Every day, business and corporate startups take action based on assumptions. Yet these assumptions are based largely on guesswork that leads to everything from costly mistakes to the failure of ventures. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these issues and excel in your business endeavors—and this book will show you how.

Engaging and informative, Pivot provides entrepreneurs with practical guidance for achieving success in corporate ventures as well as new startups. Based on more than fifteen years of academic research and many more years of experience in business and corporate startups, this book skillfully addresses topics ranging from resources and organizational uncertainties to the scope and scale of new business opportunities.

• Reveals how to successfully conceptualize new business opportunities, pivot as required to experiment with these opportunities, and accelerate to the marketplace
• Captures the capabilities needed to quickly build a business by understanding and systematically reducing uncertainties from market landscape and technology to talent and organizational positioning
• The digital component of this book includes a world-class strategic innovation methodology that is in demand from corporations worldwide

Written with today's serious entrepreneur in mind, Pivot will provide you with the tools you'll need to get ahead of the competition and achieve consistent success.

Remy Arteaga has more than twenty years' experience in entrepreneurial, innovative, and strategic roles. Remy began his career with GM, where he was part of an internal consulting group, the sole mission of which was to change the way GM did business. There, he developed ideation, customer needs, and competitive analysis business methods that were deployed throughout the company. Following GM, Remy spent several years as an IT consultant before launching his first startup. Over the next 20 years, Remy started up five successful startups in varied industries, from medical devices to software. As COO and founder of Extreme Interactive Media, Inc., he built the company into the top competitor in its media space. In 2007, Remy was named CEO of DualAlign LLC, an Albany, New York–based technology startup focused on computer vision software solutions. Most recently, Remy served as the Program Director of the Entrepreneurship Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Joanne Hyland is President of the rInnovation Group (rInnovation) and former Vice President, New Venture Development, at Nortel Networks. As a Founding Partner in rInnovation, Joanne works with major corporations across diverse industries in the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Germany, and elsewhere to link innovation with strategy and to develop systems, leadership and culture capabilities that drive growth and corporate renewal. Joanne speaks regularly on topics related to innovation and corporate entrepreneurship and is/has been a member of the MBA and executive education faculties at Babson College, the Business Institute in Denmark, the Danish Technical University, MIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stanford University, and the Tata Management Training Center. At Nortel Networks, Joanne and her team founded its internal venturing program, a multimillion-dollar investment fund that resulted in twelve business startups, one of which, Bill Me Later®, reached close to a billion-dollar exit in October 2008 when it was bought by eBay/PayPal.

Acknowledgments

Introduction:  Is There a Better Way?

Part One: The Tale of Two Entrepreneurial Worlds

Chapter 1: Pedal to the Metal

A Little History

Traditional Management Tools Fail Entrepreneurs

Why Startups Fail

Origins of the Pivot Methodology

Notes

Chapter 2: Innovation is Bringing Discipline to Chaos

Plant = Discovery; Pivot = Incubation; Propel = Acceleration

Introduction to the D-I-A Model¹

If Only I Knew Then, What I Know Now…

Innovation Defined in the Corporate Setting

Beyond Invention and Creativity

Emerging Management Discipline

Innovation Definitions

Common Language and Mindset

Navigating the Culture Divide

It’s ALL About Uncertainty

Uncertainty versus Risk

Uncertainty Types: Technical, Market, Resource, Organization

Innovation Continuum and Uncertainty

The ABCs of Innovation Uncertainty

Notes

Chapter 3:  The Corporate Entrepreneur

An Examination of the Definition

An In-Depth Look at Corporate Entrepreneurship Models

Model One: Intrapreneurship

Model Two: Arms-Length Approaches – Corporate Venture Capital and External Corporate Incubators

Model Three: Internal Venturing – Spin-ins and Spinouts

Model Four: New Business Creation – Inside Corporate/R&D or Established Divisions

Model Five:  Open Innovation Hybrid Approach

Model Six: An Innovation Function – Institutionalizing Corporate Entrepreneurship

A Brief Look at Academic Research

A Look at Corporate Culture

Personal Experiences

Notes

Additional Notes

Chapter 4: So, You Want to Be An Entrepreneur?

