Innovation

INNOVATION IN ACTION

Upward Innovation Programs are designed to drive actionable results for our portfolio of startups and enterprise and academic partners across the Upward network.

END-TO-END

Enterprise Innovation

Upward offers a white-glove enterprise innovation experience that custom-matches actionable solutions to business or industry challenges, and guides their successful execution from concept to commercialization.

From external scouting to internal incubation, Upward tailors the innovation experience to match the unique needs of each enterprise partner in the Upward network.

UPWARD FOR ENTERPRISE

OUR APPROACH

CHALLENGE IDENTIFICATION

The foundation of Upward's Innovation Programs involves the identification of unique business challenges and areas of opportunity as defined by local enterprise partners across industries. We source challenges from senior leadership and employees alike to fuel a well-rounded solution mapping process.

SUPERVISED PILOTS

Our team's deep experience in innovation pilot design and optimization works to validate the impact and scalability of startup solutions prior to enterprise adoption.

GLOBAL STARTUP SCOUTING

As partners define business challenges or innovation focus areas, we launch targeted scouting efforts for mature startups across the globe. Following the scouting process is an industry-tested vetting experience, by which qualifying startups’ technologies are assessed for scalability and industry impact potential.

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ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT

Upon refining ideas and developing prototypes, employee and/or student entrepreneurs are matched with the technical resources to accelerate solutions to the point of initial testing.

INTERNAL IDEA INCUBATION

Upward's Innovation Arm Program activates internal innovation. We design and lead incubation activities that empower employees to identify, refine, and escalate their ideas for process or product improvement to leadership, while also providing the tools to prototype, pilot, and deploy solutions across the business.

SEAMLESS DEPLOYMENT

Upon analyzing pilot successes, we facilitate seamless deployment across business lines and oversee the commercialization process that brings solutions to the broader industry.

One of the unique qualities of Upward is that their startups are really focused on the outcomes we're trying to generate. [For us] to adopt a startup solution is to make sure they have proven outcomes.