Ask An Innovator

Episode Summary

A few weeks back an email out of the blue came our way. Would we would be a part of Ferrara Candy Company’s internal innovation event? By now you know we love talking about innovation, so the answer was YES!

Today you’ll hear Josh interview Greg Guidotti, the General Manager at Ferrara, about what it takes to be an innovation high striker. How do you innovate in a company like Ferrara? We visit the age old question, “What is innovation?” and talk about insights, foresights, and candy!

We reference other interviews in this episode:

How To Leverage Insights for Innovation (with Ferrara’s Andy Renaud)Innovation Through Incremental Change How To Create an Innovation Framework

About Ferrara

Ferrara, a company related to The Ferrero Group, is an emerging powerhouse in the North American confections and sweet snacking categories. A passionate team of more than 6,000 employees works together to share delight in every bite through leading brands that have shaped the industry for more than 100 years. Our diverse portfolio of nearly 35 brands includes SweeTARTS®, Trolli®, BRACH’S®, Black Forest® and NERDS®, along with iconic favorites like Lemonhead®, Red Hots® and Now and Later®. Ferrara also manages the Keebler® and Famous Amos® businesses for The Ferrero Group.  Headquartered in Chicago, Ferrara has an operational network of 20 locations in North America that includes manufacturing, distribution and R&D facilities. Learn more at www.ferrarausa.com.

Timestamps

What is the innovation secret sauce? – 1:48Insights & Foresights? – 02:05What is the opportunity for innovators?– 05:12Small as an advantage – 08:53Qualities of Successful, Innovative Companies– 10:09Let Eagles Soar – 12:48Difference Between a Great Brand & Innovative One – 13:51Innovation Led– 16:42Innovation is a Mindset –18:37Cultivating Great Innovators –2

What is a Workshop Episode Summary

I’m thinking Spring today, I don’t know about you guys. It’s sunny and all the snow is melting and I’m here for it. I’m also here for this next episode of AAI which is all about workshops. What is a workshop? How can they help us deduce the product that will work for you? We get a lot more answers when we spend time digging and a workshop gives us the space to do that.

From activities through to questions, we truly want you to think about your business and where you want it to go. How will this product fit into your business, how will you go-to-market with it? If these are questions you’re asking, going through a workshop may be beneficial to you.

As always, listen in, and fill out the form here to ask questions or Schedule a Workshop!

Full Transcript

Erin Srebinski: [00:00:16] At City Innovation Labs, we run a bunch of workshops to help people figure out what they’re doing, what they need to build, if they’re even ready for custom software. Josh, what exactly does a workshop entail and why would anyone want to do this?

Josh Barker: [00:00:47] Yes. Great questions. So a workshop really helps our clients take a step back and really analyze something before proceeding forward with the next steps of software engineering or prototyping or whatever it is. It allows us to really take focus on what we’re trying to accomplish.

It brings crystallization to the path we’re headed towards. Oftentimes it leads to pivoting within that conversation in terms of strategy, go to market strategy, how they’re about to do something.  It’s crucially important because it is that compass moment where you take out your compass and you go, which direction am I headed? And so if you don’t have that compass moment, you could actually be going in the complete wrong direction.  That’s really what we want to help avoid . Go in the right direction.

So it’s your GPS, if you’re a younger generation that’s like, what the heck is a compass? Oftentimes someone will come to us and say, this is what we’re trying to accomplish.

No, one’s coming to us saying we want a workshop, right. Because that’s not the result of what people want.

Erin Srebinski: [00:01:49] No, they’re not looking for that.

Josh Barker: [00:01:51] They’re not looking for a  workshop, but we offer  that compass GPS. Right?  They’ll say, here’s what we want to do, here’s what we want to build, here’s what we’re trying to achieve. And so then it’s our jobs, in that pre consulting, pre-workshop moment, to help them understand. Going back to our Product Validation Funnel, helping them understand where they’re at in the Product Validation Funnel and why.  That’s where we’ll spend time pre consulting and pre-workshop, helping them understand where they’re at.

We’ll ask a series of questions of how have you validated this? What experiments have you run? And sometimes they’ll say, I don’t even know what an experiment is and we can help educate them on assumptions and our process. Then once we get a standard of where is that company and the product validation funnel.

The nice thing is with our workshops we definitely are beli...

Episode Summary

Getting ready to build an app can be a lengthy and expensive experience. So how do you do it the right way? Last week we talked about the Product Validation Funnel. Testing, validating, and understanding your target market are essential before building anything.

How do you know when you’re ready? When you’ve done the legwork to secure validation for your app or feature. You’ve tested it with consumers, you’ve created an MVP, and you know with little doubt that this app will take hold in your market.

Below you’ll find some handy tools to help you on your journey, but as always – we’re here to help and can walk you through some of these exercises. Tune into this weeks episode!

Handy Tools To Help You Build an App (a working list)

Business Model CanvasProduct Vision Board

Full Transcript

Erin Srebinski: [00:00:00] Today we’re talking about if you’re ready to build an app. How do you know? What questions do you need to ask? What prep should you do ahead of time? There’s a lot that goes into it. It’s usually a relatively big investment.

