Creative methods given pride of place at Arkinova

The Arkinova business generator hosted the Winter Seminar of the RETIS network on Thursday 25 January on the theme of “Creative Methods for Supporting Start-Ups”. These were applied on this occasion to the case study submitted by an innovative young company from the Basque Coast Technology Park.

Around 80 members of RETIS (National Network of Innovative Territories and Ecosystems) and invited local partners and experts took part in this meeting organised jointly by RETIS and the Basque Country Technology Park on Thursday 25 January at the Arkinova business generator.

The theme of this seminar was “Creative Methods for Supporting Start-Ups”. A conference led by Bertrand Barré (Founder of the Zebra Group specialising in design) on the “oblique vision” necessary for creation and innovation launched the debates then, in the afternoon, five workshops led by experts in creative methods studied the case of Vracoop.

Created on the Izarbel Technology Park, the young company Vracoop was a winner of the recent Atelier de l’Innovation call for projects organised by the Basque Country Urban Authority. The Vracoop start up is developing an overall offering to facilitate the sale of loose products in shops in order to limit the production of packaging waste and has had the benefit of advice and recommendations from the entire RETIS network.

“We asked them to work on a mobile application for end consumers to give them information on the products they are buying loose.  Each of the five creative methods gave us an interesting area for consideration with different ideas. We will make use of it in developing our project,” said Charlotte Teixido a designer, with her partner, from Vracoop.

You can find the five creative methods implemented - ASIT-BIM, Blue Ocean, Agile and Lean start-ups, Design Thinking, 6 hats - in the articles linked to below:

•    The ASIT method (Advanced Systematic Inventive Thinking) in its innovative business model version ASIT-BIM (ASIT for Business Innovation Model) consists of tools which enable you to envisage solutions and innovations which would not naturally spring to mind.

•    Blue Ocean strategy offers a structured method which simplifies the creative and innovative process to reduce risks and allow you to stand out from the competition by differentiation.

•    Agile methods (co-existing with Lean Start-ups) launched by major players in the field of IT and software development with the idea of proposing a new method of product and service design.

•    Design Thinking used to develop innovative projects by applying a similar approach to that of a designer designing an object.

•    The six-hat method which uses a six-sequence approach to thinking to resolve problems or optimise creativity.

Websites:

www.retis-innovation.fr/
vracoop.fr