Swinging for the Fences

The Academic Side

Personal Experiences

Notes

Chapter 5: Entrepreneur and Corporate Entrepreneur – Framing the Perspectives

Comparing Entrepreneurs

Differences between Startup Entrepreneurs and Corporate Entrepreneurs

Differences in the Operating Contexts

Progress in Understanding and Effectively Executing the Two Different Types of Entrepreneurship

Notes

Part Two: Plant = Discovery – The Business Vision

Chapter 6:  Discovery–Attractiveness of the Business Opportunity¹

Discovery Principles²

Discovery and Open Innovation

Discovery Progression: Capturing Innovation Opportunities⁴

Opportunity Recognition

Application Generation and the Business Vision

The Discovery Toolkit – In Brief

Standard Tools

Idea Uncertainty Assessment Tool

Opportunity Screening Criteria

Opportunity Potential Questions

Genesis Pad™ – Opportunity Description:

Uncertainty Identification Checklist for Discovery

Opportunity Stakeholder Positioning

Plant or Discovery Value Pitch

Advanced Tools

Words of Caution

Plant Your Value Pitch – Making the Transition to Incubation with Your Opportunity Concept

Notes

Chapter 7: Opportunity and the Entrepreneur

Opportunity Recognition

Technology to Market Opportunity

The Challenge for Universities to Commercialize Technologies

The Big XYZ

The Value Proposition

The Positioning Statement

Notes

Chapter 8: Entrepreneur and Corporate Entrepreneur Perspectives – Pursuit of Opportunities

Getting from Idea to Opportunity

Attracting Attention

Part Three: Pivot = Incubation – The Missing Link

Chapter 9: Incubation – Discipline Together with Chaos¹

Incubation Principles²

Incubation Objectives

Incubation Activities and ‘Processes’

Incubation and Living with Chaos – The Learning Plan™³

Short, Quick, Inexpensive Learning Loops

The Learning Plan Methodology

Dimensions of Uncertainty

Learning Loop Development Process

Initiating a Learning Loop

Evaluating Learning Outcomes

General Guidelines

Notes

Chapter 10: Early Market Engagement – Business Concept Options¹

Incubation Progression – Market Learning and Business Model

Market Learning²

Business Model

Market Development Considerations

Learning versus Product Prototype

Market Entry Approach

Forget about Finding the Killer Application

Be Out There

Move from Office to Market

Market Development = Market Learning

Follow the Long and Winding Road

Innovation Roles

Building the Team

Success Depends on People

The Incubation Toolkit – In Brief

Standard Tools

Learning Plan

Uncertainty Identification Checklist for Incubation

Technical and Market Concept Testing Approaches

Technical and Market Concept Testing Outcomes

Genesis Pad – Solution Description

Transition Readiness Questions

Pivot or Incubation Value Pitch

Advanced Tools

Learning Approach Value and Coaching Requirements

Accelerated Learning to Achieve Faster Results

Consistent and Timely Coaching Required

Pivot to Your Evolved Value Pitch – Making the Transition to Acceleration with Your Concept Proposal

Notes

Chapter 11: Business Experiments

Knowledge Construction

Define Assumptions

Define Markets

Define CTA & Analytic

Define Product

Notes

Chapter 12: Validated Learning = Knowledge

Business Model

Start Executing Experiment

Execute: Product, Market Group, and Call To Action (CTA)

Execute: Assumptions and Analytics

Execute: Confidence, Results, and Knowledge Loop

Business Plan

Notes

Chapter 13: Entrepreneur and Corporate Entrepreneur Perspectives – Incubation and Hypothesis-Driven Learning

Learning is the Antidote to Uncertainties

Learning How to Learn

Pivot Startup Methodology and Learning Plan

Making the Case for Investment

Part Four: Propel = Acceleration – The Business Ramp Up

Chapter 14: Acceleration – Courage to Invest¹

Acceleration Principles²

Moving from Uncertainty to Risk

Moving from Experimentation to Development

Acceleration and the Phase Gate Process

Integrating with Product Development

The Acceleration Toolkit

Standard Tools

Resource and Organization Alignment Plan

Market and Technology Development Integration Plan

Propel or Acceleration Value Pitch

Advanced Tools

Propel Your Value Pitch – Making the Transition to Operations with Your Business Plan

Notes

Chapter 15: Preparing for Growth

The Startup Ecosystem

University Ecosystems

A Time to Scale

Notes

Chapter 16: Entrepreneur and Corporate Entrepreneur – The Challenges of Growth

The Ecosystem

The Laws of Diffusion and Resistance

Scaling

Balancing TMRO

About the Companion Website

About the Authors

About the Academic Contributing Authors

Index