Josh, how do you know if you’re ready to build an app?

Josh Barker: [00:00:26] Every custom software development project is really understanding the why. What are they trying to achieve? That’s the first question we ask. Very much a sub question under the why is, should you build an app?  We asked that question with such kind hearted intentions to make sure you’re investing your money in the right spot. That’s where we truly  act like a good partner of helping them go through that Product Validation Funnel.

Validating their product idea prior to just going out and building the thing.  A lot of times when we meet with people, what we’ll do is we’ll analyze where are they in the funnel? We meet you where you’re at and then we help you get where you want to go.

If you come to the table with, this is an idea or a concept, you can look at what kind of assumptions they’re making, but what kind of validation have they received?

So a good example of not starting at the top would be if you have a website for a proven organization. There’s a lot of innovation behind just a website. So for us, when we go through a website project, if it’s a client that has an existing business, it’s more of an innovation optimization and writing out the assumptions and then narrowing that down. So they’re actually further down. Should you build this website? The answer is almost an obvious. Yes. Right? I think everyone could say, well, you’re an existing business. You don’t have to prove whether or not you should have a website.

If you’re talking about a product that has an unknown track record in the marketplace , a lot of people will come to the table and say, ” I want to build this thing.” And here’s some proof that the market needs it and they’ll point to other products in the market.

That’s an area where we’ll sit down and we’ll go through the assumptions again and make sure they understand when you’re building this thing, you’re making the assumptions that there is room in the market for another player.

Episode Summary

On the podcast today, Josh and I discuss the Product Validation Funnel, a term we coined here at CIL. It is a method of building software, a way to discover where clients are in their process and help them to the next part of the funnel.

Product validation is inherent to how we build software, it guides us to help clients make the best decisions not only about their product but about their business. We want to help them (and you!) avoid costly mistakes and build something no one uses. Software should be a perfect solution to the product you’re solving, and YOUR customer should be delighted when they use it. How do you do that? Well, with the Product Validation Funnel, of course.

What else can you tell me about Product Validation?

Why is Using a Lean Startup Methodology Important?5 Ways to Apply Lean StartupWhy We Created a Validation Process – the origin storyWhat is an MVP?There’s a lot more to read, listen to, etc at this link!

Full Transcript

Erin Srebinski: [00:00:18] Today we are talking about Product Validation Funnel. Josh, why don’t you tell us what the Product Validation Funnel is?

Josh Barker: [00:00:25] Absolutely. We developed the Product Validation Funnel because it really is our key differentiator in the marketplace.

And we want to kind of give people that secret sauce, you know, we want to give back and we want to say, this is how you should build software.  These were key learnings from being out in Silicon Valley and working with a ton of smarter people than myself, and being able to take all that information and package it together.

And we created the Product Validation Funnel. So that’s a little bit of the history behind it.  The Product Validation Funnel, what it is  in a simple form, is all products go through this funnel, whether or not you acknowledge it they go through this funnel. So there are a couple of different stages within the funnel.

So if you envision a funnel and at the top of the funnel, the broader side, you’ve got an MVT:  Minimum Viable Tests. And then down the funnel a little further, you’ve got Minimum Viable Product. And then down at the bottom, you have a Minimum Marketable Product. So each of these stages,  all products go through this.

The biggest mistake that companies make when they’re developing products is they go through this funnel too quickly.  They’ll skip over steps. They’ll go down right to the bottom. Normally, that’s the biggest problem, they’ll go right through the funnel to the MMP and they’ll say, what do we need to build?

What we do is encourage people to go and think through it a lot more systematically. Make sure you go from MVT to MVP, to MMP. A lot of abbreviations. The thought is, is when you go from the top,

We build software. Great, so what is the actual cost of software development? There are plenty of reasons you may want to build custom software, but you probably have some questions about how much money you're going to have to throw in to get exactly what you want. We go through how we estimate software costs and what the final numbers will look like.

Visit cityinnovationlabs.com/ask-an-innovator for some helpful links and the full transcript.

Episode Summary

After COVID-19 hit, we ran a webinar about how companies could accelerate digital transformation. Now we’ve seen a ton of companies do just that. From small retailers hopping online to everyone moving to the cloud – digital is here to stay and here to reign. How can your business stay abreast of these changes and adapt to digital even more? Well, that’s what this podcast covers. Tune in and let us know what you think has been the most incredible digital transformation that you’ve seen.

Visit cityinnovationlabs.com/ask-an-innovator for some helpful links and the full transcript.

Helpful Reading on Digital Transformation

Our Webinar at the Beginning of COVID-19Digital Transformation Is Not About TechnologyWhy is Digital Transformation Important?

