innovation accelerator

How an Innovation Accelerator Can Supercharge Your Company’s Innovation Strategy

An innovation accelerator is one of the most effective methods large companies can use to nurture breakthrough ideas and scale them into viable products or services. Unlike traditional methods of innovation, accelerators focus on speed, providing the resources, mentorship, and infrastructure that internal teams or startups need to rapidly bring their ideas to market. In today’s competitive landscape, businesses must innovate constantly to maintain a competitive edge, and accelerators help them do so in a structured, high-impact way.

This article will explore what innovation accelerators are, how they benefit businesses, and how to set up an effective accelerator program to drive internal and external innovation.

What Is an Innovation Accelerator?

An innovation accelerator is a program designed to rapidly scale innovative solutions into market-ready solutions by providing resources such as mentorship, funding, and technical support. However, the term “innovation accelerator” can refer to several types of initiatives:

Corporate Accelerators: Programs run by companies to nurture internal projects or collaborate with startups to bring new solutions to market.

Startup Accelerators: These programs focus on helping early-stage startups scale their business by providing mentorship, funding, and market access.

Academic or Research-Based Accelerators: These programs are tied to research institutions or universities, helping academic innovations transition into commercial ventures.

For this article, we’ll focus on corporate innovation accelerators, which allow large companies to fast-track their innovation efforts. These accelerators offer key advantages such as reducing time-to-market for new ideas, fostering a culture of innovation, and enabling partnerships with startups. By providing access to expert guidance and resources, corporate accelerators help companies refine ideas more effectively and achieve higher innovation ROI.

How to Set Up an Innovation Accelerator Program

Creating a successful corporate innovation accelerator requires a focused approach that aligns with your company’s strategic goals and fosters both internal and external innovation.

1. Define Clear Objectives and Align with Corporate Strategy

The first step is to determine what you want to achieve with your accelerator. Are you aiming to scale internal innovations or partner with external startups? Your objectives should directly support the company’s broader innovation goals. For example, if your focus is to develop new products or services, your accelerator should be designed to fast-track projects that align with these outcomes. Establish KPIs from the outset to measure success, such as the number of new products launched or strategic partnerships formed.

2. Secure Leadership Buy-In and Funding

A successful accelerator requires both financial resources and leadership backing. Gain C-suite support by emphasizing the long-term benefits, such as increased innovation ROI, faster time-to-market, and access to external ideas. Highlight successful case studies or data to demonstrate potential outcomes. Securing adequate funding is crucial for providing participants with access to necessary resources like expert mentors, R&D infrastructure, and prototyping tools.

3. Build a Strong Network of Mentors and Partners

A vital component of any accelerator is the network of mentors, partners, and experts that support participants. Build a diverse advisory group consisting of internal leaders, industry experts, and external partners, such as venture capitalists or technology specialists. This network not only guides the teams but also opens doors to additional resources and market opportunities. For external startup collaboration, establish partnerships with universities, research centers, and startup hubs.

4. Offer Comprehensive Resources and Support

An accelerator is only as effective as the resources it provides. Ensure participants have access to everything they need, from office space and R&D facilities to marketing, legal, and financial guidance. This support accelerates the development process and helps teams move quickly from ideation to execution. For external startups, offer tools that can integrate their solutions with the company’s infrastructure, ensuring smoother collaborations and reducing friction.

5. Create a Competitive and Collaborative Environment

The best accelerators foster both competition and collaboration. By designing challenges or competitions within the accelerator, you motivate participants to push boundaries and strive for excellence. At the same time, create a collaborative environment where teams can share insights, test ideas, and build on one another’s innovations. This could be achieved through regular pitch sessions, cross-departmental teamwork, or shared digital platforms that encourage open communication.

6. Continuously Evaluate and Iterate

Regular evaluation is key to long-term success. Track the progress of projects using your predefined KPIs, and gather feedback from participants throughout the program. This will allow you to make real-time adjustments, whether it’s providing more resources, bringing in additional expertise, or pivoting a project’s direction. After each accelerator cycle, conduct a full review and refine the program to ensure future iterations are even more impactful.

