Story
ZX Ventures is a global innovation incubator backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev and charged with stimulating disruptive growth through new products, brands, channel development and business models. The group organized a summer accelerator program – built on lean startup and design thinking methodologies – where AB InBev employees and startups would work to rapidly generate new-to-world solutions to some of the industry’s toughest problems.
Solution
ZX Ventures partnered with ?What If! to guide 16 accelerator teams on an 11-week entrepreneurial journey, combining the agility of the startup world with the strengths and scale of AB InBev. ?What If! offered proprietary tools and coaching to help each team generate ideas, design and execute experiments and build prototypes, helping them to rapidly iterate from problem to prototype.
Results
The 11-week program culminated in a Demo Day for 16 teams, presenting prototypes and an investment pitch to a panel of investors that included AB InBev’s CEO and leadership team. Based on the success of the Demo Day, a number of ventures were funded for further development. Over 50 AB InBev employees acquired new skills through this action learning experience, building an internal movement that spread throughout the company towards a new, entrepreneurial approach to innovation.