Timestamps

Digital Transformation in the World – 00:40Digital Adaptation & Acceleration – 01:53Obviously we have to throw Amazon into the convo – 05:50Death of Commercial Real Estate – 07:04Adding a Human Element to Digital – 08:59The Cloud and Chatbots – 10:56Let’s talk about specific industries – 12:00Making a case for analytics – 15:20But, what about security? – 18:01How can we help? – 19:57

Full Transcript

Erin Srebinski: [00:00:00] Hi everyone. We’re back. We’re here to talk about digital transformation. We did a webinar back in April about innovating in uncertain times back when COVID-19 was just at the beginning. And so now we’re into it. We’re six months in, we’ve seen companies pivot, we’ve seen companies change, we’ve seen them break through a bunch of different challenges. There’s been a bunch of weird and interesting things coming out of this. So Josh take it away.  What do you think has been interesting that’s come out of this? What have you seen in the marketplace and what changes have you seen? And what still needs to change? Let’s go through all of that.

Digital Transformation in the World

Josh Barker: [00:00:35] Yeah. Hate to say it, I don’t remember what I said in the webinar.  I don’t know if I’m gonna cover similar ground. I always go with this, I’ve read this book from a great consultant of like talking about times of crisis going through the 2008 recession.

And he was saying, think of your business like a house, right? You go in your backyard and revenue is the river stream that flows and when the stream or the river dries up in your backyard and you go,  where did the water go?  The revenue go?  You have two options. One, you can go stay and kind of gather up all the stream trickles,  and say, Hey,

Today on Ask an Innovator we discuss the Lean Startup Methodology. We get into what is is, how to use it, and why it's so dang important to us here at CIL.

We talk through company examples - who has used it and why? And what role the customer plays, how it could save you money, and how it ties into the way software should be developed.

Visit cityinnovationlabs.com/ask-an-innovator for some helpful links and the full transcript.

SUMMARY WITH ANDY RENAUD

Andy Renaud from Ferrara Candy is on AAI today and a common theme that comes up is what do we do with consumer insights? How do we use them to fill our innovation pipeline? How can we use them to engage our customer on social media and beyond? Andy talks to Josh about how they’re doing this in the candy space, from Crunchy Crawlers to a specific Wonder Woman candy – Ferrara is engaging customers in so many different ways.

The discussion loops around to COVID-19 and how Ferrara has remained agile through it all. From setting up employees to do R&D at home to understanding what the best tech tools are to use for collaboration. As consumer behavior changes, how does Ferrara change with it and keep innovating despite limitations?

Connect with Ask an Innovator.

More about Andy & Ferrara

Connect with AndyFerrara Candy CompanyFerrara Candy Company Innovation

Full Transcript with Andy Renaud

Erin Srebinski: [00:13] Hi, and welcome to Ask an Innovator. This morning we have Andy Renaud from Ferrara Candy Company talking with us about innovations in the confection space. He talks about the innovation practice at Ferrara and how knowing your key strengths is essential for growth and launching new products. The podcast was recorded during COVID-19, so Andy and Josh also cover how Ferrara has remained agile and is continuing to deliver sweet delights to customers. For more, keep on listening and for the full transcript check us out at cityinnovationlabs.com/ask-an-innovator

Josh Barker: [00:42] Andy, I really appreciate you coming on. I’d love for you to give just a little intro to yourself.

Andy Renaud: [00:47] Yeah, of course. So I’m Andy Renaud. I’ve been in the confections category for my entire career. So I have an undergrad from UW Madison. In food science and so that’s just a study of all of the know-how in engineering, chemistry, even regulations, the marketing behind food, and how things are made for our food industry. So I got that back in 2009, I graduated and I had an internship in Chicago, which actually led to a full-time position at my prior company. Work they’re doing a lot of in the lab at the factory scale-up of product development, both on gum and candy and confectionery sugar, confections.

As of last year, January of ’19, I moved over to my current employer for our candy company in Chicago. And so since then, I’ve been doing a lot. My title is senior manager of innovation, growth management. Really, what that entails is looking at how Ferrara is doing innovation and what roles do we need in place? What process do we need to implement and deploy? What capabilities do we need to develop? But also from a strategic standpoint? What should we be having in our innovation pipeline to deliver growth not only for the company but also for the category? But also, what insights from consumers are we leveraging to develop that pipeline.

It’s been a really interesting opportunity over the last year and a half just because I’ve been able to really leverage my kn...

Episode 41 highlights Luka Vukovic and his awesome company, Look At. He talks with Josh about how he plans to disrupt the lucrative tourist industry with his selfie sculptures. No longer do you have to ask awkwardly for someone to take your picture or snap one yourself, this sculpture will do it for you.

We discuss the impact of Covid-19 on Luka's business and how they are planning to work around any restrictions that come with travel this year. He has a plan for the future of Look At with an amazing web app, new AR features, and an awesome user experience. Visit Look At's website for more information about this brilliant venture.

Tim Lavengood is on Ask an Innovator today talking with us about innovations in science. We talk about how the Technology Innovation Center will provide a place for scientists to truly own their own intellectual property and what that means for inventing and the world at large.

We talk about the importance of mentorship in the startup space. Tim and Josh discuss how this surge of scientists creating and innovating will mirror the technology revolution of the '80s.

Connect with Ask an Innovator.