In the middle of May, the ABC Accelerator presented a partnership with the American company Enterprise Development Group (EDG). The collaboration isn’t only an incredibly recognition for the accelerator, but also presents additional reinforcement of the Golden Gate Bridge, connecting Ljubljana and Silicon Valley, thus giving Slovenian and European companies new opportunities to connect with American companies and vice-versa.
We are in an era of big and rapid changes – devices that track our every step and heartbeat, and will help predict sicknesses, self-driving cars that will detect traffic and traffic signs and communicate between themselves … this is the so-called hyper-digital era. While a few years ago, we were saying that it is far away, today it’s only a matter of time. The question that appears is also what will happen with traditional companies and what they will do to survive and make progress.
The goal of collaboration between ABC and EDG is to give companies presentations on unique ways of innovating and looking for potential opportunities for new services and products. EDG has been organizing idea generation workshops and innovation seeking programmes for more than 20 years, and companies like Apple, Lufthansa, Swisspost, Intel, Audi … have found themselves on its list. On the other hand, ABC brings incredible energy, the startup mentality, and a rich network of startups and companies. The location and close relationship with BTC City, which is a practical example of a smart city and living lab, is an additional plus that companies and startups see for testing pilot projects.
ABC and EDG thus joined the best of both worlds – rich experiences and knowledge from the side of corporations, and speed, familiarity with technology and markets, and innovation ability from startups. Constant growth will not be enough for companies to survive anymore, so it is necessary to watch the world and changes that are happening, detect disruptions and dangers that lie in wait. It is necessary to see signals, because that is where the potential is. They will jointly organize short workshops, which are actually an addition to ABC’s Enterprise programme, where the point is to change the mentality and accelerate inside a company. The programme lasts between 3 and 6 months and is adapted to the desires and needs of the client. Hackathons organized by the ABC Accelerator are the first step on this journey.
As Lisa Friedman, EDG, says: “You have to understand which direction the future is going in before you start innovating. Every company is at its own point and everybody realizes that changes are absolutely necessary. But nobody knows how to tackle them.” And that is what ABC-EDG does – uses verified methods to help companies detect upcoming trends and directions in which the world will develop, and strategies for new business models.
You can find more information here.
