Demystifying Business Innovation Consulting

By NEXT Studios Team /

Starting a business is hard. Growing and sustaining a business is also hard. Both require innovation. To remain viable, modern businesses often find themselves in a race to innovate, to differentiate and set themselves apart from the competition. How important is innovation in business? According to McKinsey research: 84% of […]

The Case for Economic Development and Community Impact Through Entrepreneurship

By Courtney Zaugg /

By Courtney Zaugg and John McDonald 15 June 2023 Historically, economic development, philanthropic community impact, and entrepreneurship have been substantially separate concepts, but now there is a small and growing group of leaders who increasingly believe that these three things may be the same thing. This evolving viewpoint of interconnectedness […]

Indiana-based Innovation Studio Welcomes New Partner

By NEXT Studios Team /

NEXT Studios is excited to welcome Courtney Zaugg, CEcD, EDP as the new Community Innovation Entrepreneur and Partner to the innovation studio. Courtney is responsible for expanding the Studio work in economic development and community impact through entrepreneurship. Before joining NEXT Studios, Courtney founded several companies and a not-for-profit to […]

What Is a Strategic Innovation Example?

By NEXT Studios Team /

Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Zoom—all of these corporate superstars are excellent examples of strategic innovation in action. We’ve witnessed these companies bring about some of the most exciting transformations in the world as we know it today. From changing the smartphone game to having a name that is synonymous with […]

What Is an Innovative Strategy in Business?

By NEXT Studios Team /

An innovative strategy is a plan used by businesses to make sure they will stay relevant over time and drive growth. A business that does not have an innovative strategy as part of its core culture and baked into its running will struggle. Developing and implementing innovations can be pushed […]

Innovation Strategy in Business

By NEXT Studios Team /

Whether we’re talking about coming up with innovative ideas and strategies to launch a new business or to grow an existing business, it’s difficult to overstate the importance of innovation strategy.  Why is it important for businesses to innovate? At a high level, innovative businesses are better-positioned for relevance, differentiation, […]

Characteristics of an Innovator

By NEXT Studios Team /

Innovators are the driving force behind entrepreneurship and businesses’ products and services development. Without the ability to create and implement new ideas, a business could fall behind its competitors. Consumers want new and improved products, and without an innovative team, it’s difficult for businesses to keep up with demand. According […]

Innovation in Business

By NEXT Studios Team /

When an entrepreneur starts a new business, innovation is usually at the forefront of their mind—after all, it’s a key determiner of whether the business is going to be successful or not. Once a business is established, though, it’s human nature to become complacent or content with the status quo, […]

Corporate Innovation Consulting

By NEXT Studios Team /

The early stages of getting a business off the ground or going back to the drawing board ten years in to re-define the company share many similarities. Both budding entrepreneurs and established corporations in these situations must tackle the same messy and complicated beast: innovation. Because innovation is such an […]

We All Play a Role in Building and Innovation Community

By Courtney Zaugg /

by Courtney Zaugg and Marie Foster-Bruns Who owns innovation in a community? While it most certainly can be developed and encouraged intentionally, it is neither a place nor a building, but instead a mindset centered on entrepreneurship and collaboration. This mindset is essential because it encourages teamwork and removes boundaries. […]

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