Understanding Innovation
Innovative is driven by the interaction of 3 pillars:
- Technical Viability
- Commercial Viability
- Market Viability
Expressed another way:
- can we do it
- can we commercial break even at scale
- does the market want to change.
Each of these 3 core pillars can be a trigger for innovation – a new technology, an unmet need or an extremely inefficient system.
But whilst innovation can be triggered by any of these pillars, the final product must satisfy all three to be successful.
A technology-first approach to innovation, while possible, typically faces significant challenges in commercialization. So much so it’s often recommended to address market viability first, as it’s the factor most outside of your control.
So why even start from a tech angle?
Technology is the single easiest pillar to protect – a deep tech organization can create insurmountable patent moats or hold tech. know how which can be incredibly valuable and challenging to over come.
Success depends on finding a market that wants the solution and developing a commercially viable business model.
The ideal approach is to validate all three pillars early in the innovation process, with special attention to market viability to ensure you’re not developing solutions that customers don’t actually want or need.