Slide relative all'intervento tenuto dal Prof. Piero Formica alla conferenza "Innovazione e imprenditorialità, il valore della sperimentazione", tenutasi presso il Consorzio Arca il 10 febbraio 2014.

1. Experimental Labs and Innovative
EntrepreneurshipPiero Formica
Intentac, Innovation Value Institute, and Eden Centre,
National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Dublin
www.intentac.org
www.ivi.ie
www.eden.nuim.ie
piero.formica@gmail.com

6. • PATHFINDER vs PATH CREATOR

7. PATHFINDER – the “knowledgist”
Measurement
Optimization Path
Specialization Path
Neutralization Path
Horizon of
certainty
Silos
Knowledge maps

8. Nevil Maskelyne
John Harrison

9. Hypothetical reconstruction of the lost world map of 1474 by
Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli (in clear, the position of the American
continent, which he ignored), "A Literary and Historical Atlas of
America
Planned route, proof of preparedness

10. PATH CREATOR – the “resilient persona”
Disobedience
(“Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved”, Thucydides
“Future knowledge is not possible in the present”, Karl Popper )
Uncertainty
Inaccuracy
Horizon of
doubt
Imagination
(“Knowledge circumscribes
the imagination”, Giacomo
Leopardi, Notebooks)
“The imaginary has more
natural powers, and nature
is always superior to reason”,
G. Leopardi, Notebooks)
A range of disciplines

11. e-Book!

12. NO MAP
“There is no map, and
charting a path ahead will not
be easy" - as Mr Bezos,
Amazon's founder, said after
he bought
the Washington Post

13. Battle of
Leuctra,
July 6, 371 BC
Apple and Google
versus Intel
BlackBerry considered a simple toy
the iPhone that Apple introduced in

14. Co-Creation of Trade Routes
and
Novel Products
Path creator is a depositary of entrepreneurial energy
transmitted in packets (‘quanta’) of indivisible ideas and used to
create a path.

15. Nokia’s market capitalisation at the end
of 2000 was $209bn
while Apple’s was $8.6bn.
At the end of last year, Nokia was
worth $14.3bn and
Apple $627bn – a swing of $800bn.
Source: EUROPE HAS PAID A PRICE FOR LOSING ITS MOBILE LEAD
By John Gapper, FT, September 5, 2013

16. Innovation Horizons 1
The Visible Horizon
HORIZON 1
Pathfinders seek a path within
the boundaries of their knowledge map.

17. Innovation Horizons 1
The Visible Horizon
HORIZON 1
Pathfinders, „knowledgists‟ who read markets
Constraint of
knowledge
“Knowledge
reserved”
My point of view
is expert’s
point of view

18. Innovation Horizons 2 and 3
The Real Horizon
HORIZONS
2, 3
HORIZON 1
„hypernova‟
„supernova‟
Path creators chart a path by randomly walking,
disregarding the map of knowledge mastered.

19. Innovation Horizons 2 and 3
The Real Horizon
HORIZONS
2, 3
HORIZON 1
„hypernova‟
„supernova‟
Path creators, salutary purposeful ignorant,
whose ignorance follows knowledge
Freedom of
ignorance
“Ignorance
is bold”
Need & Tech seekers
Search for disconfirming
evidences
The non expert
point of view

20. R-Evolution (New Thinking) in Business Economics
3. EXPERIMENTAL LAB FOR INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
(HIGH-EXPECTATION START-UPS)
 Firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations
 Content of direct observation
or participation in an event
 Arbitrage between competing models/
hypothesis
2. INCUBATION
(EU design)
 Accumulation of (managerial)
skills
 Consultancy-led services

21. High-expectation entrepreneurs are responsible
for up to eighty percent of total expected jobs
by all entrepreneurs
HIGH EXPECTATION
ENTREPRENEURS
TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS +
ENTREPRENEURSHIP =
HIGH-EXPECTATION ENTREPRENEURS
High-expectation entrepreneurs pursue the
intent of significantly growing their
companies

22. High-expectation start-ups drain enormous energy in the
build-up phase
Experimental Lab – A Collision Hall
High-expectation
start-ups are
detected and created
during high energy
collisions between
seemingly unrelated
business ideas
The business idea is treated as an assumption or conjecture
based on incomplete information and imprecise or vague
knowledge

23. E = MC
3
where E = Entrepreneurial energy; M = Motivations and attributes in
entrepreneurial behaviour; C (Creativity) raised to the third power:
Creativity in technology (creation) x Creativity in planning (conversion)
x Creativity in marketing (commercialization)

24. 3
E = MC
Power relations: creative
power that emerges when different
disciplines collide.

