Innovation Projects Transforming into Tangible Results: The Workinlot Approach

As Workinlot, we offer solutions for companies to identify innovation opportunities and systematically manage outsourced technology collaborations within rapidly changing market and competitive dynamics.

Since 2016, we have developed four core service areas that address the corporate innovation needs of companies of different sizes and industries: 

• Corporate acceleration program design and management services
• Innovation opportunity and demand identification services
• Corporate open innovation platform design and management services
• Innovation management consultancy

Below, we will provide details on the services offered for different corporate goals and the impact they created.

Corporate acceleration program design and management services

Acceleration programs aim to identify startups that are a good fit for a corporation's specific needs and to develop proof-of-concept (PoC ) solutions with them in a short time. These programs encourage startups to develop problem-oriented solutions aligned with the strategic focus areas of the sponsoring organization, rather than giving general presentations.

One of the most important stages of the program is the demo days, which allow operational business units to directly interact with potential solution partners, ask questions, and evaluate collaboration potential. Ecosystem-focused programs also take into account feedback from other investors and companies, in addition to the sponsoring organization.

Based on our analyses, the acceleration program we conducted in the field of artificial intelligence led to the highest number of startup collaborations (6 startups). In terms of total investment, the Industry 4.0 program reached the highest value.

Innovation opportunity and demand identification services

The new competition and market dynamics, as well as new regulations brought about by the information age, are increasing the frequency of innovation across industries. This process, which we call scope development, supports companies in continuously evaluating new opportunities and collaboration possibilities.

 

We identify opportunities and needs from 3 different sources:

1. Painstorming Workshops: Curation of insights about daily process challenges, competitive opportunities, and customer interaction insights with internal business units.

2. Ideation Workshops: We leverage design thinking principles to help employees develop new business ideas specific to the organization.

3. Industry Innovation Benchmark Studies: Research examining innovations developed in competitive environments in domestic and foreign markets, and startup collaboration methods.

Corporate open innovation platform design and management services

Open innovation platforms enable your company to regularly attract new ideas, technologies, and expertise from the outside world.

 

The criteria we focus on when designing our open innovation platforms are:

• Clear Communication: Preparing call content in a language that all stakeholders can understand, which is clear and encourages collaboration.
• Secure and Transparent Engagement for Retention: Designing a digital interface and project management infrastructure for collaboration.
• Stakeholder Management: Establishing governance mechanisms where trade secrets are protected and intellectual property rights are clear.
• Accountability: Designing concrete, PoC-based (Proof of Concept-based) measurement processes.

The benefits we observed on these platforms were not limited to technology transfer and reputation management. The strategy of independent PoC project management also enabled us to transform operational data, acquired through objective means, into valuable business intelligence for competition.

Corporate Innovation Consulting

Corporate innovation consultancy services support companies' ongoing innovation and digital transformation activities throughout the year, helping them adapt to constantly changing market dynamics.

With this service, we:

• Facilitate interaction between business units and external new solution developers.
• Provide regular insights into changes in competition and opportunities for innovation.
• Support the management and monitoring of collaboration projects with domestic and foreign companies.

The flexible work structure that comes with regular collaboration enables the organization to move with agility in innovation efforts that are in harmony with changing market and competitive dynamics. In a business world where corporate priorities can change rapidly, we have seen that creating a buffer zone between technology producers and the organization can prevent a loss of time and reputation for both the startup and the company.

Impact of Corporate Engagement on Startups

Our case studies aim to share the impact of open innovation for corporations.

Another way to measure the value we've created with our services is by looking at the valuation metrics of the startups we've managed in our PoC projects.

Since we started our open innovation initiatives in 2018:

• Over 1,000 startup applications have been reviewed, with detailed interviews conducted with selected candidates.
• More than 50 PoC projects were launched, and 22 of these evolved into full-time contracts or product/service purchases.
• The most frequent areas of collaboration were in **blockchain, image processing, and big data.
• As of 2024, the startups that successfully converted collaborations have collectively raised over $23 million in investment**.
• Seven startups were able to expand their operations internationally after validating their value in the local market.

These figures are the best proof of how proper matching and independent project management create a win-win situation for both corporations and startups.

We continue iterating our approach, combining companies' industry expertise with our own expertise in open innovation and independent PoC project management.