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Industry article
7 ways start-ups are placing the
customer at the heart of innovation
2014 has seen the rise of the term ‘digital disruption.’ It’s being written about, it’s being spoken about and
clearly it’s something that can no longer be ignored. No matter your organisation, big or small or what in-
dustry you’re in – digital disruption is coming for you. And the question is: are you prepared?
According to a report released earlier this year by Deloitte, 13 industries representing 65 per cent of the
economy are facing significant disruption by 2017.
And it’s a figure that’s set to rise in coming years, as new technologies continue to accelerate change and
disrupt traditional business models. As a result, organisations must now re-assess the core fundamentals of
their business to remain relevant and viable in a disruptive landscape, or risk getting left behind.
At the forefront of disruption are start–ups: new players who are emerging across a number of sectors, using
their agility to spot market opportunity and pursue it. They’re creating new markets were none previously
existed, or disrupting an existing market with a new business model or solution.
Put yourself in the shoes of a CEO of a large corporation and it’s easy to see why start-ups might appear to
be so threatening – they challenge traditional ways of business and their ability to connect with the digital
customer makes them a massive competitor.
But in many ways, start-ups aren’t so scary. And there are many ways big organisations can benefit from
thinking like a start-up.
Ahead of DigIT - Digital Disruption and Transformation we caught up with a few disrupters (AfroCab, Tappr,
PocketBook, CoinJar and IceOnline) to find out how they are placing innovation at the core of their business
model in a disruptive market.
Below are 7 ways big organisations can benefit from start-up thinking:
www.Digit-Transform.de
$
DigIT
1. Be creative and embrace the new
Now that digital disruption is here, it’s about realising old models aren’t going to work. Henk Kleynhans,
Chief Product Officer of AfroCab believes you have to think about the business model and the customer
right from the start. “There is a fair amount of creative thinking that needs to be applied if businesses want
to disrupt. It’s not just a case of creating faster processing power and trying to improve old models just by
using new techniques.
The big secret is not to expect things to continue to be done the ways they have been done in the past.
Especially within entrenched industries, there’s a sense of doing things the same for the past 100 years and
to continue to do it the same for 100 more. These big businesses need to think of ways to fundamentally
change things that many businesses will consider not changeable,” Henk says.
2. Support your customers well
The best start-ups that are really disrupting are those that are adding value to the consumer process. Nick
Molnar, Managing Director of IceOnline explains:
“Putting the customer at the heart of innovation is the big differentiator between start-ups and the bigger,
major players.

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Digital Disruption - Was kann Ihr Unternehmen von Startups lernen?

  • 1. Industry article 7 ways start-ups are placing the customer at the heart of innovation 2014 has seen the rise of the term ‘digital disruption.’ It’s being written about, it’s being spoken about and clearly it’s something that can no longer be ignored. No matter your organisation, big or small or what in- dustry you’re in – digital disruption is coming for you. And the question is: are you prepared? According to a report released earlier this year by Deloitte, 13 industries representing 65 per cent of the economy are facing significant disruption by 2017. And it’s a figure that’s set to rise in coming years, as new technologies continue to accelerate change and disrupt traditional business models. As a result, organisations must now re-assess the core fundamentals of their business to remain relevant and viable in a disruptive landscape, or risk getting left behind. At the forefront of disruption are start–ups: new players who are emerging across a number of sectors, using their agility to spot market opportunity and pursue it. They’re creating new markets were none previously existed, or disrupting an existing market with a new business model or solution. Put yourself in the shoes of a CEO of a large corporation and it’s easy to see why start-ups might appear to be so threatening – they challenge traditional ways of business and their ability to connect with the digital customer makes them a massive competitor. But in many ways, start-ups aren’t so scary. And there are many ways big organisations can benefit from thinking like a start-up. Ahead of DigIT - Digital Disruption and Transformation we caught up with a few disrupters (AfroCab, Tappr, PocketBook, CoinJar and IceOnline) to find out how they are placing innovation at the core of their business model in a disruptive market. Below are 7 ways big organisations can benefit from start-up thinking: www.Digit-Transform.de $ DigIT 1. Be creative and embrace the new Now that digital disruption is here, it’s about realising old models aren’t going to work. Henk Kleynhans, Chief Product Officer of AfroCab believes you have to think about the business model and the customer right from the start. “There is a fair amount of creative thinking that needs to be applied if businesses want to disrupt. It’s not just a case of creating faster processing power and trying to improve old models just by using new techniques. The big secret is not to expect things to continue to be done the ways they have been done in the past. Especially within entrenched industries, there’s a sense of doing things the same for the past 100 years and to continue to do it the same for 100 more. These big businesses need to think of ways to fundamentally change things that many businesses will consider not changeable,” Henk says. 2. Support your customers well The best start-ups that are really disrupting are those that are adding value to the consumer process. Nick Molnar, Managing Director of IceOnline explains: “Putting the customer at the heart of innovation is the big differentiator between start-ups and the bigger, major players.