Meet Stepwise Innovation!

I’m excited to announce that Paper Ventures has rebranded, and to introduce you to Stepwise Innovation!

Stepwise is a training and consulting firm that helps corporate innovation teams discover and develop transformational ideas. 

Why a rebrand?

Over the past 8 years of working in-house and as a consultant in the corporate innovation space, I've had the gift of collaborating with intrepreneurs to discover, design, and launch new products and ventures. 

Corporate innovators exist in a novel environment. Building new things with the resources and backing of a large enterprise can be exhilarating and exciting and impactful. All the while, these individuals are working to juggle the founder-like responsibilities of a startup within the dynamics of the corporate structure. 

They’re being asked to do something they have never done before without much guidance.

They’re being asked to develop transformational ideas, but without the in-house talent to deliver on them. 

They struggle to bring structure to what can be an overwhelming process. 

They’re often unsure where to focus or where to take action, costing them time, money, and morale. 

Having now worked with tens and tens of corporate innovation teams, the patterns are the same. 

The most-commonly sourced solutions available to these teams are human-centered design firms. They’re really good at what they do - but they lack true empathy and experience for the corporate innovator. The process focuses on design purity over corporate adaptation, and these projects end up never seeing the light of day. They’re pushed out by the corporate immune system. 

Over these past 8 years, I’ve learned that what our clients don’t need is another flashy design firm to show up, drop off some mock-ups and then leave. 

I’ve learned that what our clients need is a true partner committed to ensuring their success, one that’s going to help them manage up as well as manage out, and a new product design and development process that’s specifically designed for the corporate innovation space. 

Stepwise is built on those tenets. We exist to help our clients make an impact faster - both within their organization and in the lives of those they serve. 

The Stepwise Solution

We bring clients through our Align, Discover, Design, Strategy, & Build phases either in a By-Your-Side Training model or a Done-For-You Consulting model. 

Having worked with teams at Liberty Mutual, GE Healthcare, John Deere, and Hartford Insurance, we’ve developed a proprietary new product development process that is proven to save time, money, and frustration. 

What makes our process different?

• It’s built for corporate innovation. We are built upon proven product methodologies, but are built specifically for the unique needs of the corporate environment. 
• It’s step-by-step and transparent. We don’t rely on magic or mystery. Our process, logic, and tools are easy to understand and entirely open source so your team is successful long after we meet. 
• It focuses on speed to evidence and data. You find out early if something is going to work or if you need to pivot, all while building a strong case to share with leadership. ‍
• It’s designed for external and internal customers. Most innovation processes ignore internal customers entirely or treat them as an afterthought. We apply the same empathy and rapid prototyping methodologies to your internal customers from the start to increase your success down the road.

Stay tuned for more updates over the coming months. If you'd like to connect, grab some time here.