Category Archives: Innovation

Disruptive Innovation

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There is a little bit of Innovation in our lives each day. We consciously strive to do something new in whatever we do.

Disruptive Innovation is something we do unknowingly or many a times, we re-invent the innovation to make it easier considering the circumstances.

For instance, Telephone is an innovation and Mobile phone is disruptive innovation. Car is an innovation, sports car is disruptive innovation and the list goes on.

Is there a framework or formula for Disruptive Innovation? There are theories on this and various frameworks to define it. But, disruptive innovation mainly focuses on enhancing the innovation which currently exists.

Internet is innovation and what follows is Disruptive. In today’s world, what we mostly see are improvisations of Innovations and most of these are disruptive.

What should we do to be Disruptive? No particular formula, but the first thing we need to look at is understand the subject/domain completely even before thinking how you can ease a solution. For instance, to create the best of the eCommerce site, first you need to understand all the details of Internet and the eCommerce domain. When you understand the subject and then start looking at it objectively coupled with a futuristic view, then you can get disruptive.

Simple as it sounds.

3D Printing – Future of Healthcare

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This is the second post on this series of what I think will be the future of Healthcare. In the first post, I talked about Personalized Medicine.

Joint replacement, Prostrate legs etc are gaining acceptance worldwide. 3D Printing definitely brings down the cost and hence more and more people can afford them. However, this is just one piece to the puzzle. There are other components which are required for 3D printing to become more affordable and acceptable.

There are two companies which are working on pushing the need for Joint replacements. Stryker Corporation and Zimmer Biomet. They using 3D Printing along CT Bone Scans to develop personalized designs.

This is a long way to go, but organizations like these are changing the game.

Remember how Aravind Eye Care changed the game for Cataract operations by producing lens which cost $5? Aravind Eye Care played a crucial role in bringing down the costs of Cataract surgeries and making it affordable for many people.

Personalized Medicine – The future of Healthcare

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This is one common question which comes frequently in my conversations. What is the one big thing which will change the landscape of Healthcare in the next decade or so. With my experience, I personally feel it is going to be Personalized Medicine.

Recently, I met a founder who is working on this idea at a different level. Their idea is to combine various forms of medicine to personalize the treatment. For instance, if you have a backache (common in today’s world), just popping a pill might give you instance relief, but what is the long term treatment? In the long term, one should be sincere in developing a discipline to ensure this is proactively taken care. Doing Yoga and sitting in proper posture while working and sleeping are certain ways of dealing with this kind of a problem.

What I foresee is that the regular medication which you take also will be personalized based on your DNA and other vitals.

In summary, I might not be taking Vicks Action 500 for my cold and headache, but I might walk into the pharmacy, provide my vitals and other information required and I will get personalized medicine which will address the issue much better and also ensure I develop some kind of resistance to the ailment.

What book changed your life?

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Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

I read this book way back in early 2005 and it did quite change my thought process. Even though this book focus’s on helping Organizations understand how Innovative Products work in the Emerging markets, there is a key takeaway for Social conscious people like me.

The book embarks on a journey, in which Late Dr. Prahlad argues that organizations always work with the top and middle of the pyramid, but forget the largest part of the pyramid. Any products and service can be produced at better quality for a lower price when it reaches more than what is anticipated. The discussion/argument is not about the exclusive products like cars or luxury items, but others which are quite necessary. The book takes you through case studies of organizations who have innovated to help people who absolutely need few things, ranging from Home to HealthCare to daily consumables.

I am not going to go deep into any of the case studies, but would like to share how it motivated me to think differently. Before I read this book, my understanding of the world and organizations was very limited, but this book opened my eyes to a whole new world of understanding what consumer needs and how this has changed they organizations did business.

Today, we have organizations building even cars exclusively for the price sensitive population. The products and services which have been innovated for the bottom of the pyramid (price sensitive population) also has impacted the middle and top of the pyramid. Organizations realized this a bit late. The prime understanding of any good producer is that any product/service accepted by consumers will always be accepted. However, one aspect which organizations miss is that even in non-price sensitive markets, people consume only limited quantities. However, when you produce goods and services in smaller quantities, acceptance might also go up!

