Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s Post

Einstein once said, “𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱.” Many of our clients ask us how innovation can work besides the core business? And the first thing I always tell them is: you must admit that innovation is different. 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗱. Let’s extend this metaphor further. Imagine your corporate is a mountain formed over millions of years, sheep are well adapted to this environment, but a pig with it`s little feet will not climb your mountain. In other words, innovation does not fit organically to the corporate environment, you need to set right the conditions for innovation to thrive. And this is what Philippe and I discussed last week at the Austrian Innovation Forum in our workshop with 30 fellow innovators. We shared that one of the most important things you can do to help innovation thrive is move away from the corporate structures, rules, and processes. In our language this means you need to establish a 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 1st - Ventures need to have clear 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 2nd - You must develop units that are allowed to not only break the rules, but that have a completely new set of rules and have a 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆. 3rd - You should 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀. Use your strategic advantage as a corporate to back them financially. This enables the team to fully focus on the development of the venture, it`s solution and customer. Want to know about the other conditions you need to make corporate innovation successful? You can now pre-order our upcoming report, ‘The state of corporate venture building in 2023’. #corporateinnovation #venturegovernance #venturebuilding 

A powerful restatement of the need for fit-for-purpose space for innovation industries. But… this applies universally. Desirable commercial real estate is the fit-for-purpose built environment for how people wish to work, trade, live, and play. When needs… from location to configuration to alignment with our values… change there’s massive opportunity for capital and equally a challenge for owners and managers of less well appointed assets. The experience in retail and logistics in response to changes in technology and behaviour is well know. We are now at a tipping point across the real estate universe… the impacts residential, offices and specialist sectors (like innovation/life sciences) as well as retail/logistics. The challenge is how to create the conduits between capital and occupiers… with aligned sourcing, delivery, and operational capabilities. Businesses such as Bruntwood SciTech, Tritax Big Box REIT plc, Basecamp, and RESA show the power in this

Some quotes from the National Innovation Policy Forum below. Are these new insights? How long do we contemplate the same 'boundary' conditions that have curtailed true startup/scaleup success within Australia? Will the National Innovation Policy Forum result in true innovation and impact? More importantly...is this a global issue and one calling out for non-nationalistic global collaboration? “Australia has a scale-up problem, not a start-up problem.” So says Dr Cathy Foley, Australia’s Chief Scientist today at the National Innovation Policy Forum. Over four themes, the Forum called for a maturation of the Australian innovation system, with a stronger investment in systems proven to be able to scale, and clear and long-term policy signals to unlock R&D investment from government and business. Throughout the day, the Forum further explored ideas on how to support scaling innovation, better facilitate the timely transfer of knowledge across sectors, and finding ways to best build upon our current successes. “Our challenge is to support that Australian innovation while it’s still in Australia.” - Jane O'Dwyer, CRA CEO.

Next steps for research and innovation in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Last Monday our CEO Louise Harris joined a panel of speakers at the Policy Forum for Wales with Westminster Forum Projects 🎤 Here some of Louise's key takeaways: ⭐️ Collaboration is the name of the game in driving innovation, it is important businesses team up with startups and other industries to turbocharge their innovation efforts ⭐️ Limited resources and expertise can put the brakes on innovation, there is the need for innovation grants to be more accessible to startups, helping to break down barriers to progress. ⭐️ The lack of scaled or exited founders poses a challenge in sharing knowledge and expertise. When there is a nurturing a thriving ecosystem, experienced innovators can pass on their insights, fuelling ongoing progress ⭐️ Understanding the potential of emerging technologies is crucial for businesses, companies should try to stay informed of the opportunities presented by new tech developments

What are your key takeaways from #SpiritOfEntrepreneurship with Atlantic Technological University, Local Enterprise Office Mayo and ATU Innovation Hubs? Noreen Hackett, Matthew Conlon, Helen Nolan, Colm O., Harry Hughes, Portwest CEO and Tracy Sweeney, Maria Staunton, John Magee and Lesley Emerson

