This is the first priority: understanding the needs of future users. We gather these through interviews, obtaining input for the brainstorming process. In the Explore workshop, the findings are analysed and structured. It takes about three hours. The participants include innovation managers as well as technology and market experts. Now we are ready for step two: Create.

Hopefully, the ideas are flowing now. Product, service or business model ideas are developed in a creative workshop. At the highest level. Sifting through the ideas is also necessary: before moving on, the most promising ideas are selected.

An exciting moment: time to turn the ideas into so-called ‘minimum viable products’ (MVPs), i.e., testable prototypes of the future business model. Where do we build the prototypes? Simply use our prototype labs: the Kitchen Lab, Maker Space or Free Software Lab. Whichever you need.

Now we go out to potential users: together with them, we test the MVPs (minimum viable products). In doing so, we find out whether the development really meets their needs and thus has a chance of success. Relevant feedback is incorporated into the adaptation of the offer.

The rewards of hard work. Always exciting. The previous four steps all led up to this moment: moderating the design of a business model. As Einstein famously said, ‘If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solution.’