YOU
$10K+ PER YEAR EACH; OR
100,000 SMALL BUSINESSES PAYING YOU $1K+
PER YEAR EACH; OR
1 MILLION CONSUMERS PAYING YOU $100+ PER
YEAR EACH
10 MILLION ACTIVE CONSUMERS WHO YOU
MONETIZE AT $10+ PER YEAR

51. Talk to users/customers1
SEARCH FOR A EVIDENCE
Innovation Ambition

52. GOOGLE IT
Search for a evidence!

53. Talk to users/customers1
Organize online experiments2
SEARCH FOR A EVIDENCE
Innovation Ambition

54. Google Trends
Innovation Ambition

55. Adwords Keyword Planner
Innovation Ambition

56. Patent search
Innovation Ambition

57. Talk to users/customers1
Organize online experiments2
Use data to drive insights3
SEARCH FOR A EVIDENCE
Innovation Ambition

58. FIVE WAYS TO BUILD A $100M BUSINESS
Innovation Ambition
1,000 ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS PAYING YOU
$100K+ PER YEAR EACH; OR
10,000 MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES PAYING YOU
$10K+ PER YEAR EACH; OR
100,000 SMALL BUSINESSES PAYING YOU $1K+
PER YEAR EACH; OR
1 MILLION CONSUMERS PAYING YOU $100+ PER
YEAR EACH
10 MILLION ACTIVE CONSUMERS WHO YOU
MONETIZE AT $10+ PER YEAR

59. CONCLUSION
Innovation is a product commercialization in a market place. Instead of product development
organize customer development first (experiments). Discover a unique customer problem,
pain or a need. Use data to drive insights. Search for a evidence of a problem. Aim to create
a 10X solution.