Remaining innovative in the face of day to day operations

In February, we explore the considerations around remaining innovative whilst delivering product and making operational progress.

By attending you can pool and explore specific issues that you face within your own operation or industry domain, drawing on the shared experiences of others.

We meet from 1800hrs, ready for an 1830 start.

We look forward to seeing you at this or a future Threads event very soon.

We've published the take-away thoughts from December's topic 'what and how to outsource' on the group Discussion page.

Here is just a taster of what we discussed...

"Start-ups must consider what they're really good at in order to concentrate on this and extract maximum value. Consider what is core and/or critical to your business; you may like to keep these in house, to remain fleet-of-foot. What's core may not be fixed, may differ for each operation, and may become a commodity service as things evolve."

"You can't outsource responsibility. Chucking things over the fence and dealing with ramifications later will likely see your operation tanking if you have to divert attention and resources to remedy things."

"Size, attitude and culture of a potential outsourcing partner often proves important. Trust is key. Asymmetric relationships often prove unhealthy. Compatibility of goals and timelines helps foster positive relations."

"Consider the nature of your requirement. If it's lumpy or unpredictable, there's a good chance outsourcing may make sense. If it's a full time function, it may be best to keep it in house."

"Have IP ownership clearly documented upfront in your contracts, so that it’s clear who owns what from the start, and who will own anything that is created. Consider whether your partner is looking to bring, or to build, their own IP."

"Investors will seek comprehensive due diligence on your IP. They will want to establish where it originated; e.g. any patents, contributions from staff, contractors or outsourcing partners. They will request to see the contracts involved."