THE CORPORATE INNOVATION PROBLEM
Innovation is happening faster than corporations can respond and startups are competing sooner.
Corporations don’t seem to have the right talent to innovate because their top talent is leaving to become entrepreneurs.
Innovation programs in corporations are needlessly expensive and don’t provide urgent value.
"Innovation Consultants" are selling companies outdated, bloated, unprofitable methodologies & training and most have NEVER built a profitable product or company, from scratch, as an entrepreneur themselves. Why would you trust them to help you do what they could not do for themselves?
CORPORATE INNOVATION CONCERNS
Are your new innovations costing too much, taking too long, and ultimately failing once in the market?
Are you concerned you have the wrong team working on the wrong problems?
Are you doing training on “Lean”, “Design Thinking”, “Agile” or other innovation frameworks and still failing to quickly create value?
Are your top people leaving to more innovative companies or becoming startup entrepreneurs?
Corporate innovation is broken.
Can help.
1. Lectures, Workshops, & Bootcamps
Trainings are offered in ½ day, full day, and 2 day workshops. Training topics include:
**NEW** Startup Psychology Lecture & Workshops
Each workshop is tailored for the client and covers the broad area of the psychological skills that serially successful entrepreneurs embody that allows them to innovate faster, with smaller teams, and less capital. A strong focus is placed on the specific cognitive biases that thrive in corporate environments that are detrimental to disruptive innovation. Participates leave the workshops with the skills and knowledge necessary to think and act more entrepreneurial in all aspects of their corporate positions.
**NEW** Intro To Corporate EIR Programs Lecture
Learn about how embedding an Entrepreneur in Residence (also called an EiR) in your team can dramatically help you identify and accelerate innovation. A Corporate EiR helps executives “think and act more entrepreneurial” by bringing startup psychology, tools, & techniques into corporate teams.
Ideation Session
2-3 hours of white-boarding, relentless question asking, and massive idea generation activities. Ideation sessions are ideal for individuals or businesses that need help with ideas for new ventures. More Info
Ideation Workshops
Full day intensive sessions where Inspirer breaks down all of the barriers to idea discovery through proprietary ideation activities. Workshops are ideal for small to large companies. More Info
Ideation Bootcamps
Full day events with the best and most ambitious people on your team, where everyone comes together to discover and ideate through on-stage and small group activities. Bootcamps are ideal for small to large companies. More Info
If you would like to train offsite, Inspirer is located in beautiful San Diego or we can travel to your destination of choice.
2. Corporate Entrepreneur in Residence consulting
A Corporate Entrepreneur in Residence (also called an EiR) helps executives “think and act more entrepreneurial” by bringing startup psychology, tools, & techniques into corporate teams. An Inspirer EiR embeds in your team for a specific project bringing with them all the startup psychology, technologies and methodologies that led them to successfully innovate faster, with smaller teams, and less capital. Our EiRs are part startup coach, part startup psychologist, part startup trainer, and 100% focused on creating intellectual property for you. Embedding a serially successful entrepreneur into your team unlocks numerous opportunities for the team to learn by example while also having a skilled entrepreneur helping to build your next disruptive innovation. Additionally Inspirer provides an outside-in voice to senior leadership, insuring that no corporate biases towards disruptive startups are present.
As an EiR we help answer these critical business questions:
- How would an entrepreneur in a startup tackle this?
- Are we over-funding, over-staffing, and giving innovation projects to much time?
- Why are small startup teams, that are barely funded, growing so fast as to becoming credible threats?
- Why can’t we create billion-dollar ideas as quickly and as inexpensively as startups?
- Why are our top people leaving to create startups that then compete against us?
- Are our internal processes creating the barriers for true innovation to flourish?
- Do we have a culture of fear or culture of courage?
- Are we really able to spot developing trends that lead to billion-dollar markets?
3. Outsourced Think Tank
We can help your company solve wicked problems by bringing together serially successful entrepreneurs, across all disciplines, to ideate on behalf of your company. We innovate for you, not to replace your current team, but to enhance them and prevent you from becoming the next Sports Authority, Kodak, Blockbuster, Blackberry, Motorola, or Nokia. More Info
4. Idea Discovery
We work intimately with businesses and individuals to discover new ideas. Our proprietary idea discovery process illuminates the individual(s) involved so we can understand what makes them tick and lights them up from the inside out. More Info
I have worked with Mike in not only maximizing my opportunities but I have bought Mike in on many meetings to assist me in flushing out ideas for clients. He is simply gifted and a genius!
