Three Things I Learned from Judging Business Contests at Large Corporations

Recently, I had the opportunity to serve as a judge for an internal new business idea contest at a major corporation. While many companies now run new business creation programs, this particular phase focused on selecting "ideas and plans ready to advance toward commercialization." Alongside me, various experts from both inside and outside the company participated in document reviews and pitch evaluations.

This series focuses on what you need to know now about DX and digital products. In this fifth installment, as GNUS Inc., which supports digital products, I will discuss three key points I consider important for new ventures.

*For more about GNUS Inc., see here:
 

Digital products are becoming an indispensable element for new ventures

In this project, we reviewed approximately 50 business ideas during the document screening and 8 ideas during the pitch screening. Over 80% of the proposals required digital products or relied on them to play a crucial role in the business's success.

Of course, the business ideas spanned diverse fields like entertainment, healthcare, DEI, and inbound tourism. However, regardless of the business domain, many proposals involved the use of digital products such as software, mobile apps, and web services.

Business promoters (founders) do not necessarily possess expertise in digital products

While digital products are expected to play a vital role in many business ideas, it's common to find that the business promoters (founders) themselves often lack sufficient expertise in digital products.

This may not be unique to new ventures within large corporations, but it seems natural that the people identifying and driving business ideas are less likely to possess digital product expertise. Furthermore, expecting the business promoter to fulfill a role akin to a startup CTO is quite challenging.

Digital Product Skills Required for Business Drivers

So, what exactly are the digital product skills needed by those driving new ventures, and how can they be acquired?
Engineering or data science skills are not required at all. What is truly needed is the ability to thoroughly use digital products from a user perspective and logically evaluate their usability and UX.

Of course, some technological knowledge may be required within that context, but you don't need to be a technology expert.

Another essential skill is the ability to plan Proof of Concept (PoC) initiatives for product improvement. It's crucial to be able to verify what value the product you're planning provides to users and identify areas needing improvement.

Whether in new ventures at large corporations or startups, it's impossible to create a perfect digital product for the business from the start. To grow a digital product through repeated user-centric testing in short cycles, what's essential is "the commitment of the business driver, acting as the Product Owner, to thoroughly commit to the product's value proposition" and "basic product management skills."

At GNUS Inc., we conduct training focused on employees to acquire skills as product owners. This enables individuals who are not necessarily technology experts at this stage to master the roles of product owner or product manager. If you feel your organization's new ventures lack product management skills, please feel free to consult with us.

Finally, GNUS Inc. celebrated its 5th anniversary on July 29, 2024. GNUS Inc. was established as a new venture within a large corporation, initially funded by Dentsu Inc. While valuing our continuous growth to date, we now aim to become an organization capable of achieving "discontinuous growth" over the next five years.

GNUS Inc.: Established within the Dentsu Group in 2019 as a partner for business growth and transformation through digital products. We support clients from planning and PoC through development, operation, and growth of digital products—key to new ventures and the DX of existing businesses—by assembling optimal teams from our network of over 600 members globally and applying agile project management. https://www.gnus-inc.com/

Kunihiko Bunbun / Representative Director and CEO, GNUS Inc.
After joining Dentsu Inc., he was assigned to the Sales Division, where he worked on marketing strategies for foreign consumer goods manufacturers and IT companies. In 2009, as part of Dentsu Inc.'s new business division, he launched the digital magazine sales app Magastore and served as its Product Manager. From 2011 onward, within Dentsu Inc.'s newly established New Business Development & Consulting division, he promoted digitalization and new business consulting for the media, finance, automotive, and sports business industries. From 2017, seconded to Dentsu Holdings USA in New York, primarily responsible for digital marketing consulting and new business planning for major Japanese manufacturers, driving the development of software services utilizing AI. Returned to Japan in 2019, founded GNUS Inc., and assumed the position of CEO.