Torsten Kolind-Innovation from The Outside In

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About the interviewee

Torsten Kolind, CEO of YouNoodle- Former CEO of Venture Cup in Denmark, Torsten has built web products since he started his first company at age 16. Has judged competitions at Stanford, MIT and Imperial. Loves algorithmic challenges and is an avid musician.

Tell me about your firm (number of employees, location, type of companies you work with, etc.).

YouNoodle is based in San Francisco, CA and has a team of 20.

What type and size of companies do you have as clients?

Anything from local universities, government entities, to large corporations such as Verizon, Intel, and Amazon.

What comes to mind when you see this topic?

I believe strongly in the need for organizations to innovate with and through their stakeholders, whether these are employees, partners, clients, suppliers, or just startups operating in their field. Time has run away from the traditional R&D department, they simply can’t keep up with how fast technology moves around the world, and company after company are being disrupted by external players (think of Nokia, Blackberry, Microsoft, etc)

What are the best practices when it comes to this issue?

Firstly, open your doors. Listen to the startup and technology worlds outside the organization. What are they talking about? What do others believe to be the future of your core market or technology platform?

Secondly, don’t be afraid to try new things. Put out a challenge to entrepreneurs about how to own your core market in 10 years, or how to apply your groundbreaking new technology platform in novel business models outside your comfort zone. At some point, a billion-dollar match will happen, and you’re ready to strike!

Contact information:
https://www.younoodle.com/