25. Incubator and Experimental Lab:
„Fission‟ and „Fusion‟ Processes
Potential
start-up
Splitting („fission‟) demand for
and supply of
premises and value-added
services
Merging („fusion‟)
together demand and
supply

26. Experimental Labs vs Incubators
Incubators
.Roots and rationale in the industrial era
.Based on (subsidized) protection of aspiring
entrepreneurs
Experimental labs
.Productivity-driven open models of innovation
.Young minds for new venture creation are opened
up and so much energized to be intelligently earlier
exposed to risk & control

27. Roller Coaster Profile of an
Experimental Lab
3. Maximum potential energy
at the top of the Hill
3
2
4
4. Down the Hill,
potential energy
turns into
kinetic (i.e.,
energy due its
motion)
1
2. When the business idea
climbs the „Experimentation Hill‟,
energy is expended and a
potential difference („potential
energy‟, stored in the lab) is
created
1. Business idea in its initial reference position in opposition to a force
(e.g., known unknowns, unknown unknowns, entry barriers, etc..)

28. Extraordinary: Large Deviations Make the
Difference
In experimental labs events supposed not
happening, happen
“normal” is
the focus
“extremes” are
the focus
You don‟t tame uncertainty
looking at extraordinary
events
We reward
acts of
prevention
rather than
treatment
Feedback loops
Cumulative, snowballs, arbitrary
and unpredictable effects
“extremes” are
the focus

29. The Experimental Lab community is a platform where business ideas are being posted looking for problem
seekers and problem solvers. The first actively seek out and attempt to deal with problems as they arise
from the Lab community ideas. The latter identify effective solutions by
enabling unobvious connections of different ideas. Teams of problem seekers and problem solvers are
interchangeable.
B
A
C
“I am going to use
my idea in my field
of use, and you are
welcome to use
it in your own field”
“Innovation is a body
contact sport. I search
for adjacent ideas – one
door leading to another
door – which ignites a
process of accretion.”

30. Interactionist identity
(“innovation is a body
contact sport”):
– search for adjacent ideas
(“one door leading to
another door”),
– which ignites a
process of accretion
(“accretive development”).

31. Playing cards in cafés instead of playing by business cards in
formal debates
1. High Context Communities of
Practice
2. Cafés-type Communities
of Practice
Are life forms whose behaviour
is organised from the bottom up
It was in coffee-houses that
commerce and new technology
first became intertwined.
3. Low Context Knowledge Communities

32. HOW?
BRAINSTROMING
„Do not criticize‟
“Decades of research have consistently
shown that brainstorming groups think
of far fewer ideas than the same number
of people who work alone and later pool
their ideas.”

33. HOW?
GROUPTHINK
„Debate and Criticize‟
“Do not inhibit ideas but, rather,
stimulate them relative to every
other condition”.
“Casual, cafe-style interactions,
but allow people to disappear
into personalized, private
spaces when they want to be
alone”.

34. Creating a community of innovators
Each participant show and test
her/his passion, motivation
aspiration, and attitude
1
ONE DAY
WORKSHOP
The organizer
proposes
1 to 3 themes
to be resolved
E.g.:
Smart City
Eco-energy
E-Health
……
Themes
detection
and
selection
Finding what is missing….
2
Candidates form
2 to 4 persons
teams of problem
seekers.
Each team must
analyzes in
details the theme
which has been
chosen
3
Each team
presents the
theme
detected into
its components
4
….and building something
that is interesting
6
Teams
of problem
solvers
elaborate
project
solutions
5
TEAM 1
Different in
composition
from team 1 of
problem seekers
Project
TEAM 2
Different in
composition
from team 2
of problem seekers
Project
TEAM 3
Different in
composition
from team 3
of problem seekers
Project
TEAM n
Presentations / Discussants
External
stimulus
….then
fixing it….
Jury
Senior
Jury
Junior
(successful
Start-up
founders)
Project
Winners
Alertness
Tutors, Mentors and Coaches provide support for
teams

