Mass Customization & Open Innovation News

The $1 Million Zazzle Innovation Challenge: What is your great idea for the next in mass customization?

Here is your perfect thing to do over the Christmas holidays:

Zazzle, a leading platform for quality custom products, is hosting their first "One Million-Dollar Innovation Challenge" to launch the development of the next, most innovative customization product or company.

This can be an idea for a new consumer product, but also one for an innovative service, health, business to business or whatever offering ... Feel free to bring mass customization to a new level!

The contest had been announced during the MCPC 2011 conference dinner. It is hosted in association with MIT's Smart Customization Group and UC Berkeley's Center for Corporate Innovation,

The Million-Dollar Innovation Challenge and prize is open to any person or company with an idea for a customizable product. Applicants must create a one-minute video, describing their product and explaining why their innovative concept is special and will contribute to the growing movement of mass customization. Applicants will be judged on innovation and economic viability.

The winner will gain access to Zazzle's world-class engineering team, which will support the winning project with software development, exclusive proprietary design tools and 3-D product visualization technologies. Additionally, Zazzle will fund the project with resources to develop a global product-marketing plan and launch the product to a worldwide audience of tens of millions of potential consumers. The winner will also receive mentorship from a veteran panel of potential investors and industry leaders, in addition to introductions to Zazzle's many brands and partners.

Zazzle will announce five semi-finalists on February 24, 2012. Academic experts, industry executives and active investors will help refine the concepts and plans for final evaluation and judge the presentations.

For more information, including objectives, application, rules and prize details, visit www.Zazzle.com/challenge.

Local Open Innovation with the 2nd edition of Quebec Seeks Solution - Call for Problems Published @quebecsolutions

Following up on the great success of the first "Québec Seeks Solutions" conference in late 2010 I am glad to announce the Call for Problems for the next event, taking place on May 15 - 16, 2012 in Québec City, Canada.

Just like last year, you are invited to submit an actual problems that you could not solve so far. In the true spirit of Open Innovation, we will use the productive atmosphere of the conference to discuss and co-create (the beginning) of a solution for the most interesting problems amongst all participants.

Submitt your problems until January 13th, 2012!

Problems can be submitted within one of three different categories:

• Innovation Problems: These problems are usually upstream of innovation, but have a significant impact on an organization’s innovation capacity. Such problems are economic, organizational, social, or political in nature.
• Industrial Problems: Industrial problems with a strong technical component will be submitted by companies facing innovation problems in new technology development or in product design or improvement.
• Large Scale Problems (with multiple components): At least one large scale problem will be the focus of a group intelligence activity that will involve all participants and will have the potential to advance understanding of the problem. This problem will be submitted by an international organization facing a number of complex innovation issues.

The conference shall become a place where concrete problems of small, medium, and large companies will be discussed to deepen the understanding of the issue and to seek potential solutions. At the same time, this will become a laboratory for experimenting with and implementing open innovation. Participants shall be able to use the intelligence of experts in various fields to find solutions to specific problems.

New in 2012: The main event will be preceded by a seminar on May 14 PM. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about open innovation in the company of the leading experts in the field. Also, a special workshop will be held on May 16 PM around the “seeks solutions” model and how you can use it in your local context. Further details coming soon!

For additional information, visit the Quèbec Seeks Solutions Website and follow us on Twitter (@quebecsolutions)

Your Opinion on the Future of Mass Customization: Participate in two short surveys

We would like to tap into the joint intelligence of the MCPC community and ask your to participate in two short conference surveys -- results will be posted here:

Dominik Walcher and Frank Piller want to learn about your opinion on the market development for mass customization. How is the market of mass customization (MC) and personalization growing? What will be the developments in the next years? Please help us to get a better picture of the MC future! Participate here:http://www.tiny.cc/mc-future 

 

Ryan Chin and Daniel Smithwick of the MIT Media Lab, are studying product life-cycle energy use of customized dress shirts to understand how to develop more sustainable products.  Please complete their 6-8 minute survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MCPC2011) on your current dress shirt wardrobe and you'll be entered into a lottery for a FREE custom men's dress shirt worth $100 retail value.  Pretty fancy stuff.  Survey and prizes are open to both men and women!

