09 November 14 Navigating innovation – Three journeys that you should know about.

The RMIT Business Lecture Series is a partnership between RMIT University, Ernst & Young and VESKI. The series of engaging presentations are designed to promote innovation in the Victorian business and academic communities. The October event featured three Australian innovators, Abigail Forsyth, Andy Butler and Stuart Elliott, sharing the realities, triumphs and pitfalls of their personal journeys through the business minefield.

Each story was unique, but if there was a common theme that resonated with me it was people. Each presenter had an interesting take not only on how they approach innovation in their business, but also on hiring the right people for their business.

Abigail Forsyth,
CEO and Founder, KeepCup

It was while Abigail was working at Bluebag, the café she started with her brother in 1998, that she became concerned at the amount of packaged waste that the business and its customers were generating.

Abigail wondered why nobody had created a quality non-disposable coffee cup. There were options available, but no single product was fit for purpose. In her talk, Abigail shared how this inkling of an idea grew to a desire to create a reusable cup that not only looked great but was suitable for specialty coffee.

Their innovative product, KeepCup, a high-quality reusable coffee cup, has sold more than 300 million units in 32 countries to date.

The easier task was encouraging people to reuse a cup. But the bigger problem was centred on making it user-friendly for the baristas working behind the machines. Reusable cups simply weren’t designed to complement espresso and specialty coffee machines. Abigail needed to ensure her cup fit under the espresso machine and that it was strong enough to withstand pressure when people pushed down to apply the lid.

Out of a process of iterative design and prototyping, KeepCup was created. The company has set the standard for elegant, reusable and barista-friendly coffee cups. And generated huge sales, awareness and applause for its initiative.

As a digital producer, I found Abigail’s use of metrics compelling. KeepCup is now looking to track and accurately measure its reuse numbers – not just the number of sales. It begs the questions: Is KeepCup successful if they sell one million cups? Or, is the company more successful if half of those million cups are actively reused?

It’s an interesting duality: for any profit-driven business, increasing sales and markets would make anyone happy. While this is important for KeepCup, during her presentation I could see that profit is not the single factor that drives Abigail on.  She is genuinely excited to see people use their KeepCup time and time again.

In December, KeepCup launches a campaign to reward people with items such as T-shirts when they reuse their cup. It’s an invitation to be part of the #ReuseRevolution. It will be interesting to see how the campaign develops and where it leads.

So, the next time you order a takeaway coffee, ponder the question of what is really important for your business.

Andy Butler
Managing Director, Textor Technologies

Andy Butler’s family-owned business manufactures non-woven textiles, such as nappies, for the global hygiene industry. Andy was a refreshing presenter, who wasn’t afraid to illustrate and share the problems facing his business. His openness and sense of humour in talking about nappies endeared him to the audience.

Andy opened up about the challenges in collaborating with researchers. And in doing so, he raised an interesting issue: once collaboration is underway, the discussions inevitably turn to who owns or manages intellectual property (IP). It’s a discussion that can quickly put the brakes on the creative and innovation process.

Through Textor’s ongoing relationship with CSIRO, Andy was one of the first businesses to participate in the Researchers in Business (RIB) program, where a scientist is embedded in an organisation for 12 months. Andy put the CSIRO scientist’s desk next to his. It was a calculated move, designed to ensure the scientist was exposed to sales calls, business decisions and the everyday challenges of the business. Naturally, the scientist became aware of the problems Andy and his clients were facing. Together, they started to talk about possible solutions.

One such problem was leaking nappies – a problem Textor’s key client, Kimberly Clark, was also keen to solve. Regular nappies had no way of guiding waste away from the body. In collaboration with the CSIRO, Textor devised a new 3D material that increases nappy absorbency.

The new material is superior in its ability to absorb and contain a baby’s bowel movements. It minimises the ‘spread’ within the nappy, leaving their skin noticeably cleaner and more protected than other products.

The innovation allowed Kimberly Clark to secure a greater share of the market. This in turn, had a positive flow on effect for Textor Technologies. Textor doubled their capacity and are now the global supplier of these products to Kimberly Clark.

While most companies or entrepreneurs are reluctant to hand over the rights to their IP, Andy and his team made the decision to focus on the manufacturing side of the business. Otherwise, they risked getting bogged down in IP protection that may hinder further innovation. They entrusted Kimberly Clark to manage that process and were rewarded with sole manufacturing rights of the material used in the nappies worldwide.

It was a brave decision. While most entrepreneurs would baulk at handing over their precious IP, Andy decided that it would serve the company better to focus on what they are great at.

Now, Andy is facing the ‘good’ problem of trying to expand fast enough to keep up with the overwhelming demand.

Stuart Elliott
Co-founder and Managing Director, Planet Innovation

Stuart Elliot left the comfort of employee life to start Planet Innovation with three business partners. Planet Innovation exists to develop and commercialise products that have a positive impact on the world. It provides technology innovation and product development expertise to turn technologies into products. The company consistently delivers commercial success.

Beginning as product designers, the quartet soon recognised the real opportunity lay in manufacturing. This caused a significant shift in the business. During Stuart’s talk, he emphasised the need for businesses to be nimble enough to grab an opportunity and not let it slide by.

Stuart also made the bold statement to not write a business plan. It’s an interesting approach, but not one I agree with. I believe the process of writing a business plan helps you shape what you want and don’t want to do in your business. My interpretation of his comment is this: be conscious and flexible enough to pivot and take on unknown opportunities.

Stuart talked about Planet Innovation’s approach to product innovation. Brainstorming sessions, for example, include a diverse team. There’s usually an engineer, a designer, a marketer and the client. This process ensures they don’t over engineer a product from the beginning and that the design is based on the requirements of the client and their client’s customers.

I was really impressed with his own and his company’s ability to shift, adapt and pivot to take on new opportunities. Its one of the reasons they’ve grown from 4 to 100 people in under 5 years.

People – making ideas happen

I find the best presentations leave me walking away with an idea that resonates or makes me question myself or my approach to work. Each presentation gave me an interesting insight into how innovation works across different businesses. But at this event, what resonated was each presenter’s take on people.

Andy talked about the stress of dealing with a rapidly expanding business. He needs to employ people fast enough to cope with demand.

Abigail discussed bringing the right skill set into the KeepCup team. Abigail and her brother decided to bring across people who had originally worked in the café. While this was great in terms of culture and morale, by not hiring people with expertise in an area, it meant they learnt the hard way about bringing a product to market.

Stuart talked about finding a great mix of skill-sets and experience. Most importantly, that staff are open to changing the way things are done.

These perspectives made me think about the timeliness of bringing new people in to grow a business. It made me ponder about the value of hiring people with the right skills and experience to get ahead of the learning curve.

What I started to think about is this: it’s not just about hiring the right fit for the job you need done. The ideal hire is someone who has the attitude and ability to change the business for the better.

If you want your business to innovate, then hiring the right people will determine just how successful your journey will be.

What are your thoughts on hiring the right mix of people for your business?