Intrapreneurship-program Kickbox at emineo

Technical excellence in handling all application requirements, entrepreneurship program, Kickbox at emineo. As the first KMU in Zurich, the IT consulting and software engineering company.

May 2019

Intrapreneurship-Program Kickbox at emineo

As the first KMU in Zurich, the IT consulting and software engineering company introduces the award-winning concept of scalable innovation management throughout the company. Kickbox is based on an Adobe concept which was adapted successfully by Swisscom in 2016.

This initiative ensures that team members can develop their innovation potential independently of the size of the company and in an entirely non-bureaucratic manner – from the bottom up.

Proven entrepreneurship is an important factor in the success of this IT consulting and software development company. The development of new processes and different approaches characterize the world of software engineering. Under these considerations, emineo team members have been pitching their ideas in different development stages since February of this year and are driving them forward independently. The company provides time and budget to the ‘Kickboxers’ for prototyping and working out the business case. In addition, they have the potential to work partly in start-up hubs. There are also a number of specialists who provide support in technical matters (marketing, engineering, strategy, etc.) and with explicit know-how.

From the Idea to the Product or Service

The process begins with the ‘RedBox’, a 60-day period when the actual idea is sharpened up. At the end of this first phase, the idea is pitched to a committee of business management and technical specialists. If approved, then phase two commences: the ‘BlueBox’.

This step provides additional time and budget for fine-tuning of the innovation. If the subsequent pitch is again successful, the team members leave their original job in order to finalize their development in new or separate teams, special departments, as product manager or even as spin-off.

Positive Voices Everywhere

Werner Zecchino, founder and Head of Innovation at emineo, explains: ‘With the introduction of Kickbox we are sending a clear signal. The goal is to create fertile ground for a culture of innovation within the company.’ After the launch a few weeks ago, a number of suggestions have already been submitted.

David Hengartner, Head of Intrapreneurship at Swisscom, is likewise pleased about the successful project launch: ‘Switzerland is a classical KMU country which is repeatedly bringing out fabulous, new services and products. We are proud that our award-winning Kickbox innovation program was adopted by emineo – as the first one in Zurich.’

Als Vertreter und Initiator des Programms international meint Mark Randall, Vice President of Creativity bei Adobe