Success Stories

1. Hero MotoCorp (India)
Hero has created the HeroHatch Incubation program for the following dual purpose:
(i) Preparing the future generation of Hero Innovation Leaders from a highly selective group of young engineering and business managers.
(ii) Creating the next innovative products and services for Hero
NSI was invited to lead the ideation and early prototyping process for Herohatch over a 6 week timeframe, as lead innovation lecturer and consultant to the HeroHatch program. The program culminated with an internal pitch session to senior Hero managers.
The output for the HeroHatch program included a shortlist of new business solutions, two of which were greenlighted for incubation by Hero senior management (including Hero CEO Pawan Munjal). Those two greenlighted ideas (1. Electric Vehicles and 2. Preloved vehicles) have since been incubated and transformed into new subsidiary businesses for Hero Motocorp.
Media coverage:
(1) https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/auto/hero-motocorp-creates-startup-for-innovation-munjal-promises-more-scooters-premium-bikes-2648631.html
(2) https://issuu.com/admin788/docs/hero_universe_vol_1__2019_high_res (page 5).
(3) https://gaadiwaadi.com/hero-quark-1-concept-is-a-versatile-3-wheeler-that-can-be-converted-into-a-2-wheeler/
 
2. EY Financial Consulting Group (Israel)
EY’s Financial Consulting Group in Israel embarked upon a 2-week innovation development program with the following main aims:
(i) Preparing and upskilling mid-career consultants to obtain key innovation methodologies and skills and apply them in a practical ideation setting.
(ii) Creating the next innovative financial services for EY.
NSI was invited to present and facilitate the innovation workshop over the 2-week timeframe, in the role of lead innovation lecturer and consultant to the program. The program culminated with an internal pitch session to senior EY managers.
The output for the EY program included a shortlist of new financial services solutions, one of which was greenlighted by EY senior management for incubation, and underwent commercial piloting.

3. UNSW Global Business Practicum (Australia)
UNSW, one of Australia’s premiere leading universities, organises an annual 4-week Global Business Practicum for its top final year business students in conjunction with leading global universities in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Jakarta and Israel. See: https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/students/career-accelerator/global-opportunities/global-business-practicum
The program’s main aims are:
(i) Provide invaluable and practical global innovation business experience to top selected final year business students.
(ii) Provide top participating start-ups with access to highly motivated and academically gifted business students in real and important projects, crucial to the start-ups’ continued success.
NSI was invited to be the academic and project mentor for the program. Providing a valuable academic and business link between the students and the start-ups. The program culminated with a project presentation session to the start-up managers, in the presence of the Australian ambassador.
Feedback from both the start-ups and the students has been exceptionally positive. A number of the student groups were even offered paid employment (via telecommuting) to continue working on additional crucial projects.
Program website:
https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/students/career-accelerator/global-opportunities/global-business-practicum/tel-aviv

Who We Are?

eli itin

Senior Intrapreneurship Advisor, Trainer & Principal

Eli Itin is Senior Intrapreneurship Advisor and Principal at Northern Star Innovation, a boutique consultancy specializing in the creation and management of organizational intrapreneurship. Eli is based in Sydney, Australia, having worked extensively in the international innovation and start-up ecosystem. His Tier-1 clients include, amongst others: EY, Merck, Intel, Hero Motors, Nice, Allot and Perpetual Australia. Previously he led Organizational Innovation at Amdocs, an MNC providing software and managed services to the telecommunications and financial services sector. Eli has over 30 years’ international experience in a variety of business, marketing, and intrapreneurship roles.
Eli advises organisations on creating intrapreneurship (internal innovation) via best practice innovation tools and methodologies. He provides unique presentations, workshops and training to empower employees to turn their creativity into tangible and positive change.

Eli has an MBA Cum Laude (Innovation & Entrepreneurship) from the Reichman University, Herzliya, as well as degrees in Law and Commerce from UNSW, Sydney, Australia.

He has lectured on intrapreneurship at international conferences and at leading universities, including at Bar Ilan University’s Executive MBA program and UNSW’s Innovation Internship program, Australia. He currently teaches “Strategic Design Studio” at the University of Technology Sydney, MIT’s “Approach to Design Thinking”, Columbia University’s “Product Development Using SIT”, and Dartmouth’s “Strategy is Innovation”. Eli is passionate about the power of systematic intrapreneurship to clarify organisational challenges, crystallize solutions, and create real value.

deepanshu sharma

Senior Intrapreneurship Advisor & Trainer

Deepanshu is a business transformation consultant, with a passion for helping organisations create a vibrant culture of internal innovation. His expertise lies in facilitating disciplined processes for strategic thinking and change management.

As a senior intrapreneurship advisor at Northern Star Innovation, Deepanshu is responsible for designing and facilitating customised change management journeys for clients across the globe. His intervention designs rest on the foundations of andragogy, and use a judicious mix of engagement modes, including facilitated outcomes-oriented workshops, transformation projects and executive coaching.

Through the course of his consulting journey, Deepanshu has executed a wide array of projects for strategy development, innovation of products/services, leadership capability building and cultural evolution for clients across a variety of industries. Some of his marquee clients include Axis Bank (retail banking), Ani Technology/ Ola (mobility), Emeritus-Eruditus (edu-tech), Gas Authority of India Limited/ Hindustan Petroleum/ Idemitsu (oil & gas), HP WW Studios (information technology), Rudrabhishek Enterprises (infrastructure consulting), Deloitte (management & accounting consulting), WeWork (real-estate), SRF Limited (speciality manufacturing), Idea Chakki (food-tech), Nature in Focus (wildlife tourism), FLCA (sports management), K&S Partners (IP consulting) and Sapient/ Publicis Groupe (marketing analytics).

Before embarking on his consulting journey, Deepanshu spent 25 years in the ever evolving and rapidly transforming technology industry, where he held senior leadership positions with global majors including Apple Computers, Microsoft Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices. During this phase, he essayed a variety of roles across strategy, corporate development, sales, business operations, marketing and communications.

With academic foundations in Psychology and Marketing, Deepanshu is also a certified executive coach.

Deepanshu is based in Gurgaon, India and consults globally.

"We had the pleasure of inviting Eli to conduct an innovation workshop for our newly appointed ambassadors and heads of missions. Eli's workshop gave our diplomats new tools and methodologies to help them find creative solutions to challenges that they face and find new ways of planning ahead. I am happy to recommend Eli as an engaging presenter and trainer and an expert on innovation management." 

Ilana Stein
Cadet Course Director
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel

"Eli is an expert in managing the innovation process, a true professional, who develops and implements tools and methods for enhancing innovation at different stages of the innovation process, from the first phase of the generation of novel ideas to the phase of implementation. Eli gave a number of lectures on innovation to our students and also coordinated a workshop in which he taught us tools for idea generation. We are proud to continue collaborating with Eli on the development of additional workshops to enhance innovation processes and culture."

Prof. Erez Miriam
Innovation Professor
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

INNOVATION SHOULDN'T BE A ROCKY ROAD

"If your company isn’t regularly transforming original ideas into net value, then “innovation” is more buzzword than actual differentiator." In this article, I explore some of the ways in which organizations can implement and manage on-going innovation to create value and a sustainable advantage.