35. Creating a community of innovators
Each participant show and test
her/his passion, motivation
aspiration, and attitude
External
stimulus
1
ONE DAY
WORKSHOP
The organizer
proposes
1 to 3 themes
to be resolved
E.g.:
Smart City
Eco-energy
E-Health
……
Themes
detection
and
selection
Alertness
Finding what is missing….
2
Candidates form
2 to 4 persons
teams of problem
seekers.
Each team must
analyzes in
details the theme
which has been
chosen
3
Each team
presents the
theme
detected into
its components
“If I had an hour to solve a problem
I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about
the problem and 5 minutes
thinking about solutions.”
― Albert Einstein
“The formulation of the problem is
often more essential than its solution,
which may be merely a matter of
mathematical or experimental skill.”
― Albert Einstein
“You cannot solve a problem with
the same level of consciousness that
created it.”
― Carl Jung
“It's so much easier to suggest
solutions when you don't know too
much about the problem.”
― Malcolm S. Forbes

36. EXPERIMENTAL DAY WORKSHOP
Traits of Entrepreneurial Teams
TEAMBUILDING
to form a tight group
IGNORANCE
“ignorance follows knowledge”
– the equivalent of open-mindedness,
which gives the strength to take a stance
different from the traditional one and
set out into unknown paths
KNOWLEDGE
to get the maximum
of knowledge and
information
ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS
participants
with diversified,
complementary
background
SHARING
“I am going to use my idea in my
field of use, and you are welcome
to use it in your own field”
CREATIVITY
to form a creative spirit
GROUPTHINKING
to generate ideas

37. Process
Team mode. Each participant engaged in a team (size: 2 to 4 individuals)
Each participant can change team during the experimental phase.
Two or more team can merger. " I use your idea in the field you don't" is
an example of an operational tool.
Participants work in parallel
Participants are supported by mentors and coaches.

38. Mentor and Coach – Profiles
Mentor: Facilitate, Question, Listen; Challenge, Build, Inspire
Coach: Instruct, Direct, Teach; Engagement with transformation
(changing direction, breaking new ground)

39. Outputs
• Experimenting with business ideas
• Learning how to turn ideas into opportunities serving the market
• Learning how to engineer high level of creativity and initiative
• Getting immersed in a community of innovators
• Gaining confidence in mastering intercultural exchange
• Learning how to capitalize on brain circulation

40. BUSINESS CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
1. Concept Description
2. Value Proposition
To Customer
To Company
3. Commercial Potential
Estimated Market Size & Revenues
Total Revenue
4. Competitive Advantage
5. Feasibility

41. Questions to answer
1. What's the Problem, the Opportunity?
2. What is the solution found and how it works?
3. What are the benefits of the solution and how does it
differ?
4. For whom is the solution important and what
community or social subjects would benefit from it?
5. What are the estimated costs to implement the idea?
6. What are the pros and cons of the idea and the
difficulties?

42. Jury: Criteria of Evaluation
NOME
DESCRIZIONE
PESO
Marks: from 1 to 6
Magnitude of the
Idea
Reform or Redefinition of the Market
35%
Business Model
Key resources, Value Proposition and Marketing
20%
Economics
Impact, Costs, Revenues
10%
Feasibility
SWOT Matrix
35%
42

44. CROWDFUNDING and…
• The 2013 crowdfunding report by Massolution stated that
around
billion in transactions occurred globally in
2013. That’s around a 100 percent increase from 2012
when $2.6 billion was raised.
$5.1
• A new report produced by Richard Schwartz for the World
Bank states that the annual total market potential of the
entire crowdfunding industry could reach
$300
billion by 2025. China’s potential could reach
$47.6 billion, while Europe and central Asia could
reach $13.8 billion.

45. …..BITCOIN
• A fascinating use case for Bitcoin is micropayments,
or ultrasmall payments. Micropayments have never
been feasible because it is not cost effective to run
small payments (think $1 and below, down to
pennies or fractions of a penny) through the existing
credit/debit and banking systems. The fee structure
of those systems makes that nonviable.
• With Bitcoin, that’s trivially easy. Bitcoins have the
nifty property of infinite divisibility: currently down
to eight decimal places after the dot, but more in the
future. So you can specify an arbitrarily small amount
of money, like a thousandth of a penny, and send it to
anyone in the world for free or near-free.

47. Finale
There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only
experiments with unexpected outcomes
Richard Buckminster
US engineer and architect, 1895-1983
It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is,
it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If doesn’t
agree with experiment, it’s wrong
Richard Feynman
American theoretical physicist, 1918-1988