Embedding Business Model Innovation at Toga

Challenge

TOGA is a successful developer of quality residential apartments throughout Australia and felt that it could not afford to sit back and do nothing while the industry was undergoing a transformation. TOGA aspires to be a leading innovative company and its senior leaders are passionate about championing new ways-of-working. The Strategy Group designed a tailored program to assist TOGA in achieving the following:

1. Deliver innovative solutions to real challenges facing the TOGA business to achieve commercial outcomes.

2. Develop innovation capability with TOGA and its people to nurture a culture of innovation which permeates the entire organisation.

Approach

A tailored program was designed to build capability and drive commercial outcomes

The program involved 3 internal startups addressing 3 defined business challenges over a dedicated 9-week period. The individuals within each startup were taken away from their normal roles within the TOGA business and put in the program to develop their entrepreneurial and innovation capability. Lean Startup principles and the Business Model Canvas framework were used to provide a structured approach to develop assumptions about their challenge, test these assumptions with real customers, and adapt their direction and strategy based on their findings via a process of continuous learning.

The Strategy Group guided the startups through the program with theoretical training, experiential learning, practical guidance, and immersion in the startup world.

At the end of the 9 weeks, the startups pitched their concepts to an InvestmentPanel comprised of TOGA leaders in order to obtain real funding and resources to progress their concept with TOGA as the initial investor.

Outcomes

“We know that we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done. That’s why we’ve invested in this program. We want to make innovation a core capability and that’s why we’ve chosen to partner with The Strategy Group”

- Lucy Shannon, Innovation andResearch Manager, TOGA

Identifying new business avenues in construction to avoid disruption

The program delivered 3 new and validated business models ready to be funded and operationalised.

Alongside these commercial outcomes, the participants learned valuable skills in new business model development, applying lean principles, adopting a customer-centric mindset to new product and service development, and fostering an entrepreneurial culture.