Meet Nathan Furr
Innovation – specifically, repeatable innovation – has remained a mystery for far too long. Through his research, teaching and writing, Nathan Furr is working to unlock the ambiguity, and help enterprise leaders and entrepreneurs create and manage breakthrough innovation.
Professor of strategy and innovation at INSEAD in Paris, Furr is a recognized expert in the fields. His most recent book, “The Innovator’s Method” (Harvard Business Review Press, September 2014) combines the two, bringing the radical “lean start-up” approach to innovation into established organizations. His previous book, “Nail It Then Scale It” (NISI Institute, June 2011), underscores that the seeds to entrepreneurial success are sown before you build anything.
The principles and best practices framed in both books are rooted in Professor Furr’s decades of innovation and technology strategy research, which has been published in leading journals, such as the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and he has received numerous national and international awards from the Academy of Management, the Kauffman Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, and other prestigious academic institutions. Based on this research, Professor Furr has created or taught interdisciplinary innovation programs at BYU, Stanford, ESSEC and other schools.
His numerous published papers and speaking engagements zero in on how to capture new opportunities, how to balance the need for execution and flexibility, how firms develop innovative business models, and the impact of learning on new market success. Professor Furr also co-founded the International Business Model, a competition that reinforces the methodologies he teaches, attracting more than 2,500 teams from more than 250 universities around the world.
Professionally, Professor Furr has acted as the founder or advisor to corporations and startups in the health care, clean technology, professional services, internet, retail and financial services industries. He also sits on the investment board of the Kickstart Seed Fund, an innovative early-stage venture fund, and previously served as a consultant with Monitor Group, working with senior executives on a range of strategic market and discovery initiatives. His clients have included such leading companies as AT&T, Sony, Tec de Monterrey and USTAR, among many others.
Professor Furr earned his Ph.D. from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University. He also holds BA, MA and MBA degrees.
Professor of strategy and innovation at INSEAD in Paris, Furr is a recognized expert in the fields. His most recent book, “The Innovator’s Method” (Harvard Business Review Press, September 2014) combines the two, bringing the radical “lean start-up” approach to innovation into established organizations. His previous book, “Nail It Then Scale It” (NISI Institute, June 2011), underscores that the seeds to entrepreneurial success are sown before you build anything.
The principles and best practices framed in both books are rooted in Professor Furr’s decades of innovation and technology strategy research, which has been published in leading journals, such as the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and he has received numerous national and international awards from the Academy of Management, the Kauffman Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, and other prestigious academic institutions. Based on this research, Professor Furr has created or taught interdisciplinary innovation programs at BYU, Stanford, ESSEC and other schools.
His numerous published papers and speaking engagements zero in on how to capture new opportunities, how to balance the need for execution and flexibility, how firms develop innovative business models, and the impact of learning on new market success. Professor Furr also co-founded the International Business Model, a competition that reinforces the methodologies he teaches, attracting more than 2,500 teams from more than 250 universities around the world.
Professionally, Professor Furr has acted as the founder or advisor to corporations and startups in the health care, clean technology, professional services, internet, retail and financial services industries. He also sits on the investment board of the Kickstart Seed Fund, an innovative early-stage venture fund, and previously served as a consultant with Monitor Group, working with senior executives on a range of strategic market and discovery initiatives. His clients have included such leading companies as AT&T, Sony, Tec de Monterrey and USTAR, among many others.
Professor Furr earned his Ph.D. from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University. He also holds BA, MA and MBA degrees.
Suggested Speaking Topics
The Innovator’s Method to Help Established Firms Act Like Start-Ups
More and more, established businesses say they want to act like a start-up – improve their entrepreneurial spirit, and enhance and encourage risk-taking. Most don’t follow through. The ideas and techniques required run counter to conventional thinking and practices, and managers struggle to implement them. But Professor Nathan Furr believes the radical new method – adapting the latest techniques honed by successful start-ups – to managing innovation in established businesses isn’t only possible, but increasingly important to companies’ abilities to create, refine and bring new ideas to market, more quickly and less expensively than competitors. Based on field work with thousands of managers – validated inside dozens of companies – he offers a beginning-to-end “how to” guide for applying the “lean start-up” approach, and helping companies turn around their innovation capabilities. This “Innovator’s Method” (Harvard Business Review Press, September 2014) picks up where the popular “Innovator’s DNA” (Harvard Business Review Press, July 2011) leaves off, showing how to test, validate and commercialize ideas with the lean and agile techniques that make so many entrepreneurs successful.