HOW EIRs HELP CORPORATIONS
EiRs challenge corporate assumptions
EiRs are not afraid to disrupt your industry
EiRs help inject entrepreneurial spirit into your organization
EiRs reduce risks while increasing options
EiRs flip business models on their heads
EiRs help create more faster
EiRs create new revenue & intellectual property
EiRs attract entrepreneurial talent to your company
Eir Articles
Written by Mike Stemple - Founder/CEO Inspirer
"Mike was a blast to work with. He always brought a ton of energy, a unique perspective, and a desire to solve any problem we put in front of him. I'm a Stemple fan and know you'd be pleased with the work he does."
David Coors
President - AC Golden Brewing Company
Hiring Mike as Molson Coors' EIR has been our single best investment in helping transform Molson Coors' ability to create and execute Disruptive Growth Initiatives. His ideas, insights, drive and patience have been instrumental in advancing our program. Mike has a unique ability to connect the 2 very different worlds of 'start-up' and 'big business' and I highly recommend him to anyone looking to benefit from the breadth of his experience.
Scott Cooper
Global Vice President, Innovation, Molson Coors
I first met Mike by coincidence as I was searching for the right person to join our Innovation team meeting to inspire us to think differently at Molson Coors and wow... what an amazing talent to find! What started out as an engaging 3 hour session on entrepreneurship turned into the most valuable multi-year lesson on pushing the boundaries of innovation mindset that helped us chart a new path for Disruptive Innovation at our company. Mike is a great mentor, coach and inspiration who draws people to bold actions. We were fortunate to have him as our entrepreneur in residence at Molson Coors.
Maluwa Behringer
Vice President Global Research and Development/Innovation - Molson Coors
I met Mike Stemple when I joined the Molson Coors organization in the innovation group, where his job title is Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR). Mike is one of the most inspiring individual that I’ve ever met in my career, both personally and professionally. He provides lateral business thinking to this large organization from an entrepreneurial lens, and brings resources we would have never tap into. He has vast expertise in multiple different areas, from strategy, organization and execution, showing soft skills as well by understanding the context in every situation. He has given me more growth driving and execution ideas than any innovation/marketing/creative agency that I’ve engaged, which is especially relevant in my role in global innovation and as head of an entrepreneurial organization. Mike is an amazing business partner and mentor and I’m happy I got the chance to work with him. I hope we keep him in our team.
Maria Eugenia Del Rio
Global General Manager, Clearly Kombucha - Molson Coors
I would strongly recommend Mike to anyone seeking to break the mold and push organizational boundaries. Throughout the sell-in and set-up of our Truss Beverages Joint Venture we relied on Mike as a strategic thinker, problem solver and provider of creative solutions to a variety of challenges we faced in this new industry. Mike has taught me (and the broader Molson team) a lot about how to think and act like an entrepreneur.
Melissa (Hayes) Potdar
Vice President Strategy, Strategic Partnerships - Molson Coors
Mike has provide me with some fantastic insight around the do's and don'ts of start-up's. Most importantly he has shared with me guide dance on how to set up a high performing start up team, in the short and long term. His entrepreneurial thinking is inspiring, and delivered in a humble and engaging way, using real life examples of his successful ventures. Great person to work with and would highly recommend him
Brett Vye
Chief Executive Officer, Truss Beverages Company - Molson Coors
I'm sure lots of entrepreneurs could help advise you on how to borrow from start-up practices to power up your corporate innovation efforts. Mike goes beyond this. Mike is highly strategic, highly creative and an astute student of human nature. As our EIR at Molson Coors I saw him time and again connect the dots in ways we would never have imagined, creating new possibilities to create value. He has valuable counsel on both the "what" (to innovate) and the "how" (to structure, staff and set up for success). Mike is a powerful storyteller who can help sell ideas. He genuinely takes joy in coaching and mentoring others...and I'm all the better for it! He is an inspirer, indeed.
Amy Breeze Cooper
Global Senior Director of Innovation - Molson Coors
Mike is an idea machine. He is not only a proven serial Entrepreneur but he has a methodology to make innovation a repeatable process. When I'm looking to do my next thing, Mike is on my short list of people to call. Mike is also a world-class communicator. His keynote speech about his personal story is one of the best I have ever heard.
Jim Franklin
Former CEO of SendGrid (NYSE: SEND/TWLO) - Previously VP/GM at Oracle.
Mike is one of the people I turn to when I feel stuck. He is a visionary that can get past the roadblocks and help realize potential. He has done that for me, and with me for my clients. His focus is well past results, it's about rethinking how we solve the problems we have and more importantly, how you achieve lasting growth.