Start the #MCPC2011 With An Innovative Pre-Event and Networking Reception at #TechShop

Great news: TechShop is hosting a pre-MCPC 2011 networking reception and mixer -- and offers unique opportunity to tour their San Francisco space.TechShop changed the world through open access to the tools of invention... With the advance of inexpensive access to powerful and easy to use tools,
the invention of physical products has never been easier, cheaper, or speedier... particularly if you have a $100 a month membership to TechShop.

During the MCPC Conference, TechShop CEO Mark Hatch will share more about this unique approach to open innovation. But on November 15, you can experience this life:

TechShop is hosting a pre-conference in the San Francisco facility, 926 Howard Street, just 3 blocks from the Powell Street BART station (http://techshop.ws/tssf.html), on Tue, Nov 15, 7pm.

Conference participants staying in the Conference hotel (Marriot  SFO) will be picked up at the hotel at 6:15pm by a shuttle arranged by Techshop.

At TechShop, the program includes some light refreshments & beer, wine as well as non-alcoholic beverages at the Techshop! At 7:30pm and 8:30pm a short tour will be offered in the facilities. The
bus will bring you back to the hotel at 9:15pm.

This event is open to all MCPC participants. To register for the pre-event at tech-shop, please sign up here
Note: MCPC participants only., conference regsitrations required for check-in at TechShop!

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: The Future of Mass Customization: The New Open Manufacturing System at #Materialise, #Ponoko and #ILT

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Additive Manufacturing and the opportunity for every consumer to turn any idea into a tangible product will change not just mass customization, but our dominant perspective of design and manufacturing. Learn the key facts from visionaries and business leaders in this field.

Wim Michiels, Executive Vice President, Materialise
The Industrial Revolution 2.0: Personalization through Additive Manufacturing

Every year, consumers’ interest in customization increases and market demand for personalization is creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurs who have an existing offering that they now wish to tailor. With the technological advancements in Additive Manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D Printing, individuals have the ability to add a personal touch to the things they use and love most from cell phone cases, to shoes, to accessories for their cars and more.

David ten Have, CEO, Ponoko
Building the World's Easiest Making System

The future of products - using software to connect consumers, designers and making devices. Ponoko Inc is the creator of Personal Factory — the world’s most advanced platform for the mass creation of custom goods. Creative consumers can turn their design ideas into custom goods on demand using Ponoko's global network of making devices. This local production reduces the environmental impact of manufacturing. So far, more than 100,000 customer designed products have been made in 15 locations throughout the USA, Europe and Australasia - everything from 3D printed jewelry to laser-cut clocks to CNC routed furniture. Just as the Internet revolutionized the exchange of digital photos, music and movies, Ponoko pioneered the exchange of digital designs, reinventing the way consumer goods are designed, made and distributed. In a future when there is a making device in every home, school and business, Personal Factory is the software that makes it easy for everyone to create custom goods.

 Reinhard Poprawe, Director of Fraunhofer ILT, RWTH Aachen University
Laser Additive Manufacturing - The Key to the Next Generation of Economic Custom Production

 

 

 

 

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: How to Implement an MC Business at #Fluid, #JELD-WEN and #cyLEDGE

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Three rapid panel presentations will provide a lot of inspiration and food for thought for small group discussions with your peers.

Andrew Guldman, VP of Engineering, Fluid
Rob Jellesed, Director of Internet Sales, JELD-WEN Windows
Implementing Mass Customization in an Established Company

Fluid Inc. and JELD-WEN Doors & Windows have collaborated to create a compelling and richly interactive window and door customization experience online utilizing the latest in mass customization technology. During this presentation, you’ll hear how JELD-WEN leverages technologies to inform consumer purchase decisions and provide pass through lead generation to the sales funnel. With the use of immersive customization capabilities, potential customers can now interact with photo-realistic products, zoom, multiple views, and color changes. Further, you will learn how mass customization has gone social, with JELD-WEN’s unique implementation of social shopping tools that allow consumers to customize complex products with friends online and share their designs with others. And, last you’ll understand how mass customization has proven to augment JELD-WEN’s in-store door and window displays and offered the company a non-traditional return on investment.

