From Outsiders to Alchemists: The Secret Sauce for Unveiling Market Magic

Do you have to be an industry-expert to disrupt your own industry?

Not necessarily.

It's possible to create disruptive growth, even in sectors where innovators don't have firsthand experience. But what's the secret? How can you become great at sparking breakthroughs, as outsiders, stepping into deeply rooted organizations?

Mach49's Ellen Bossert has a precise methodology for success.

The time to start is now. Enjoy.

By Elke Boogert, Mach49 Managing Editor

From Outsiders to Alchemists: The Secret Sauce for Unveiling Market Magic

By Ellen Bossert , Senior Venture Builder and Operating Partner at Mach49

If you think you can create new growth by relying solely on experienced people and tried and true principles from within your own industry – think again.

What does interactive character development that combines AI, robotics, and the principles of animation to create “sentient” digital avatars have in common with nano-structured steel for automotive light-weighting? And how does this connect to pioneering intelligent LED systems that efficiently illuminate global societies? And enable dramatically improved circadian wellness? 

What they have in common is that I’ve worked in all of these domains. On the surface, it looks like a variety of disconnected industries and business applications across a broad horizon of market opportunities, big and small. But upon closer examination, there’s a river that runs through all of my experiences: almost every opportunity presented the ability to disrupt existing business paradigms through new uses of technology to solve deep customer challenges and build entirely new businesses.  

And I love it.

This constant variety of industry challenges and opportunities ignites my entrepreneurial passion. A passion to move tech solutions addressing clear and compelling customer pain, from niche to necessity. 

How can we dive deep into industries that we know little about? At Mach49, our people are known for effectively integrating our teams into complex, worldwide businesses, driving measurable success in disruptive growth, even in sectors where we don't have firsthand experience. But what's the secret? What makes the Mach49 team so good at sparking breakthroughs as outsiders stepping into deeply rooted organizations?

I think there's a kind of magic at work — akin to alchemy— that enables a unique, dynamic mix of elements that creates value far beyond the sum of its parts. This formula hinges on two key pillars: relationships and methodology.

The Relationship Catalyst

First and foremost, we build trust and rapport with our clients (the largest companies in the world), by integrating within their ecosystems. As team members within client organizations, not external consultants, we lay the groundwork for mutual insights and early stage venture opportunities to emerge. 

The Methodology Triad

Working within these collaborative relationships, we employ a three-part methodology focused on:

The back-and-forth between these three areas leads to significant breakthroughs. Our clients definitely know their industry inside out, and we bring an outsider's perspective to uncover new possibilities and see the future through a fresh opportunistic lens where the past is no longer prologue. Our role is to integrate, interpret, and translate across these realms — navigating the early stage venture ship through a cacophony of storms towards clarity. 

The Magic of Iteration

This process directly tackles the dynamic tension and potential connections between customer needs, market movements, and organizational assets. And it's in these iterations where the magic happens. Early on, these elements often clash and lack coherence. But through persistent examination of the interdependencies and a continuous wrangling of a myriad of variables searching for coalescence, a venture concept crystallizes that effectively uses and unifies each component. It is in this coming together where meaning and opportunity converge. 

In my experience, I have rarely seen teams combine this mix of market knowledge, customer empathy, and commercialization expertise with the fluency of the folks who work for Mach49. Wrapped in our ethos of optimism, experimentation, and learning, it is this unique and powerful proposition that speaks to our exceptional client retention and lasting partnerships.

What does this look like?

All told, it is really the combination of all the ingredients below that I believe make Mach49’s approach to venture building so powerful and compelling:  

• Trusted integrated partnerships
• Concentration on organizational assets, market drivers, and customer needs
• Organic and consistent back and forths, tension, and resolutions between these realms
• Translation of signals into insights
• A culture that encourages creative solutions

The net result? A successful venture through our reliable formula for innovation alchemy. The confluence of all these factors consistently turns the complex challenges of global industry leaders into catalysts for breakthrough growth. 

Senior Venture Builder and Operating Partner ELLEN BOSSERT is a dynamic leader who specializes in bringing advanced technology platforms to market in a myriad of company cultures, from startups to Global 500 companies. As the top commercial executive at Color Kinetics, the global pioneer of LED systems technology, Ellen’s leadership in marketing, demand generation, and product innovation helped catalyze the company’s $800M acquisition by Philips Electronics, with 10x forward revenues. She's honed her understanding of team dynamics through an All-American collegiate basketball career at Columbia University, where she earned a BA before later earning an MBA from Harvard University.