Milan Samani, Partner at TIL Ventures and Founder of the Intrapreneur Lab, talks about coming up with an idea for a profitable new product or service with the potential to create value for society – as well as the business. This is the first step in the social innovation process and it is an ongoing one. The more you do, and the more you learn, the more you will refine your idea. It is not uncommon to pivot significantly or stumble upon entirely new, more powerful ideas.
Teodora Berkova, Director of Social Innovation at Pearson, talks about how to engage colleagues in different parts of your company to line up the insights and skills that you need, share tasks, influence decision-makers, get funding, and build ownership within the department – or departments – that ultimately will have to deliver your idea.
Ling Ling Phung, Corporate Social Innovation Advisor at Two Lings, talks about figuring out how your products and services solve real problems for real people and create value people are willing to pay for. This is something that is key to succeeding in the marketplace and you need to keep in mind that your own experience or intuition may not be the best guide. Many intrapreneurs realize their original assumptions are wrong.
Erik Simanis, Partner at TIL Ventures, talks about creating the business model that will put your product or service in the hands of consumers at prices they can afford – and generate an adequate level of profit for your company. If it doesn’t, it’s less likely to get the investment of cash, resources, and political capital it needs to succeed. It is also worth mentioning that if the numbers don’t work, the venture won’t scale – and its social impact will be limited.
Damian Payiatakis, Director of Impact Investing at Barclays, talks about how your first take on the product is unlikely to be your last. In addition to the product itself, you may find that the pricing or payment strategy, the customer service, and other parts of the value proposition need to change – or that parts of the underlying business architecture, like your operating model or distribution channels, need to. Being open to this process is critical.
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