Startups don't have a monopoly on innovation. Big companies can innovate, too. Apple has been innovating for years. Virgin continues to reinvent the travel experience. But legacy brands and challengers alike don't innovate by accident. Innovators, whether legacy brands or startups, possess a culture of innovation. You can, too.

On June 4, I felt a mixture of pride, joy, and gratitude when BeyondCurious was named Boutique Agency of the Year by thinkLA. I am deeply grateful to our clients who give us the opportunity to shine with our work and to my inspiring team that lives our mission of unlocking limitless potential every day.

How does a business make innovation an everyday occurrence? I recently blogged about the role of a change agent to guide innovation inside an organization. You need a change agent to lead. But you also need a team with the right kind of innovation mindset: individuals who can achieve successful outcomes in the face of uncertainty. The good news is an innovation mindset can be taught. In fact, on May 26, BeyondCurious took a major step in teaching innovation with the launch of BeyondCurious Academy. Through BeyondCurious Academy, we are developing the kind of skills and thinking required to practice innovation, starting with our own team. 

Innovation in a business requires not only a different approach to developing new ideas but also the right kind of leader. In all the work we do as an innovation agency, I have noticed that every breakthrough has something in common: a strong leader on the client team. And I'm not talking about an executive who defines leadership solely by how well a project is managed; I mean a leader who possesses the vision to understand how change can transform an entire company and knows how to inspire others to advocate for change, too. I call this kind of leader a change agent.

The stakes for creating a great mobile experience are getting higher. Consumer usage of mobile has surpassed the desktop, and according to comScore, smartphone adoption in the United States is surging, meaning that brands need to think mobile just to keep up with consumer behavior. And Google recently sent a strong message about the importance of mobile with the launch of the recent algorithm update that rewards mobile-friendly websites in search. But engaging with customers on mobile means more than building apps and pushing mobile ads. You need to create experiences that adapt to consumers who use their devices to interact with your brand on the fly. On May 19 at 1:00 p.m. EST, my BeyondCurious colleague Vishal Agarwal and I will help businesses understand the key attributes of creating a successful mobile experience as we host a BeyondCurious/Digiday webinar, "Beyond the App: What Makes a Great Mobile Experience?" You may register to attend here.

Traditional methods for digital product development aren’t designed for rapid innovation and don’t support a “test-and-learn” approach in shaping the product. The traditional approaches are fraught with risk – you may end up with a product that doesn’t serve your market needs. Whether it’s a mobile app or a website, now you can build better products faster with cutting-edge cloud tools. Here are five cloud tools that we use in our work with major brands: 

Our culture is rampant with references to momentum: a sports team has “momentum going into the playoffs”; a business has “momentum following a successful IPO”; and an Internet meme or viral video “gains momentum through virtual and real word-of-mouth”. In all of these situations – even physics - momentum is understood to be like riding a wave. Somehow, that team or company has harnessed a kind of power and is being propelled forward beyond the competition. In business, if you have momentum, you will be a market leader. What do companies like Uber, Apple, and GoPro have in common? Aside from being successful brands, they have momentum. Brands with momentum dictate the terms for the market and their competitors and attain powerful and profitable leadership positions.