Today I want to talk to you about InTool‘s Exploration service and why it has become a key solution for organisations that want to grow beyond their core business.

Exploring with structured information, market analysis, technology and value chain analysis is what allows you to reduce uncertainty and make informed decisions. Even when the decision is not to move forward.

Based on the experience of IÑIGO GARAY, the following article delves into a key idea: innovating is not just about having ideas, but knowing what steps to take before committing resources.

When we talk about generating new business, especially outside the core, the difference between moving forward or getting lost lies in how you explore.

This is the view shared by IÑIGO GARAY during a conversation about how to approach exploration in unknown sectors. With more than 15 years of experience in companies such as Isoleika, microporous insulation panels, Isoleika, microporous insulation panels , FAGOR EDERLAN | Global Automotive Components and now CIKAUTXO, Iñigo has experienced first-hand the challenges involved in innovating with your feet on the ground.

What is key when exploring new opportunities?

❝In my experience, the concepts of innovating and generating new business are often confused. But they are different things. Innovating means knowing what steps to take before deciding. And if what you are exploring is not related to your current core business, the risk multiplies.❞

In a scenario that requires exploring new opportunities in unfamiliar sectors and contexts, decisions are made with limited indicators and very short decision times, which highlights the importance of having structured information. That is why having structured information, such as that provided by InTool through its Exploration service, makes all the difference.

Because exploration does not necessarily have to result in a new launch. But it does guarantee much less risky decisions.

What adds value in these processes

IÑIGO GARAY, who has worked with Leartibai Fundazioa for more than 15 years, in three different companies and on a wide variety of projects, has concluded that the key to adding value can be summarised in five points.

What are these points?

• Enter an unfamiliar market with reliable information: volumes, key players, and business signals.
• Understand the technologies currently involved and what other suppliers are already offering.
• Analyse value chains to identify positioning gaps.
• Assess opportunities and prioritise efforts before investing.
• Generate clear deliverables for decision-making committees.

Exploring also means knowing when not to move forward

❝The differential value has been to structure a process that is normally scattered and confusing. And to do so in an agile, adaptive way, with continuous learning and increasingly powered by AI.❞

Thanks to this methodical vision and joint effort, many of these explorations did not result in new businesses, and that is also a success. Because in 5 or 10 years, looking back and seeing that the right decision was made, even if it was not to move forward, is what really protects resources.

I invite you to follow my upcoming posts to continue discovering, with the help of professionals, which approaches really make a difference when it comes to innovating with discernment.