Keystone: 
Innovation and Entrepreneurship

From team case studies to mentorship, this keystone course has provided me with valuable lessons in innovation, culture, collaboration, and personal journey with the certificate. Since day one, the phrase “jobs to be done” has been the biggest emphasis in validating innovation which in turn guaranteed entrepreneurial success. One of the notable ways of finding the needs of customers visible in case studies was a series of market research. Although existing market data help understand the needs, they evolve so often and unexpectedly that data soon become outdated and irrelevant. We experienced this directly in our last class ice truck simulation. With unobserved behaviors being uncovered after interacting with real customers in different places, the simulation made the necessity of up-to-date market research clear. A great example that demonstrated the power of market research was Rent the Runway. Starting with the idea of renting expensive designer dresses to women, the business evolved to adopt a clearer and more purposeful mission based on the findings from their market research with university students. After realizing how designer dresses empower women of all ages for all occasions, the company decided to focus more on fulfilling this psychological and emotional need of all women rather than the simple need of young women who need an expensive dress for a special occasion. Market research is also helpful in finding if customers exist in sufficient numbers to justify launching. However, I also noticed its flaw; market research can be tough in finding the “jobs to be done” when customers do not even realize their needs in the first place because of reasons such as lack of awareness and status quote bias. An example case was Envirofit International. Although its technologically revolutionary cooking stove definitely could help the locals’ health and environment, the actual customers were hesitant to adopt a new cooking method without much knowledge of the repercussions of using their current open-air cooking stove. Hence, although market research is indeed important in validating innovation, I believe the best practice is the lean startup approach with minimum viable products (MVPs). This approach also has been continuously highlighted as a universal solution to most case studies. It is effective for most companies regardless of their industries and size. It increases awareness through a gradual product placement through multiple market trials. It evolves products based on evolving knowledge of customer needs and feedback. And it marked the innovation less risky for companies in the long run financially as they invest little by little in the products rather than going all-in. Applying this approach, companies are forced to always think about the problem, not the solution. Some memorable examples of this idea were medical innovations–MRI scanning for children and incubators for developing countries–that all focused and pivoted their design on the true needs of the users.  

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Surprisingly, another integral part of innovation is its culture. I&E does not just affect the company itself which would be earning profit. It impacts so many actors beyond customers. Thus, it requires a positive and ethical culture. Such a culture involves focusing on values created outside of the company itself, on values besides profit for the company. In other words, I&E must be supporting the customers and their community first. Some important considerations that companies should make are the impact of their innovation on the community and its traditions. Is the innovation disturbing some kind of existing dynamics? Is it right to do so? It is also crucial to identify who is defining the customer’s needs and check if the company’s assumptions or biases play a part in defining them. An example of a company that followed these appropriate paths of thinking throughout its innovation was Envirofit. Having local experts fill in important roles and communicate with locals through town demonstrations, Envirofit made sure there was no or minimum unwanted intrusion of itself and its product to the community in India. Another exemplary case is Rent the Runway which conducted ample research and a well-thought-out pitch to ease initial designer concerns that the rent of their dresses would cannibalize their retail business. Doing so ensured a collaborative ecosystem of the industry rather than the innovation disturbing it.  

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Learning the aforementioned aspects of I&E was only possible because my team demonstrated true, effective collaboration. Embodying psychological safety and active listening in every meeting, our team was able to take advantage of our diversity in thoughts during case studies. We did not rely on one person’s ideas but acknowledged explicitly the input of every member. We were respectful in conversations, giving feedback on each other’s ideas and not being afraid to disagree or express not knowing something. We always had multiple sessions for each case study to revisit the ideas, having more time by ourselves to sit in and rethink each other’s ideas. In doing so, we collectively created a safe, learning, inspiring, and growing environment for everyone. Especially after the Florida Air case study, we learned how everyone needs to be on the same page and sometimes do something outside one’s comfort zone–personally and intellectually–for the team’s success. Reading this case and having a great collaborative experience with my teams, I realized that I&E is never possible by yourself. A group of like-minded but with diverse thoughts is needed. Going into different collaborative environments, I will keep in mind that for everyone to be contributing equally meaningfully to the team, it is important to create a learning and growing culture. Doing so takes time as certain behaviors have to become habitual and normalized. Thus, consistency and patience are the keys to believing in the potential of the team once each member’s unique thoughts and ideas.  

 

Beyond direct connections to I&E, it is undeniable that the course has left a massive impact on me. For my remaining time at Duke, I will continue to remind myself that although knowledge from academia builds a foundation, I cannot solely rely on education to build on my innovation. I must interact with the community, understand their evolving needs, consider the impact of my innovation, receive feedback and pivot, and repeat these steps, again and again, to make my ideas into valuable opportunities.

 

In consideration of my career after Duke, although I&E seemed relevant to me very generally with my interest in social entrepreneurship and innovative social impact, the course actually opened my eyes toward a specific career path that I never thought about—social impact consulting. Through mentoring sessions with Avery Reaves and multiple case studies that resembled consulting projects, I found this new career path to be surprisingly creative (e.g. giving recommendations) and fitting with my broad interest in social impact as consulting can be done for nonprofit organizations and social enterprises. I hope to keep it on my radar as I explore different career paths. But most importantly, beyond its influence on my education and career, this course redefined what innovation means to me. Before the course, I immediately associated innovation with words such as creativity and ideas—abstract and egocentric as they stem from one innovative individual. However, the innovation that I have learned and experienced through the course was more than those words. It was more closely related to people, to the community. It was done in collaboration, in consideration of a real problem that many people face. As I continue to carry innovation as part of myself, I would like to continue to remember its egoless nature.