Paul Blazek, CEO, cyLEDGE
Crucial Design Elements for Successful MC Configuration and Interaction

Successful mass customization of products and services requires interaction interfaces and tools that are shaped according to the customers' heterogeneous needs. The interface design of these configuration systems becomes a decisive criterion for customer satisfaction. Besides offering a good approach to the specific customization possibilities it should help to reduce customer doubts encountered during the design process, support emotional mechanisms and persuade to make a purchase. But how are relevant customer requirements identified? What are crucial design elements that trigger an efficient interaction between the customer and the manufacturer. Paul will answer these questions in form of some guidelines resulting from his analysis of customer structures and configurator approaches in various industries.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: Setting Up a Mass Customization System at #Skyou, #Bene AG and #Selve

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

This session will focus on the different business models that are behind the mass customization trend.

Brennan Mulligan, Founder & CEO, Skyou
What I Learned from Setting Up Five Successful MC Companies

While mass customization can be seen as an established business model we still see often little scale in its execution. At the same time, many new ventures and established businesses alike face the challenge to establish a supply chain fitted for mass customization – and everyone seems to go through the same learning cycle again. In his talk, Brennan Mulligan will propose a solution, reflecting on his experiences in leading many successful mass customization businesses since 1993.

Karl Berger, Vice President Engineering, Bene AG
Developing Solution Spaces for Mass Customization

Solution Space Development is one of the core activities of a successful mass customizer, clearly defining what it is going to offer and what it is not. The presentation will explain how Bene, a leading European office furniture provider, has developed a special approach to understand and serve the idiosyncratic needs of its customers, to develop the solution space. Karl Berger will show how different constraints work with each other, and how a of organizational layers helps to execute different solution spaces in the organization.

Claudia Kisserling, CEO, Selve
Illissa Howard, Founder, Milk and Honey Shoes
Establishing a Mass Customization Factory in China

This joint presentation is delivered by two experienced entrepreneurs in mass customization footwear, representing selve, the Germany-based category leader in the field, and Milk&Honey, a recent Hong Kong based startup. Claudia and Ilissa will first share insights into the market for customization in this field, discussing the Women’s fashion footwear market size and growth areas, global reach via online configurator, and the challenges and opportunities associated with that. Then, Claudia will share here experiences in setting up an own manufacturing plant in china, after seven years of manufacturing of high quality custom women's shoes in Italy. She will discuss the pros and cons, the do's and don'ts and her experiences of setting up and running a custom shoe factory in China.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: Building & Growing a Mass Customization Business at #Rickshaw Bagworks and #You Bar

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

In this panel, three experienced entrepreneurs in mass customization will share their best practices on what did work and what not.

Mark Dwight, Founder & CEO, Rickshaw Bagworks
Design for Mass Customization: Real World Approaches for Design and Manufacturing

Mass customization comes in many shapes and sizes. Mark Dwight employs mass customization techniques in his small messenger bag manufacturing company, Rickshaw Bagworks, based in San Francisco. Dwight founded Rickshaw specifically to pursue a strict build-to-order operational model, as opposed to the traditional build-to-stock practice common in the fashion industry. At Rickshaw, mass customization is the foundation of the product design and development process. All product platforms are based upon four key design principles: (1) Decouple function and fashion; (2) Isolate complex core functional elements in a common, mass-producible "chassis"; (3) Save product "personality" for the final assembly step; (4) Add optional functional upgrades and fashion elements from a collection of "bolt-on" accessories. Based upon this design methodology, Rickshaw produces a family of full-featured, customizable computer carrying briefcases and backpacks at very competitive prices in its San Francisco headquarters. The benefits of this strategy include: zero finished goods inventory, zero inventory risk, minimum SKU count, vastly reduced forecasting complexity, ability to outsource most of the labor intensive work while insourcing all of the customization, price/performance flexibility, and fast turnaround of highly custom orders.