Look at the classic example of Aravind Eye Clinic in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. This organization has constantly innovated from the beginning to provide cost-effective eye care. If you speak to the founder, his inspiration is McDonald’s. He was amazed the Quality of food available at any of the McDonald’s outlets across the world, which is precisely the same anywhere and everywhere. Being an ophthalmologist, he wanted to create something which has the same quality anywhere and everywhere. Today, Aravind Eye Clinic performs more than 600 eye surgeries each day and these surgeries cost as low as $50. What is the outcome? Acceptance in the 80% of Rural India that they too can better their lives.

If I keep quoting case studies, the list goes on. However, the key takeaway for me is to produce something/anything which can be accepted at the bottom of the pyramid and impacts their lives. This will translate to acceptance at the middle and top of the pyramid too.

So, which book changed your life?

How to Innovate (Cont.)

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One of the big factor for Innovation is finding your Inspiration.

Inspiration comes from anything & everything around us and it becomes very important to pay attention. Once we have the ability to see what inspires us, solutions come from unexpected corners.

The inspiration for Dr. V to create a process oriented eye care centre came from watching how McDonald’s was able to provide the same taste of burgers anywhere in the world. The inspiration to create a car came from wanting to have a vehicle to go places faster for Henry Ford.

The inspiration for Elon Musk came when he realized that the future of mankind was three things – Internet, Solar Energy and multi-planetary life. The inspiration to understand gravity came after watching the apple fall from the tree for Newton. Every innovator in this world has had his share of inspiration come from facets in life.

Today, what we need to keep eyes on are the small things which make a difference and understand them to create a better way to deliver.

The idea for this post came after I noticed the small magic book which was sold on the road yesterday.

Innovation comes from the ability to understand the why and what of the problem you wish to solve. What becomes important is not just identifying the problem, but finding the approach to solve the problem. This comes only when you understand the length and breadth of the subject.

How to Innovate

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Innovation is the buzz word. Every organization and every person on this planet is innovating right now, the very moment.

Today morning as I was stationary at a traffic signal, a lady was walking with a comic book with the characters in the book moving. Correct. You read it right. When you open the book, the character printed on the left side of the page is moving on the right page. I opened the window and asked how much was the book and she replied Rs.50. I immediately paid and picked up. What fascinated me is the very fact that the person who created the comic of 2 pages is sure thinking different and wanted to understand what lay inside.

There is no job in the world which is not worth Innovating for.

How to we Innovate?

Innovation needs hunger. A hunger from the heart with desire to create something new or better something which is already existing. When Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy (fondly called Dr.V of Aravind Eye Hospitals) noticed that the Mc Donald’s burger tasted the same anywhere he ate. He was inspired to create what he created.

The very fact of survival pushed the person to create the comic book.

Whatever the economic situation is, only the person who is hungry to do something better is the one who is innovating.

Along with hunger, Innovation also needs understanding of the subject matter. For example, even though I am hungry, I cannot improvise on a Cardiac operation because I am not a specialist nor a Doctor. Understanding the problem completely is very important, else we cannot address what we want to address.

Innovation needs patience and perseverance. When trying to build something new or improvising an existing solution, having a buy-in and testing the hypothesis is very important. When Starbucks was entering China, it needed them ten years to make a tea drinking nation just to want a Coffee. This is Business model innovation. Ten years is quite long, but what did it get Starbucks in return? Its market share along with creating a change in lifestyle of the Chinese.

…to be continued.

Creating your market segment

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Any idea starts with identifying the key pain point it is going to solve and which segment of the consumers will it help. Identifying the segment of consumers is more important then the execution plan for the idea itself because, execution plan changes according to your consumer.

There are two ways to do it, either work with the existing segments or create your own market.

Take Audi, when they entered Indian market with their flagship Q7, they did not go into mass advertising.They first identified their segment of consumers – Film Starts and Influential people. Why? Because usually people aspire to be like their favorite stars and successful people. They want to use the same brands like them and they wish to be successful like them.

