23/2/2023

Innovation glossary: Every term you need to know

Innovation glossary: Every term you need to know

Accelerator

An accelerator is a type of company or program that aims to provide resources (both financial and tools or contact networks) to startups in their most initial phase, in order to accelerate their growth in the shortest possible time.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of measuring the practices and performance of a certain company in comparison with its competitors.

Blue ocean strategy

A blue ocean strategy is a set of actions with which a company seeks a new market for its product or service in order to minimize competition.

Business innovation

Business innovation or corporate innovation is a series of practices and strategies carried out in a company to achieve new objectives that go beyond the company's traditional framework of action.

Business model

The business model is the strategy that a company uses to generate revenue and profit.

Closed innovation

Closed innovation is a type of innovation that takes place within a company and uses its own resources, in terms of budget and human resources, without external collaboration, in order to develop new ideas, products, services or processes. It is also known as internal innovation.

Co-creation

Co-creation is the process of collaboration between various actors to develop new products or services.

Corporate venture builder

A corporate venture builder is a company that builds startups for a large company or corporation that hires their services. These startups are based on ideas developed jointly between the corporate and the venture builder and built by the venture builder's team of entrepreneurs.

Corporate venture capital

Corporate venture capital (CVC) is a financial operation that consists of a series of private investments made by a large company or corporation. These financial operations target small companies or startups. As it is an investment through shares, the investing corporation receives in return a small percentage of the company in which it invests.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is the process of getting ideas or solutions from a large and diverse group of people, often over the internet.

Design thinking

Design thinking is an approach to developing innovative products and services, characterized by being highly focused on the user and their point of view.

Disruptive innovation

Disruptive innovation is a type of business innovation that aims to change a business model or create a completely new one.

Disruption

Disruption is the process of breaking with the status quo of a company, market or sector through new products, services or business models.

Ecosystem

In the business world, an ecosystem is an environment in which companies, investors, customers, and other stakeholders interact.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating and running a business.

Equity

Equity are contributions made by the partners of a company, which constitute the capital of said company.

First-mover advantage

The first-mover advantage is the benefit of being the first company to introduce a product or service to a market.

Hackathon

A hackathon is a short and intense event in which a group of people come together to find solutions or ideas through technology.

Incremental innovation

Incremental innovation is a type of business innovation that aims to increase the profits of the company.

Incubator

An incubator is a program designed to help startups succeed, offering them basic services for their development, such as human resources, workspaces or training resources.

Innovation culture

The culture of innovation is a series of actions that promote creativity and innovation within a company, to give any idea that implies an improvement for the company.

Innovation hub

An innovation hub is a space where entrepreneurs, innovators, and companies work together to collaborate, gather new ideas, and potentially find new business opportunities.

Innovation lab

An innovation laboratory is a space within a company in which ideas are exchanged and developed.

Intercompany

Intercompany is an open innovation process in which independent companies come together to develop new ideas, products, services or processes.

Intracompany

An intracompany is an open innovation process in which several actors and departments of the same company collaborate to develop new ideas, products, services or processes.

Intrapreneurship

Intrapreneurship is the process of creating and running a new business at the core of a certain company, usually through the resources of the company.

Investment in R&D

Investment in R&D is the set of resources (generally monetary) invested in research and development to develop new products, services or processes.

Joint venture

A joint venture is a business association in which the partners share the capital risks and the profits generated.

Lateral innovation

Lateral innovation is a type of business innovation that aims to bring a certain product, service or process to a different market or sector, preserving its essence. It is also known as architectural or adjacent innovation.

Lean startup

Lean startup is the process of developing a new company by constantly validating its business model and iterating it when necessary.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

M&A (mergers and acquisitions) are transactions in which ownership of a company or a unit of the company is transferred to another entity.

Minimum viable product (MVP)

An MVP (minimum viable product) is a first working version of a product, with room for improvement and scaling.

Momentum

In the business world, momentum is a series of coincidences that cause a company to experience a high degree of success.

Open innovation

Open innovation is a type of innovation that consists of several independent parties collaborating in order to develop new ideas, products, services or processes. This collaboration can occur between different types of companies, institutions or people.

Patent

A patent is an exclusive right granted by a government or administration to protect an invention, discovery, or creation.

Pivot

In the business world, pivoting is the action of radically changing some aspect of a company, such as its product, service or business model, in order to turn the strategy towards a more successful one.

Private equity

Private equity is the process of investing private capital in a company that is not publicly traded or public.

Process innovation

Process innovation is a type of business innovation that aims to create new processes or improve existing ones to optimize the benefits of a company.

Product innovation 

Product innovation is a type of business innovation that aims to create new products or update existing ones with essential improvements.

Product-market fit 

Product-market fit is the moment in which a company identifies its target audience and provides a product or service that adds value.

Prototype

A prototype is an initial non-functional version of a product or service, which gives a general picture of what the idea will look like when it is carried out.

Proof of concept (PoC)

A proof of concept is a process used to test and evaluate the feasibility of an idea before starting to develop it. It is also known as proof of principle.

Research and development (R&D)

Research and development (R&D) is the process of researching and developing new products, services, or processes.

Spin-in

In the business world, spin-in is the process of acquiring a startup by an existing company.

Spin-off

In the business world, a spin-off is a company that is created from an existing company.

Startup

A startup is a small business, usually with a focus on innovation, and experiencing rapid growth.

Startup scouting

A startup is a small business, usually with a focus on innovation, and experiencing rapid growth.

Startup-as-a-service

Startup-as-a-service is a business model in which the service offered by a company is the creation of a startup.

Venture

A venture is a business action that carries a certain degree of risk, with the belief that it will result in a high profit.

Venture builder

A venture builder is a company that builds startups. These startups are based on their own ideas and built by their own team of entrepreneurs. These startups are financed by the own resources of the venture builder or investors.

Venture building

Venture building is a business movement that consists of creating business ideas with a certain degree of risk with the belief that it will result in a high benefit.

Venture capital (VC)

Venture capital (VC) is a financial operation that consists of a series of private investments. These financings are carried out in the form of actions aimed at small companies or startups that have a lot of growth potential and a high level of risk. As it is an investment through shares, the investing entity receives in return a small percentage of the company in which it invests.

Venture client

The venture client is a model by which a company buys the product or service of a startup for strategic purposes.

Venture studio

A venture studio is a company that builds startups for other companies. These startups may or may not be based on your own ideas and are validated by your own team, developed by your own team of entrepreneurs, and later transferred to an external team.

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