Anthony Flynn, Founder & CEO, You Bar
You Bars: Profiting from the Mega-Trend of Food Customization

Detailing You Bar's journey from my mother's kitchen to an 8,200 square foot commercial warehouse, this presentation focuses on how the customer and company have become less polarized. Customization obliges the customer to become co-creator and innovator, necessitating a dialogue between customer and company which allows each to better satisfy the evolving needs of the other.

Speaker T.B.A., Please Check Conference Website for Details
Investing in the Customization Trend

Mass customization start-ups have become subject to some major interest of Venture Capital firms. In this presentation, a member of the VC communities share some insights on the market for mass customization from this perspective and why mass customization and co-creation are important drivers of successful future business models.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Keynote Session: Setting an Agenda for Research & Innovation

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Discuss with your fellow participants your insights from the MCPC 2011 and close the conference with three forward-looking keynotes and a review by the conference chairs that will set the agenda until the next MCPC.

Vishal Gupta, Director Developer Network, Elsevier
Wither Scientific Publishing? Collaborative Innovation, Open Platforms and Personalized Workflow Solutions Has an Answer

With an exponential growth of scientific information and wider distribution of services and data sources; integrated and intelligent search and discovery become crucial to the success of researchers. This is not possible without partnering on a platform that provides the ability to integrate workflow solutions in a seamless way, allowing a more meaningful use of the content. At Elsevier we are trying to bring a paradigm shift in partnering with researcher and developer communities on open platforms to jointly develop innovative workflow tools that are embedded deeply in user’s workflow, personalized to suit the individual needs, and geared towards driving research outcomes.

Kent Larson, MIT Media Lab
Urbanization from a Perspective of Mass Customization and Open Innovation

This talk will provide a thought-provoking outlook by looking on urbanization from a mass customization perspective. It will propose a systems approach to creating new cities at four scales:

1. New Urban Strategies - parametric tools to create urban blocks with the optimal mix of housing, commercial, retail, and services and their related infrastructure.
2. Mobility-on-Demand - modular approach to assembling an ecosystem of mobility modes and new vehicles (like the CityCar)
3. Personalized Places of Living and Work - mass-customization strategies for high-performance urban housing
4. Proactive Technology - sensors, algorithms, and interfaces to proactively encourage energy conservation, healthy behaviors, and mobility choices.

Mitchell Tseng, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Embodying Innovation for Customer Value - Building Bridges Between Mass Customization and Open Innovation

In our knowledge economy, value comes from generating creative ideas and then embodying them in products for transactions. Mass Customization starts from finding out the customer value and then try to create the best combination of components that shape the physical products for customers to buy. On the hand, Open innovation invites creative idea from everyone, from partners, suppliers, customers and others to contribute for a defined purpose that is valuable. Either approach involves a critical step of transforming abstract idea to tangible products, connecting concept to physical world in order to achieve customer value. Although there are products that can be valuable in abstract forms or software, majority of products still relies physical embodiment. This presentation will like to address the interface between electronically moveable and immoveable. Some of the techniques that can be adapted to amplify the synergy between these two essential components will also be reviewed and discussed.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Keynote Session: Finding the Next Opportunities in Mass Customization

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Learn from B. Joseph Pine's latest thoughts on the Virtual Multiverse and how it creates the next generation of experiences and customization, followed by a talk by an entrepreneur who puts Joe's thoughts into real life.

B. Joseph Pine II, Strategic Horizons
The Multiverse: Finding the Next Opportunities in Mass Customization

The physical world, bounded as it is by matter, space, and time, offers limited opportunities for value creation. With digital technology, however, the opportunities are limitless, for people can create anything they want with immaterial bits, in virtual places, without the constraints of linear time. As consumers increasingly experience the world through their digital gadgets, companies still only scratch the surface of technology-infused experiences. Joseph Pine will show you how to create new value for your customers with personalized offerings that fuse the real and the virtual. Digital technology offers limitless opportunities — you really can create anything you want — but real-world experiences have a richness that virtual ones do not. So how can you use the best of both? How do you make sense of such infinite possibility? What kinds of experiences can you create? Which ones should you offer?