🎲Open innovation is imperative! After all, large corporates are limited by regulations, policies and traditions -- and the world's moving too fast not to explore. But how do you decide which open innovation bets to place, given all the uncertainty? On Thursday April 11 at Innov8rs in Los Angeles, I will take you through the nitty gritty of choosing the open innovation engine that's right for your organization. Can't wait to share the work I've done with my brilliant co-authors, Dan Toma and Esther Emmely Gons in this highly interactive, hands-on workshop. We'll line the walls with Esther's gorgeous and cogent visuals, and every single corporate innovator in the room will get to determine for themselves what their own specific organization can bite into. I promise you 85 minutes well spent. If you're new/exploring open innovation, I promise you a clean and structured way to cut through the trend noise. If you're a seasoned practitioner, I promise you at least one actionable new insight, and a lot of new thought partners. My session is first thing in the morning on Thursday, April 11, so start resetting your biological clock right now, wouldn't want you to oversleep! Another promise: we'll spin up your energy for the rest of your day! The other presenters and hosts are amazing, covering every aspect of corporate innovation. A few who are CAF partners, speakers, colleagues or clients include Andy Wilson and Steve Gilison from the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, Jeannine Walsh from Beca, Rachel Gordon from Triple Agent, Paul Campbell from Startup Genie, Paul Roben from the Office of Innovation and Commercialization at UC San Diego. Can't wait to reconnect with and meet all the presenters and attendees, hope to see you there! Apply to join the conference here: https://innov8rs.co/socal/ ✦If you could use a discount or even a comp, I can help (corporate-based innovation folks only please). Ping me here or via email: info at https://lnkd.in/eK9J9DP. #corporateinnovation #corporatepartnership

One of the biggest obstacles to scale in the impact space is the proliferation of duplicative projects and initiatives. One reason founders cite for reinventing the wheel is not being able to easily find existing tech or programs they can adopt or learn from, because the field is fragmented (and massive). This platform by Armillaria is a dream come true for impact founders, investors, mentors, and coaches. If you're an impact organization, check it out, and sign up to be a beta tester!

In today's #AudioArticle: the first step toward innovation success is to recognize that innovation is a strategy, outlining the path to avoiding failure. Don't miss Eduardo Morelos, Partner & Co-Founder of Brixton Ventures Lab, in "Why Innovation Projects Fail (and What to Do About It)." Out now! #MexicoBusinessNews #MexicoBusinessNow #MexicoBusiness #MexicoProfessionalServices

During an economic crisis, funding dries up, and innovation tanks. At the same time, a crisis presents organizations with unique conditions for innovation. As long as innovation teams have a strategic approach to solving old problems with new solutions, organizations can expect to not only survive but also thrive. Tendayi Viki, Associate Partner at Strategyzer, took the stage at Innov8rs Lisbon earlier this year, to share how we and our innovation teams can help our organizations navigate a tough economic climate, and assert our role in supporting the core business. Here’s a summary of this talk > https://lnkd.in/edRJWj7a #corporateinnovation #innovationmanagement

What an exciting day at Advanced Manufacturing ES yesterday! We were lucky to have three top experts from our #EITCommunity, including Joseba Bilbatua - Innovation and Technology Manager, Javier Perez Castro, and Arsenio Quijano, at the roundtable discussion where they shared insights on European collaborative projects in the industrial sector. During the discussion moderated by Teresa Hernández, Innovation Manager at EIT Manufacturing West, the speakers highlighted the benefits of joining collaborative projects. These include focusing on the market early, testing solutions in real situations, and connecting with industry leaders. But, they also pointed out some challenges: managing complex data, establishing international collaborations, and understanding the end-users' needs. 🤝  Are you planning to embark on a collaborative project and want to manage your relationship with partners effectively? Here are some tips: 📝  Results: clearly define intellectual property ownership and exploitation rights. 🎯  Commercialization: emphasize the clear commitment to commercialize results, not just secure funding. 🗣  Effective communication: encourage open dialogue and diverse points of view among partners.   #Collaboration #Innovation #Startup #Scaleup