The Innovator’s DNA: How to Create, Master and Lead Innovation
How do great innovators come up with new ideas and create opportunities in an era of increasing uncertainty and intense competition? By identifying behaviors of the world’s best – from leaders at Amazon and Apple to Google and Skype, and more – Professor Nathan Furr outlines the skills that distinguish the extraordinary from the ordinary. He also discusses how to create and lead a culture of innovation throughout an organization, an advantage proven to improve companies’ innovation premium and spur real growth. Drawing from decades of his own research, and that of his innovation guru colleagues, Professor Furr teaches how organizations and leaders in any sector can apply these insights and tools to solve problems and create new opportunities.
Entrepreneurs: Nail It, Then Scale It
The majority of new businesses fail, yet there are a handful of entrepreneurs who succeed over and over again. Interestingly, few of them understand the real reasons for their success. Most startups fail by doing the “right things,” but doing them out of order, says Professor Nathan Furr. He reveals his “Nail It Then Scale It” (NISI Institute, June 2011) method, drawing from years of research, trials and real world examples – from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs – and explores the pattern recognition of timeless principles and key practices used by successful entrepreneurs to repeatedly innovate. Better understand the entire process of innovation, identify customer pain, and test and validate solution hypotheses. By applying best practices, you’ll gain the confidence and the tools to “nail it, then scale it.”
More and more, established businesses say they want to act like a start-up – improve their entrepreneurial spirit, and enhance and encourage risk-taking. Most don’t follow through. The ideas and techniques required run counter to conventional thinking and practices, and managers struggle to implement them. But Professor Nathan Furr believes the radical new method – adapting the latest techniques honed by successful start-ups – to managing innovation in established businesses isn’t only possible, but increasingly important to companies’ abilities to create, refine and bring new ideas to market, more quickly and less expensively than competitors. Based on field work with thousands of managers – validated inside dozens of companies – he offers a beginning-to-end “how to” guide for applying the “lean start-up” approach, and helping companies turn around their innovation capabilities. This “Innovator’s Method” (Harvard Business Review Press, September 2014) picks up where the popular “Innovator’s DNA” (Harvard Business Review Press, July 2011) leaves off, showing how to test, validate and commercialize ideas with the lean and agile techniques that make so many entrepreneurs successful.
The Innovator’s DNA: How to Create, Master and Lead Innovation
How do great innovators come up with new ideas and create opportunities in an era of increasing uncertainty and intense competition? By identifying behaviors of the world’s best – from leaders at Amazon and Apple to Google and Skype, and more – Professor Nathan Furr outlines the skills that distinguish the extraordinary from the ordinary. He also discusses how to create and lead a culture of innovation throughout an organization, an advantage proven to improve companies’ innovation premium and spur real growth. Drawing from decades of his own research, and that of his innovation guru colleagues, Professor Furr teaches how organizations and leaders in any sector can apply these insights and tools to solve problems and create new opportunities.
Entrepreneurs: Nail It, Then Scale It
The majority of new businesses fail, yet there are a handful of entrepreneurs who succeed over and over again. Interestingly, few of them understand the real reasons for their success. Most startups fail by doing the “right things,” but doing them out of order, says Professor Nathan Furr. He reveals his “Nail It Then Scale It” (NISI Institute, June 2011) method, drawing from years of research, trials and real world examples – from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs – and explores the pattern recognition of timeless principles and key practices used by successful entrepreneurs to repeatedly innovate. Better understand the entire process of innovation, identify customer pain, and test and validate solution hypotheses. By applying best practices, you’ll gain the confidence and the tools to “nail it, then scale it.”
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