André Wolper, Founder & CEO, embodee
Visualization as an Enabler of Mass Customization: An Apparel Story

Apparel shoppers, especially those customizing a garment, expect to vividly and accurately “see” and even experience what a garment looks like on them. Accurate, lifelike, 360degree visualizations can provide the means, delivering inspiration and confidence for an online purchase. embodee, a start-up, adapting technologies from movie visual effects, has built the first scalable, easy-to-use platform that delivers such visualization capabilities. Two leading global brands have launched interactive systems built on the embodee platform. Hurley customers have been able to see themselves in a range of denim styles and sizes optimized for them since 2010. And now, the world's leading sports apparel and equipment brand enables athletes and coaches to see their team uniforms evolve in compellingly realistic 3D as they tweak style elements, text, fonts, stitch patterns and colors. Customer feedback, sales volumes and a steep drop in return rates are proof points that compelling visualization can propel customization and online apparel commerce forward.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Keynote Session: What is the State of the Art of Research & Practice in Mass Customization & Open Innovation?

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Two talks providing a review of these fields to create a common understanding of the latest research and insights for practice. 

Joel West, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences
Open Innovation - State of the Art of Research and Practice

 

 

 

 

 

Frank T. Piller, RWTH Aachen & MIT Smart Customization Group
Fabrizio Salvador, IE Business School
A Matter of Balance - Building the Successful Mass Customization Enterprise

What makes a successful mass customization enterprise? Previous research has identified three core capabilities that allow companies to profit from mass customization: robust process design, choice navigation and solution space definition. So far, however, we did not have large-sample evidence of the impact of these capabilities on market, operational and financial performance of a company. This presentation will report the latest results of an international study of 130 mass customization consumer companies operating both in Europe and in the U.S. as part of the ongoing MC500 research initiative. We find that these capabilities indeed are important for the performance of the sampled companies. To our surprise, however, focusing on one capability alone does not necessarily lead to superior market, operational and financial performance. Instead, performance differentials are explained in terms of the simultaneous presence of the three capabilities. This means that managers building a mass customization venture have to get a balanced view of investing in the three capabilities. Using empirical data and case studies, our presentation will identify implications of our study for entrepreneurs, managers in established companies, investors and VCs, and for future research.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Keynote Session

Social media is becoming a core platform for new product & new service development. Learn from the pioneers in this field and discuss how these approaches could work in your company.

This session will provide the latest thinking on mass customization and open innovation, exploring the relationships between both fields. It is open to participants of the Business Seminar and the MCPC Research&Innovation Conference.

Henry Chesbrough, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, University of California Berkely
Open Service Innovation 

The goal of “Open Services and Innovation” is demonstrate how the open innovation approach applies to companies in service businesses. Many companies today grapple with the commodity trap, as product lives shorten and differentiation becomes increasingly difficult. Using open innovation, companies can transform their product and technology based businesses into more customer-focused, more differentiated, and more sustainable service and solution businesses. This requires two concomitant shifts: one from products to services; and the other from closed to open. The role of the user is quite different in services innovation, and innovating firms must find ways to co-create with customers in order to succeed. Professor Chesbrough will illustrate these points with illustrations from a variety of industries.

Jeff Beaver, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, and Bobby Beaver, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Zazzle
The Future of Mass Customization

 

 

 

 

 

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: Profiting from open Innovation and Co-Creation at #Nine Sigma

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

A final opportunity to discuss with your peers how to put the ideas from this day into practice, kicked-off by a presentation of a key enabler of open innovation.

Andy Zynga, CEO, Nine Sigma
Making Open Innovation Work 

In his presentation, Andy Zynga will share his experiences from more than 2000 projects in open innovation at Nine Sigma. He will comment on the obstacles, tools & opportunities of open innovation, presenting recent results from a comprehensive survey on open innovation practices in global firms. He will then discuss some of the measures executives can take to tackle the challenges of profiting from open innovation. His presentation will close with a few observations to stimulate the discussion at the following round table presentation with your peers.

