The Uncommonly
Pragmatic Blog
startups
How to succeed in enterprise/startup partnerships
Imagine you are an enterprise CEO in a business under increasing pressure to address the demands of continued growth, a meaningful ESG strategy, a fickler and more diverse customer base, a changing regulatory environment, and all the fallouts of the pandemic. Just for starters. While the organization is full of talent who are expert at…
How Innovation Failure Creates Success
As you pursue your own next big thing in 2020, my wish is that you will be ready to fail in pursuit of your innovation vision. That’s right: be ready to fail. And then accept and learn from your failures. The last few weeks of 2019 were a time to reflect upon the past year’s…
Four Lessons Startups Can Find In Big Companies
It is not hard to beat up on big companies when it comes to innovation — and I’ve got plenty of proof, after two decades as one of those people delivering change from the inside of tough, conservative, regulated businesses. Big companies are bureaucratic. They are slow and complex. They get bogged down in how-things-have-always-been-…
How Corporate Managers Smother New Tech Adoption
One of the most fun and inspiring endeavors I’ve undertaken in my post-corporate life has been to advise select early-stage companies, portfolio managers and accelerators. Startups need lots of marketing advice, especially early on when there may not be a CMO on board. As a result, my work often involves defining audience targeting strategy and…
The Incredible Experience of Failure: One Founder’s Story
With its founding in 2015, Civil Co. set out to curb online harassment and abuse with a novel combination of technology and behavioral science. By integrating human moderation into how content was submitted, Civil Co. created large-scale online communities that were essentially abuse-free. The company delivered this innovation through the experience of a real-time peer…
What Happens to Insurance When We Can All Foresee Our Own Risks?
In a recent New York Times story, New Gene Test Poses Threat to Insurers, reporter Gina Kolata describes how data transparency and availability are disrupting underwriting for long term care insurance. Kolata discusses how this product, challenged for years by inaccurate claims forecasting and sky-high pricing, faces further threat of adverse selection — as a…
Eight Startups Aiming to Transform the Life Insurance Business
In my last post I described the state of the life insurance industry including the pain points where insurtech entrants can poise for impact. The life insurance industry is suffering from a dying (literally) distribution model, complex products and a flawed purchase funnel. New entrants can transform the industry by bringing a clean-sheet approach to:…
Amy is a leader who is demanding and relentless in the pursuit of the great.
In The Change Maker’s Playbook she shares her philosophy and methods to transform ‘out-there’ ideas into new real world business models that can change businesses’ growth trajectories and how brands engage with their customers.
Kahina Van Dyke
Global Head, Digital Channels & Client Data Analytics; Standard Chartered Bank Board Member, Progressive Insurance