Innovation dictionary for beginners
Key concepts for understanding the entrepreneurial ecosystem
Nowadays it is common to hear about innovation, digital transformation, technology...
On numerous occasions, terms are used that not everyone knows, which can make someone who is entering the world of innovation not yet understand or that, if we are in a large group, there is someone who has never heard a certain word. Whether you are starting out or if you already have a history in innovation, this post will help you either to expand your knowledge, or to better know when to make sure that all your listeners understand what you are saying.
We present to you the concepts of innovation!
Minimum Viable Product (MPV or MVP)
El Minimum Viable Product it is a basic product with essential features to test the public's reaction to the final product or service. Thanks to this project, the team can collect the maximum amount of validated knowledge about consumers and the market, a process that does not require much effort.
Thus, if the hypothesis proves inadequate, we can pivot (change the business strategy) with respect to the initial idea, proposing alternatives closer to the optimal strategy. In this way, it is the market that guides the business strategy.
Networking
El Networking, something similar to making contacts, is the process or skill that allows you to create or expand a network of professional contacts. It also refers to the ability to maintain those connections over time, to achieve benefits throughout a career.
The main objective of the Networking is to be open to meeting other people who may be related to the same professional area, with the intention of making some kind of connection that will help Grow professionally, both can Contribute something to their careers or arrive at merge your skills and experience.
Despite the fact that there are people who are unable to build professional relationships within the workplace in an innate way, The Networking It is a skill that can be practiced and improved.
Open Innovation
La Open Innovation (in English Open Innovation) is a term coined by Professor Henry Chesbrough that proposes a new innovation strategy through which companies go beyond their limits and develop cooperation with external organizations or professionals (startups).
This means combining their internal knowledge with their external knowledge to carry out strategy and R&D projects. In a certain sense, open innovation incorporates collective intelligence. With a good open innovation strategy, a company can cover almost any project, however complex and disruptive it may be. Innovate without complexes.
Outsourcing
The term outsourcing (outsourcing or outsourcing) refers to the hiring of third parties to carry out tasks complementary to the main one performed by the organization.
Under this agreement, one company subcontracts to another to carry out a specific activity. These tasks could be performed internally, but in this way they reduces workload and makes it easier to scale the scope and productivity of the business.
Payback or recovery period
It is a strategy, an indicator used in companies to calculate the period of return on investment in a project. In more technical words, payback is the time of return from the initial investment to the time when the accumulated returns become equal to the value of that investment.
Pivot a solution
A pivot consists of a Change of course of your business idea designed to test and/or test new hypotheses about the product or business model that you have in your hands after verifying that this hypothesis is invalid.
This action is very recurrent within the startup ecosystem, and it is important to know how to make the decision to pivot in your strategy or, on the contrary, to persevere, when the time comes.
Potential market
A potential market is defined as an audience that does not consume your product, but that Do they have or can ever have the need to consume it. Part of that market meets their needs by buying from your competition, but that doesn't mean that they can eventually buy another brand.
Product Market Fit
El Product Market Fit is the process by which a company adjusts a product or service to a specific market. Previously, it is necessary to identify the target audience and their needs, in order to gather the necessary data for the development of a prototype or minimum viable product. Once analyzed, there must be consumers willing to pay the established price, always higher than the costs, and who guarantee profitability over time.
In any type of business, including startups, it is essential to develop these types of processes, since they constitute a basis for the development of commercial strategies. As products are tested or improved, it is advisable to review the Product Market Fit.
Proof of concept
Una Proof of concept is a quick and incomplete implementation of an idea or method to verify if it is feasible to exploit these elements in the market in a satisfactory manner. Usually, these types of tests report opinions about a product's design and mitigate financial risks. Its duration will depend on the degree of complexity and technological integration.
Prototyping, Prototyping
Prototyping is to create a visual representation of a product (physical or digital). Its aspect/interface and its main functionalities are defined to anticipate any changes or errors before the design and layout process.
Its main objective is to land ideas to a more tangible representation. In addition, it's a quick and inexpensive test. Which allows us, precisely by its nature, to fail quickly and at very little cost while learning from the user.
The main advantage of prototyping involves “failing quickly to get it right soon”.
Do you want to contribute? a new concept?
This living dictionary is regularly updated and any collaborator with an entrepreneurial spirit can provide a concept.