Followed by a round table discussion.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: The Tools for Open Innovation at #TechShop, #Idea Couture and #Ford

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Implementing open innovation is not always easy. This session will provide a focused few on approaches and tools to utilize the benefits of open innovation.

Mark Hatch, CEO, TechShop
BOOM! An innovation Explosion: How to Change the World Through Open Access to the Tools of Invention 

The presentation will share how TechShop changed the world through open access to the tools of invention… and provide a guide on practical ways to leverage this platform for your organization. Open source, the cloud, ubiquitous connectivity, search and find efficiencies, and powerful cheap processing have been driving the rapid acceleration of innovation in any field touched by computers and communication media. Now, with the advance of inexpensive access to extremely cheap, powerful and easy to use tools, the invention of physical products has never been easier, cheaper, or speedier… particularly if you have a $100 a month membership to TechShop. Mark presents five technologies prototyped and built at TechShop that have already started to change our world. He reviews the drivers of this new capability and then explores how you can leverage this new service.

Leah Hunter, Global Head of Insights and Innovation, Idea Couture
Making Co-Creation Strategic

The concepts of open innovation, mass customization and co-creation are often used interchangeably and raise new questions and challenges that highlight the need to understand the variables in their design of mechanisms, business processes and the economic implications for organizations. Leah Hunter will introduce the consumer co-creation value chain, a model that is used to analyze and understand the mechanics of co-creation. She will further illustrate its value by sharing Idea Couture's experiences in designing co-creation strategies. What are the differences between crowd wisdom versus collective intelligence; crowdsourcing ecosystems and market co-creation; motivations and creative incentive design; task characteristics and task design? Leah's presentation will align the strategic intent of the business to a co-creation strategy.

TJ Giuli, Technical Expert Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company
Leveraging Open Innovation to Create a Customized Driving Experience

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn,Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With
about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. Recently, Ford opens its research doors to external contributors, tapping into minds at universities and other organizations outside the automotive industry for the next best idea for, e.g., in-vehicle connectivity and infotronics. One of Dr. Giuli's latest open innovation projects is American Journey 2.0, which paired up Ford and University of Michigan students who were challenged to build a new class of social networking apps for the vehicle during a 12-week course. The winning app made its way into a Ford Fiesta for the ultimate test drive to California for the 2010 Maker Faire, the largest do-it-yourself event of its kind. In his presentaton, Dr. Giuli will share this and other experiences in open innovation at Ford.

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.

#MCPC2011 Business Seminar: Using Social Media for Customer Co-Creation at #Quirky and #IndieGoGo

On November 16th, the MCPC 2011 conference kicks off at the Marriot SFO Airport, San Francisco. In this series of postings, we introduce our speakers at the business seminars of the conference.

Social media is becoming a core platform for new product & new service development. Learn from the pioneers in this field and discuss how these approaches could work in your company.

John Jacobsen, Head of Engineering, Quirky
 Social Product Development - Launching a Great New Product Every Few Days

Quirky is a social product development company that brings two brand new consumer products to market each week through its online collaborative platform. Quirky’s community of almost 90,000 members weigh in on every aspect of product development from research to industrial design to branding; quirky shares its revenue with the influencers who help bring each product to life. Since its launch in 2009, Quirky has collaboratively developed more than 120 new products. Top influencers are making tens of thousands of dollars. National retail partnerships include Bed, Bath & Beyond and HSN, with its own show on the HSN Channel each month. Quirky will also have its own show premiering on The Sundance Channel on August 30th. The show, called Quirky, is about the powerful process of making invention accessible. Each one-hour episode will demonstrate how Quirky has successfully re-engineered and democratized the business of innovation.

Erica Labovitz, Director of Marketing, IndieGoGo
Experiences with Crowdfunding in the Movie Industry

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please find the complete program at the official MCPC 2011 website.