Audi wanted to create a niche market for themselves and so, they went door-to-door with their sales team. Over the last ~9 years, they have not only build a niche, but created a complete different market for luxury cars in India which Mercedes could not do being here for a long time.

In the recent times, I have seen Big Basket doing the same. They invested in roping in Shah Rukh Khan for their Radio ad. When SRK himself uses Big Basket, why will his fans not?

This is how you create your market. Identify whom your Product relates to and then start from the top.

What is your Strategy?

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You have an Idea and it is your Eureka! moment. You are going to change the world with your innovation and you are proud of it. The next steps you take lay the foundation to the future of your idea and changing the world.

You will need to have answers to:

– How to make your idea into reality?
– How to take it to market?
– How much money is required?
– What is the gestation time?
– When will you make money?
– If it does not work, what is the Exit?

Strategy involves Understanding, Thinking and Predicting.

Understand the present. First, look at who your competition is. If you do not have competition, Congratulations! you have taken the first step to changing the world. If you do have, identify as many competitors as you can along with their offerings and USP along with their market reach and penetration. Understanding your competition is the first step in creating a niche product offering.

Think of what your USP is going to be. For each of your competitors marketing message, have a USP of your own. This will help your consumer to easily identify you and it will give them clarity as to why they should come to you.

Predict the future, not of your idea, but your consumer. How will your consumer benefit by using your offering?

Strategy is the fundamental understanding of what your consumer needs, how are you going to provide it to him.

Demand Aggregation

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What is the Business Model of eBay? It is a site where sellers quote their price and buyers come to buy what is being offered. In the process, the seller and the buyer both benefit and also the ratings given by both seller and buyer play an active role in determining the price point. This is called Demand Aggregation.

In today’s startup scenario, often founders are a little perplexed about the pricing point. There are numerous factors which go into identifying the price point of the offering. How do the airlines price their tickets? During weekdays, the prices are less and during weekends and holidays they automatically go up. Try booking a ticket for any festival time during the year, prices remain high. However, as the date of journey comes closer and if they are not able to sell the tickets, prices will continue to come down. In Europe for instance, it is the opposite. The nearer the departure date and time, the cheaper is the ticket. Airlines just want to sell and have a full flight rather than sticking to the price and flying with empty seats. After all, the success of an airline is based on the Passenger load capacity.

At Uber, during the peak hours, automatically it shows us that the price is 2 or more times higher than the regular price. The price goes up if the number of cabs available comes down. But the same times during weekend, prices don’t go up.

It is a wise business model to determine the price point. First, attract the consumer, make them use your offering and slowly increase the price. Having a huge database of consumers / potential consumers is what the makes the company attract the investors. That is the USP which many startups miss.

Thoughts?

Landscape of Wellness

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Wellness has gained attention in the last few years. With proactive health care management gaining attention, fitness centers, food monitoring apps and health management centre’s have gained a lot of attention.

It is estimated that the Wellness industry is a $3 Billion Market in India.

What is the landscape of the Wellness? Even though the definition is broad, primarily the industry revolves around Weight loss, Nutrition Management, Workout monitoring and sports. Home care and post operative care is also becoming part of Wellness.

The concept of wellness has gained importance in today’s context when people are looking for ways to maintain health and being proactive to managing their wellness. Organisations are adapting to provide proactive wellness management facilitates to their workforce to ensure the productivity levels increase.

Is wellness new? Didn’t we need it earlier? We needed them. With the changes in globalisation, changes in the work style, travels and the basic living, being proactive to manage health not only requires effort but a little of education too.

There are various kinds of medicine systems and understanding and utilising them to better our health would be very good. How do we get there? Startup’s are focusing to bridge the gap. In India, Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy are various kinds of medicine systems and today, we have technology helping people utilise the benefits of all the systems. Recently, I met a founder of a startup who is focusing on bringing a collaborative approach to proactive health management. They understand the persons medicine history and help connect them to a combination of medicine formats through their doctors and also help the person monitor their progress through their technology offering.

This is a very good start and with the growing awareness, the concept of wellness is moving upward from just sports tracking apps to health management apps.