How to turn Ideas into Cash? I've won Open Innovation Challenges in AI, Engineering, logistics and even chemistry. Here is how it works - and why you should get into it too:

If I ever hit 1,000+ followers, we’re gonna launch a live innovation project right here in full color. Any ideas what it should be? 👇

Finale: I find this so cool! Folding & clicking could be THE dominating concept for IKEA's next decade. Next stop: Folding drawers!

Learnings for Innovators: If you have a good idea, think it through from al angles. Prove feasibility. That's how you turn "nice" into "next big thing"

Bottom line: Well done, IKEA! You thought out of the box and made it work! Many companies would have said: "Good idea but impossible to produce."

BUT - Big deal for PRODUCTION: - Flexible coating must be indoor-safe and tough - Must be bonded to parts of different thicknesses - Must withstand folding bending transport = huge shear forces

As a USER, assembly is way simpler: - Expand the side walls and the thing already stands up right in place - No hammer, no DIY skills needed - Easy disassembly = more sustainable

Ever built an IKEA Cabinet? Hammered all those nails in the backpanel? That's gone!! Backpanel folds out origami-style. Great idea but also a big deal. Why? >>>

/20 Oh - but what if you won? After the dopamine levels are back to normal and you've signed an IP-transfer contract, you cash out. PRO-TIP: Prizes from public contests might be tax-free in your country!

/19 Often you won't get any feedback and you feel kind of left in the dark. Anyway - if OI got you on the hook, next time you: - read between the lines of the challenge description - deeply online-research the seeker and their needs - write a super-catchy solution summary ...

/18 Hearing back from the Seeker may take quite long. Even if you are super convinced of your idea, don't expect to win - the knowledge you've gained and the new skills you've learned were absolutely worth it!

/17 So I believe there is no "best" style. For me, the hands-on engineering style worked quite well. For you it may be something different. Just go for it, you will improve with every proposal.

/16 You wont find many examples of winning proposals as they are usually kept undisclosed by seekers. In the depths of HeroX, I came across some rather epic texts peppered with lots of popular sayings and pages of scientific references. I've also heard of a winning one-pager.

/15 Estimate the development cost and -duration of your solution. Use a Gantt chart. Also consider any operational cost. If the solution is a volume product, I only estimate the costs to build a working prototype.

/14 Cover any possible problem you can think of in a risk analysis table. Estimate its probability, its severity and describe how to mitigate it.

13/ If the seeker has already tried a similar approach - very carefully describe why your solution WILL work, to avoid: "tried it already - doesn't work".

12/ - identify suppliers of specific materials or components - check if all your claimed features and benefits are covered by your solution description

11/ Demonstrate the feasibility of your solution by going deep into technical details: - find existing technical solutions in comparable areas, products and scientific papers - consider all working conditions, deployment, social, and organizational impacts

10/ Create a solution summary as accurately, concisely and briefly as possible. The seeker should already get your idea. Use easy-to-understand illustrations, drawings or diagrams. 3D often beats 2D: Model objects with Sketchup or Tinkercad - it's easy to learn.

9/ Often you are asked to use a form. I personally ignore this and attach my proposal as a PDF file. This gives me more freedom to add images, tables, etc. Usually the website has a mechanism to convert the form to PDF, so I assume the seeker is looking at PDFs anyway.

8/ Besides adding an additional Chapter (if really necessary), I usually stick to their structure. Because you never know how the seeker assesses your response. If it's hard to match your content with their criteria, you might score lower.