Innovation Hub
Innovate Faster. Partner Smarter. Execute Better.
Welcome to the Innovation Hub
The Innovation Hub is a mechanism for driving innovation through rich market research, results-focused convenings, and collaboration with industry stakeholders.
AEO, its members and partners spearhead the creation of transformative solutions aimed at increasing the success of the U.S. microbusiness sector.
Approach:
- Include and engage diverse market actors in cohorts that identify sector opportunities for advancement or participation
- Organize and support action-oriented cohorts to address specific issues i.e. initiatives, with measurable results
What Is the Innovation Hub?
The innovation hub is the central point for the introduction of new methods, products, services, and ideas into the small business ecosystem for the purpose of creating impact in the market.
What is Innovation at AEO?
AInnovation at AEO is a facilitated process for engaging cohorts of diverse stakeholders, and co-designing new solutions and platforms that drive transformational change. Cohorts are formed around initiatives with industry impact.
Why the AEO Innovation Hub?
The Innovation Hub uses AEO’s core competencies to generate transformational change. Its goal is to build a more robust and inclusive marketplace for underserved microbusiness entrepreneurs. AEO brings a series of unique competencies to innovation: a systemic understanding, a capacity to collaborate and to partner with a wide and diverse range of market actors, and an entrepreneurial, resourceful approach
What is the AEO’s Innovation Framework?
Cohorts are formed around initiatives with industry impact. This framework allows us to “Innovate Faster, Execute Better, and Partner Smarter.”
Common Definitions
- Initiatives: Defined shared goals
- Cohort: A facilitated group of people that address shared goals
- Pilots: The testing of a prototype
The Most Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Innovation Hub?
An innovation hub is the central point for the introduction of new methods, products, services, and ideas into the small business ecosystem for the purpose of creating impact in the market.
What is the AEO Framework?
The AEO Framework is the process through which we approach innovation. The framework allows us to “Innovate Faster, Execute Better, and Partner Smarter.”
Common Definitions
- Initiatives: Defined shared goals
- Cohort: A facilitated group of people that address shared goals
- Pilots: the testing of a prototype
What is Innovation at AEO?
An innovation at AEO can take the form of a noun or verb:
Noun: The products we create can be innovations, including our subsidiaries myWay to Credit and DreamFund.
Verb: Innovation (Innovating) is AEO’s proven process of engineering transformational change.
What are the Core Services in AEO's Innovation Hub?
- Cohorts: facilitated collaboration
- Convenings: conferences and events
- Research and Data: additive data that presents new insights through reports, blogs, data sets, and targeted campaigns
- Incubation: tailored support services to launch, developed, and manage ideas
- Seed Capital: deploying flexible seed capital to accelerate development of emerging entities
Why AEO's Innovation Hub?
The Innovation Hub uses AEO’s core competencies to generate transformational change, with the goal of building a more robust and inclusive marketplace for underserved microbusiness entrepreneurs.
Value Proposition
Innovate Faster
- Accelerated access to capital
- Augmented availability of technical assistance
- Efficient process for engaging cohorts and designing new initiatives
Partner Smarter
- Collaborative discovery of products and tools to meet microbusiness needs
- Shared data to diagnose market challenges
- Solution-oriented cohorts comprised of diverse stakeholders
Execute Better
- Access to “right-fit” financing solutions for entrepreneurs
- Vital research, fundraising, fiscal sponsorship, investment, and advisory and support
Membership Requirements for Cohort Participation
- AEO premium level membership
- Cohort application (must meet the requirements of the cohort)
INITIATIVES
PARTICIPANTS
What We Do
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Identify Problems and Opportunities:
We look closer at the microbusiness world to understand its challenges.
Ideate
We imagine creative approaches and outcomes for our members and the entrepreneurs they serve to maximize opportunity.
Share Insights, Impact, and Best Practices:
We keep the industry informed with recommendations based on our outcomes and findings.
Gather Intelligence
We find out all of the facts to deeply refine our vantage point and clarify and align our goals to unify our efforts.
Pilots & Proof of Concept
We put our ideas into practice in the real world to discover what truly works.
Go to Market
We collaborate with organizations of various sizes to put our ideas into practice on an industry-wide level .
AEO Initiatives
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“Meet the participants behind our groundbreaking programs”
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