Episode 43

Entrepreneur or corporate explorer? A new choice for innovators.

by Mind The Innovation | Jul 19, 2022 | Company Culture, Leadership, Management, Strategy

Andy Binns Guest Mind The Innovation Podcast

Corporate explorers are people who use their experience within a corporation to help launch new ventures. The biggest difference between corporate explorers and entrepreneurs is speed. Entrepreneurs tend to focus on creating a great product and growing it organically, whereas corporate explorers tend to focus on finding a market and scaling rapidly.

Host

Sannah Vinding

Guest

Andy Binns

Episode

E43

Andy Binns

Director and Co-Founder of Change Logic, LLC

Co-Author of Corporate Explorer • Co-Founder of The Corporate Explorers Club • Fast Company Executive Board Member • Innovation Advisor

LinkedIn

I look at a Corporate Explorer and I see not only somebody who is driving a new business and new business model and new capability but also incubating a culture.

Andy Binns

To learn more the book: Corporate Explorer

Contact Andy

Andy talks about how corporate explorers are individuals who build innovative businesses within corporations. He talks about the rise of corporate explorers as one example of how companies are stepping up their efforts to find, nurture, and deploy new technologies. Corporations already own the ideas, resources, and critical talent to create disruptive innovation. But they need a way to bring these innovations to market quickly and efficiently. He also talks about how corporate explorers are an important part of this process because they can help identify promising technologies that might not be obvious or easy to develop on your own.

Key takeaways:

When you hire a Corporate Explorer you should expect them to bring new ideas into the company, and help change the culture.

Corporate explorers are people who use their experience within a corporation to help launch new ventures.

Creativity is the most important skill in today’s workplace and creativity is about originality, innovation, and risk-taking.

Corporate explorers can bring their knowledge of how things work in a big company to the table. They understand what resources are available to them, and can leverage those resources to make a successful business.

The role of corporate explorers is evolving as companies look to build more strategic partnerships with startups and other external partners, but it’s still critical to have them in place. As we move into a new era of innovation, where technology will play a larger role in driving business growth, these corporate explorers will become even more essential.

Corporate explorers are the bridge between your company and the startup ecosystem. They help you understand what’s happening on the ground, how startups are using emerging technologies, and how they can be applied to your own products or services

Explorers don’t just look at things from one perspective. They see what others might miss. Explorers think differently about problems. And they take risks. So how do you become an explorer? Start by asking yourself some questions. Are you curious about everything around you? Do you like learning new things? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you’re ready to start exploring.