Technology for Innovation’s Sake
The Fourth Annual Corporate Entrepreneurship Forum, kicking off November 16, 2022
Sponsored by
Forum Keynote Speaker Rebecca Nugent. Data Based Corporate Startups: Building Data Pipelines
Click below to view the entire 2022 Corporate Entrepreneurship Forum Video Library
Themes
A common critique, “oh, that is just technology for innovation’s sake” has unfortunately been applicable to an increasing number of projects. However, there have also been technology initiatives that unlocked massive value for customers and ultimately transformed enterprises. Technology can and must play the role of a key enabler of transformative innovation.
The 2022 Forum was subdivided into “Blocks” centered around emerging trends in Technological Innovation.
Technology Transformation in Retail
Presented in partnership with ENAiBLE
Data Based Corporate Startups
Featuring Professor Rebecca Nugent and Professor Adam Paulisick
“Hype vs Reality”
What trends are making real impacts, and which are fluff. Featured fields: A.I. (presented by Professor John Zimmerman), Design Thinking (Professor Paul Pangaro), and Robotics (Matthew Johnson-Roberson).
Click for the Full list of speakers and See below for the full schedule below!
Featured Carnegie Mellon Faculty
Adam Paulisick
Rebecca Nugent
John Zimmerman
Paul Pangaro
Matthew Johnson-Roberson
Forum Schedule
Tuesday, November 15th
7:00pm Speaker and Sponsor Dinner at the Oaklander Hotel (invite only)
Wednesday, November 16th
7:45am Doors Open & Breakfast Served
8:45am Welcome to Forum
9:00am Innovation Contrast: Public Giant Versus Private Equity
An interview of Tony Muscato, President and CEO Ignite Growth Partners
by Dave Mawhinney, Executive Director of Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center.
9:45am Hype vs Reality - First Presentation
10:05am Coffee Break
10:20am Technology Transformation in Retail
In collaboration with CMU ENAiBLE, we’ll have a block of programming exploring
how technology has transformed retail. This will block of content will include:
A short presentation from a Google Commerce Product Manager
A panel of industry experts
An overview of the startup landscape
Two startups providing brief elevator pitches
While the emphasis will be on retail, we believe the transformation retail has
been through are relevant for all industries today.
Noon Lunch, presented by Sopheon
12:45 Presentations from Entrepreneurial Grad Students
1:10 Data Based Corporate Startups
Over the last few years, we’ve observed that often the best IP for your next
corporate startup is sitting on the servers as “exhaust” from other products /
customer interactions. Given the increasing interest in AI & Machine Learning,
this should only increase. Across this block of content will include:
A presentation by Rebecca Nugent, The Stephen E and Joyce Fienberg Professor in Statistics & Data Science and Head, Department of Statistics & Data Science @ CMU on building data pipelines
A panel moderated by Adam Paulisick with industry leaders at companies leveraging data today.
An interview of Matt DeLorenzo, Business Director at SafetyIO by Laurie Barkman Adjunct Professor of Corporate Entrepreneurship @ CMU/Founder of SmallDotBig
A conversation around the learning and development issues around changing your culture to be ready to capitalize on these opportunities.
3:05 Coffee Break
3:20 Hype vs Reality - Second Presentation
3:40 Tips on Recruiting Students
A brief presentation from Carnegie Mellon Career Services on recruiting at CMU.
3:50 Corporate VC
An interview of Janis Naeve, Partner at Cota Capital, by Joseph Cabral, an Assistant
Professor at the Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems (LSU)
The discussion will center on how CVCs can add value beyond their investment dollars.
4:30 Hype vs Reality - Third Presentation
4:50 Innovation Plus R&D
This panel will look at how R&D and Innovation groups can (and must)
collaborate closer together and examples of successful internal innovation from
those collaborations.
5:30 Networking Reception & Heavy Appetizers
Thursday, November 17th
8:15 Continental Breakfast
8:45 Welcome & Agenda Review
· Who’s here today?
· Forum Take-Aways
9:15 Corporate Startup Canvas by Lou Musante & CSL Team
THINK THROUGH YOUR IDEAS
The Corporate Startup Canvas is a tool to help corporate entrepreneurs think through innovative ideas and identify where and how they could fit within an organization. It poses fundamental questions that will help a person or team evaluate ideas, communicate essential information about them, and identify strengths and needs. The goal when answering the questions should not just be to find correct right answers with certainty, but to find multiple potential correct answers where there is uncertainty.
10:00 Break
10:15 C-Suite Pitch by Melissa Murphy & CSL Team
CLARIFY YOUR MESSAGE BEFORE YOU PITCH
One of the most common problems faced by corporate entrepreneurs, especially new ones, is encountering questions and challenges they hadn’t considered. While startup founders all have to wear many hats and perform many job functions, employees of larger companies are more specialized, which can constrain the focus of both a corporate entrepreneur and members of his or her audience. We’ve developed a framework to help you clarify both your message and thinking before pitching your idea.
11:00 Break
11:15 Option Gate: Valuing Innovation by Matt Crespi (Virtual)
CONSIDER THE COSTS AND RISKS
Applying traditional corporate financial models to internal investment decisions for innovation projects is an inherently flawed exercise. Those models are well-suited for lower-variance outcomes where point estimates are useful decision drivers (think about IRR valuing a series of cash flows or NPV being calculated off the center of a normal distribution). But the speculative nature and potentially outsized returns of truly disruptive new products and services demand a different approach.
By combining the logic of a gated innovation management approach and the mathematical underpinnings of options pricing, the Corporate Startup Lab has developed a valuation tool to help figure out what these innovative ideas are really worth. This tool considers not only the potential economic returns of an idea but also the costs and risks of pursuing it. The value of an idea will go up if the startup team can investigate the riskiest parts of the idea earlier and cheaper.