Leveraging Innovation Accelerator Software to Support Your Accelerator

Innovation management software can play a critical role in optimizing corporate accelerators by streamlining idea evaluation, collaboration, and tracking. There are several types of software that can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your innovation accelerator program:

Idea Management Software

This software enables companies to collect, prioritize, and evaluate ideas from both internal teams and external partners. By providing a centralized platform, it simplifies the process of identifying high-potential ideas for the accelerator. Teams can submit concepts, and decision-makers can quickly review and filter ideas based on criteria like feasibility, market potential, and alignment with company strategy. Additionally, it helps track progress from idea submission to implementation, ensuring that promising innovations aren’t lost in the shuffle.

Technology Scouting Software

Technology scouting software is crucial when working with external startups in an accelerator. It helps companies identify and track emerging technologies or innovative startups that align with their strategic objectives. This type of software allows for a more structured approach to finding external innovation, simplifying the search for potential collaborators. This can significantly expand the range of solutions the accelerator brings into the company, ensuring a constant flow of fresh, cutting-edge ideas from the outside.

Innovation Portfolio Management Software

Managing multiple innovation projects within an accelerator can become complex, especially in large organizations. Innovation portfolio management software provides oversight of all ongoing projects, helping teams assess which initiatives are delivering value and which may need further resources or adjustments. This tool enables decision-makers to monitor progress, allocate resources effectively, and ensure that projects are aligned with the company’s overall strategic goals. With a clear view of the innovation portfolio, companies can prioritize high-potential projects and avoid wasting resources on initiatives that don’t align with long-term objectives.

Case Study: ICL’s BIG Innovation Accelerator

ICL Group’s BIG (Business Innovation for Growth) Accelerator, launched in 2020, showcases how innovation accelerators can harness internal innovation at scale. Unlike traditional accelerators that focus on external startups, BIG focuses on crowdsourcing ideas from over 13,000 employees worldwide through the PITCH BIG platform, powered by Qmarkets’ idea management software.

The program is designed around three core objectives: enhancing ideation, accelerating execution, and improving collaboration. A network of over 300 internal experts evaluates ideas, ensuring high-quality projects progress swiftly. By 2022, BIG had generated $262 million in annual operating income, with over 1,150 completed projects.

ICL's innovation accelerator
ICL’s accelerator is achieving outstanding success.

What makes BIG unique is its focus on internal innovation, where employees play a central role in driving ideas. The program emphasizes transparent performance tracking with the BIG Index, fostering healthy competition and engagement across business units. This internal focus contrasts with conventional accelerators that typically partner with startups for external innovation.

Best practices from BIG include fostering a culture of transparency and accountability through performance metrics, rewarding employee contributions, and aligning innovation efforts with strategic business goals. Other organizations can adopt these principles to encourage greater engagement and internal collaboration within their own accelerators.

The success of BIG demonstrates how a well-structured internal accelerator, backed by robust idea management software, can transform employee insights into impactful business results, driving both innovation and operational efficiency.

Building a Strong Corporate Innovation Accelerator

A successful corporate innovation accelerator can help companies rapidly scale innovative ideas, both internally and through external collaborations. By aligning the accelerator with strategic goals, securing leadership buy-in, and providing the right resources, businesses can accelerate time-to-market and boost innovation ROI. Essential elements like strong mentorship networks, transparent performance metrics, and robust idea management software enhance the effectiveness of these programs. With the right structure in place, corporate accelerators can drive both innovation and long-term competitiveness, transforming ideas into real business value.

Explore how Qmarkets suite of innovation management solutions can drive success for your innovation accelerator.

Charlie Lloyd Author
Charlie Lloyd

Charlie is an innovation strategist at Qmarkets. He started his innovation journey at a boutique consultancy in London, where he worked with some of the world’s leading retail and CPG brands. In his spare time, he’s a voracious reader of crime fiction and an avid supporter of Arsenal FC.

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