Patrick Jager
SVP Branded Content & Creative Strategy @ Bluprint, a division of NBCUniversal
Mike’s enthusiasm for startup culture and improving ways of working are contagious (in a good way!) His insights into human nature and how to be impactful are second to none, and he always motivates with great personal experiences and storytelling. Furthermore, Mike is always happy to give independent views and offers to connect people in interesting ways. There is no one else I would call to source startup knowledge or solicit for unique advice.
David Durkee
Senior Director, Global R&D Innovation - Molson Coors
I have been working with Mike on the disruptive innovation agenda at Molson Coors for about a year and have considered myself lucky to learn from his unique experiences and his passion to connect and drive change in a meaningful way. Mike continuously challenges us to think bigger and his appetite for game changing innovation and pace is infectious. I am excited for the opportunity to continue to work with him and would absolutely recommend him as a mentor, EIR, or inspirer!
Claudia Sobiecki
Global Innovation Senior Manager - Molson Coors
I have had the pleasure of working with Mike on a few initiatives and he has always stunned me with his ability to blow out the constraints on my thinking and the potential of an idea. Instead of using traditional methods as a way to remain competitive, Mike has provided our team with a leader mentality to imagine the art of the possible. I deeply trust his views and insights and appreciate his genuine interest in connecting people and his desire to bring out the best in everyone he works with in his true servant leadership style.
Jeanne Cate
Senior Director Supply Chain, Asia-Pacific/Africa - Molson Coors
I have worked with Mike in not only maximizing my opportunities but I have bought Mike in on many meetings to assist me in flushing out ideas for clients. He is simply gifted and a genius!
Charles D Smith
Head of Sports & Entertainment - Mediacom, Former NBA Athlete
Mike is not only a result driven and loyal advisor but also an inspiring individual. It's been a real pleasure working together. Mike is an innovative, successful, achievement oriented and wise business cognoscenti. His inspirational background and real world experience can be an example for everyone. Mike is one of the best strategic advisors I've ever met in my life and one of the smartest innovators I've ever worked with.
Mark Geene
CEO - Cloud Elements
Mike understands how to turn creative thinking and ideas into profitable businesses. Mike has a keen sense of spotting consumer trends and turning them into revenue generating companies, way before the trend becomes oversaturated. He also understands the reality of raising capital, both from the standpoint of investors and entrepreneurs.
Robert Pons
Member Board Of Directors - SeaChange International
I've had the privilege of working with Mike in a variety of roles including being co-mentors at Founder Institute and Techstars, utilizing Mike as a strategic advisor for my current company, hosting Mike as a guest speaker at MapQuest to foster innovation, and helping me personally as a CEO to explore a wide range of creative solutions to a variety of problems.
Mike is one of those rare people who has the personal experience of having founded and grown several companies, he's able to identify trends before they fully develop, he's a strategic mastermind, highly creative, and yet also a tactical problem solver to help take ideas from concept to execution.
I highly recommend Mike as a strategic advisor, he'll go above and beyond your expectations.
anke corbin
Founder/CEO - Globig
I've worked with Mike and have introduced him to others in my network, he is one of the best strategic thinkers and complex problem solvers I've come across in all my years of doing business. He is dedicated to serving his clients and delivering exceptional value.
Rob Vogel
Founder & CEO - J5 Partners
Mike is one of the smartest innovation masters in our community, and I've had the opportunity to work with him in several environments - from CSIA/CTA to now at B:CIVIC. He has laser-like focus toward exactly what the goal or challenge is; understands the situation and provides invaluable advice. He continually helps to advance success, and we are all so fortunate to have Mike in our community!
Su Hawk
Strategic Advisor - The Influence Board
Meet Our Founder
Mike Stemple
Founder & CEO
I help executives think and act more entrepreneurial, allowing them to compete at the new pace of innovation. This is accomplished by leveraging my deep experience in startup psychology, technologies and methodologies. My peers tell me that I am the “mentor’s mentor” and am considered an expert at ideation, entrepreneurial psychology, strategy, innovation, complex problem solving, technology, startup growth methodologies, and product creation. Don't take my word for it; look at the recommendations below.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
As an Entrepreneur
Built and sold 4 technology companies: SkinIt (sold in 2007, grew to be worth over $100M), Original Wraps (bought by 3M), Odojo (bought by SafetyWeb), and nReach (bought by a public company).
As an Entrepreneur in Residence & Consultant
Led strategy and tactical development of a new technology with an established government contractor to secure a $750M+ contract.
Strategic Advisor/Coach to numerous corporations and executives resulting in doubled, tripled, and quadrupled revenues, millions in outside capital raised, and sales and marketing transformation that show immediate results.