InnoCentive Study case

InnoCentive is a brainstorming platform for existing business of different fields such as chemistry, sciences, computers, maths etc… Business owners can find some help to develop new products or find answers to internal problems. They can also boost their innovations structures thanks to the online platform set in place by InnoCentive. Indeed, this platform is a place where thinkers and investors can meet together.

The main goal of innoCentive is to allow majors companies and non-profit organization to find solution thanks to the innovations provided by people all around the world. In other words, InnoCentive is a marketplace where creative minds solve some of the world's most important problems for cash awards accorded by companies.
Governmental, nonprofit organizations and companies such as Avery Dennison, Jannsen are represented as “Seekers”. There are posting a request on the on-line platform about an innovation they would like to develop by paying a deposit to innoCentive. In the other hand, “Solvers” are people that bring solutions and innovations for “Seekers”. As it said below, those people come from all around the world and can be represented by scientists, engineers, business people, engineering … Those last one are rewarded by awards accorded by companies if the project is chosen. InnoCentive has recorded more than 8000 scientists registered on InnoCentive since it has been created.
InnoCentive brings here a very good vision of the “customer in charge environment”, Indeed seekers/customers came up with a problem and solvers/suppliers give them the solution. However, the customers can choose the best solution and decide to reward only the one who has been selected. This last step represents the “customer in charge environment”.
This website can be the main competitor of R&D department of every company. It can bring another point of view and consequently new ideas quicker and cheaper.

Customers of InnoCentive website are basically company owner with difficulties to solve R&D costs and companies that want to innovate on their market share quickly. InnoCentive helps also nonprofit organizations to have access to huge opportunities and innovations. It also reduces the risk and exposure to costly research failure. Their main partnership is the Rockfeller Foundation (www.rockfound.org) which their role is to find solution to new problem of this 21st century.
InnoCentive generates revenue through challenge posting fees that are usually $15,000 coupled with back-end success fees that are 40 percent of the total paid by customers. However InnoCentive is still less expensive for business owner than to invest in internal R&D department (http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2008/10/20/weekly12-SAP-incents-InnoCentive-with-950K.html).

Other sources of revenues are commissions taken around 20% of the rewards accorded to the winner of the Open Challenge for the best innovation. Partnerships such Rockfeller foundation brings money as well. InnoCentive is also paid for offering new way of thinking or new strategies for companies in order to evaluate the capacities of the company analyzed and tries to bring added value to this one. They even guide them through the processes of changing and give them precious advice about innovation and how to integrate it into their internal activities.

InnoCentive has a great success through companies in R&D difficulties, indeed it allows them to gain time in their research of innovations, it’s lower in R&D costs because companies pay only for success innovation, it’s consequently 100% guarantee with the certification and test. The database of solvers is really big and only big companies could have been able to pay for this access to world class talent. As I said earlier, they even guide them into the cultural change and help them to integrate this new way of thinking into their companies.
InnoCentive solves problems even for Suppliers / Solvers: They are able to earn a lot of money if they are creative enough; they have a large freedom of action because they can work only on what they are interesting in it and when they want to do it. Furthermore, they have a true feeling of being useful to the mankind by bringing new ideas for nonprofit organization than tries to get the 21st century world better.

To my mind this business is more than suitable for our new century, where all new businesses are based on new technologies and new way of thinking. Added to this, the fact that the platform is online adds a large value to the concept. This kind of business could not be offline for the simple reason that it would not be able to gather all those people around a same idea and direction. The process would be too long and inefficient.
It’s important to notice that InnoCentive is not the only one to offer this kind of opportunity for companies looking for cheaper R&D. Philoptima is one of the direct competitors of InnoCentive. It helps foundations, donors, and other grant makers clearly describe a community challenge and create a cash prize to spur innovative ideas to help solve the problem... In another hand, Philoptima, also helps connect funders to nonprofits with specific implementation skills in a local community.
http://www.philoptima.org/



Fellowforce.com is also a competitor of InnoCentive. It was founded "To Connect Organizations and Talent, through Open Source, for limitless ideas, innovation & solutions". Fellowforce.com aims to open up organizations for outside-in participation from experts, consumers, and other interested parties to generate powerful new options through this collaboration. However it doesn’t concern nonprofit organization. Which makes InnoCentive more in the center of our 21st century.
http://www.fellowforce.com/

If I were running this business I would try to develop it in different languages in order to let more people access to this precious innovation which is online R&D for everyone by everyone. I would also implement more adds to allow more seekers and solvers to join the private circle of “mankind helpers”. Ads can be a group on facebook or other social networks. Then I would try to create more partnerships with nonprofit organization and even real companies. Those partnerships could bring more money to help solvers for very important new innovations.

Innocentive

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