STRATEGY & INNOVATION CONSULTING

POWER YOUR INNOVATION IN THE ERA OF DEEP TECH

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OUR VISION

Accelerating technological disruptions and societal changes are redefining competitive advantages and creating new markets.

Our experience shows that whether a company will lose or benefit from those transformations depends on a few skills:

  • Strategy: Understanding emerging opportunities and framing clear priorities
  • Ecosystem: Securing new partnerships beyond their current value chain, including with startups which are often the pioneers
  • Mindset and ways of working: Create an environment where experimentation is encouraged before innovations are mature enough to be fully integrated into business units

We work with our clients on those three dimensions, combining our experience from the best consulting firms and our position as the orchestrator of the largest deep tech ecosystem.

So, let’s talk
  • Working with Hello Tomorrow has been a great experience. What makes us prefer them to bigger agencies is the quality of the deliverables they provide while creating a work atmosphere that is enjoyable and highly transparent. We have built a strong relationship thanks to their reliable, professional, and insightful team. We never had the impression they were trying to find shortcuts in the job and the approach was really solid.

    Signe Causse

    — Global Marketing Leader, Re-Imagine WellnessTM, IFF

LET’S ENGINEER YOUR FUTURE TOGETHER

WE HELP OUR CLIENTS TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES COMING FROM MAIN TRENDS IN DEEP TECH, AND SUPPORT THEM IN EVERY STEP OF THEIR INNOVATION JOURNEY.

FRAME
CONVICTIONS

It all starts with convictions. By shedding light on the upcoming trends (in 3, 5 or 10 years) and technologies that will transform your business, we help you align your strategic roadmap with upcoming opportunities & threats, whether it is in or outside of your core business.

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FIND NEW SOLUTIONS & PARTNERS

We detect the right solutions and partners to answer your short and long term needs, to improve your offers, solve operational problems or explore new markets.

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BUILD & ACCELERATE

We help accelerate innovations to market by running co-development programs between startups and corporates and operating incubation programs.

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THE SMALL DETAILS YOU WON’T FIND ELSEWHERE

STARTUP NETWORK

We have already scouted more than 20,000 deep tech solutions, and built a comprehensive database of thousands of the best deep tech startups qualified over 7 editions of the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge looking for R&D and business partners.

EXPERT NETWORK

To explore new opportunities, accessing the right insights makes all the difference. Our network of deep tech experts from academia, industry, or startups can advise on any topic related to emerging technologies and new markets.

INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT

We are connected with a network of 250 worldwide ecosystem partners including leading research centers, incubators, accelerators, and tech transfer offices, as well as Hello Tomorrow Hubs in Europe and Asia.

TOOLS

Our proprietary software, Ecos, enables us to design ecosystems in an interactive way. It enables our clients to understand the different types of actors in the market, as well as the type of interactions they are having.

KNOW-HOW & REFERENCES

Each year, we assess 4,000 applications to the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge and run a dozen tailor-made innovation challenges and startup calls for our clients.

OPINION LEADERS

We issue deep tech analysis every year and regularly publish global reports, as we identify and dive into innovation trends and dynamics. Our decade-long collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group enables us to be established as a reference in the Deep Tech ecosystem.

CLIENT CASE STUDIES

Context

THE BOOMING MARKET OF PERSONALIZED NUTRITION

Due to increasing consumer awareness about the role nutrition can play in their global health, a globally rising demand for personalized products and the scientific evidence that one-size-fits-all diets are not really efficient, the market for personalized nutrition is booming.

OUR CLIENT

Our client, a global company in the food industry, was looking for a comprehensive understanding of the emerging market, how were the actors shaping it, as well as what role they could successfully play to grasp this opportunity.

Our Approach

Combining desk research, experts interviews and consumer surveys we delivered:

  1. Ecosystem mapping: an interactive map, using our proprietary software, to understand key players and associated interactions of value between them
  2. Benchmark and research: 13 experts’ interviews and desk research to validate and refine the value chain, and identify key unaddressed opportunities to conquer
  3. Deep dive & recommandations: Several workshops to assess the existing assets & strategy of the client in order to formulate the final recommendations

What we provided

  • comprehensive vision of today’s ecosystem for each step of the value chain, including an in-depth benchmark of actors and their positioning
  • 3 untapped opportunities and associated partners within the ecosystem were selected and deep-dived in terms of market potential and required investment (HR, manufacturing…)

Context

As the EV revolution is underway, NGK Spark Plugs is at a crossroad. Pioneer manufacturer of key elements of combustion engines, NGK Spark Plugs decided to focus on new growth engines: digital health, smart mobility, and decentralised utilities.

Within their Venture Lab, the ambition is to launch innovation projects to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

Our partner’s goal is to provide solutions that improve the quality of life in the world and achieve a financial target of $1 billion in new revenue by 2030. 

Our Approach

Hello Tomorrow conducted a three-step program:

  1. Ideation & Benchmark: interactive workshops using creativity methods to help define new areas of interest. Then doing desk research to validate and refine the vision
  2. Startup challenge: an international innovation call organised to gather the best startup fitting with the needs previously identified
  3. Acceleration: Establish the right path to create new business. A 3-week boot camp to set the basis of a common opportunity with a fast-track program in our partner facilities

What we provided

The collaboration is still ongoing for phase three, up until now Hello Tomorrow provided:

  • Ideation workshop where 19 ideas were framed, then detailed in opportunity card diving including their value chain
  • The most promising area of interest “Changing the paradigm to improve patient care” has been chosen to conduct an innovation challenge that received 110 applications
  • The bootcamp was divided into two parts:
    • Two weeks online were the startups and Venture Lab’s team created two business case one for collaboration and the other for investment gathering in total 20 people
    • Last week in Berlin to meet the team, refine their collaboration models and prepare pitches to the top management to decide on which idea they will allocate people’s time to build the final business case
  • The 3 best startups were invited to a Demo Day in Japan for a showcase and meet the investment team that will elect the ventures they want to run a due diligence on before validating upcoming investments
  • Ongoing collaborations

Context

The ExCo of a leading French group in the water sector missioned Hello Tomorrow to deep dive into key trends and technologies in the field.

Anticipating changes and potential new businesses, the organization was looking to apprehend the next wave of innovation by going beyond digital solutions.

After alignment on priorities, a presentation was drafted and delivered to the client’s Surveillance Committee along with insights on how to make the most of each situation presented.

Our Approach

Using reports, our startup database, deep tech trends, and interview summaries gathered throughout the years, our team established a presentation consolidating: 

  1. Key differences between digital and deep tech innovations, and their levels of disruption throughout all sectors
  2. Upcoming trends in the utilities at 3, 5 and 10 years looking for disruption outside the industry as well

Technology analysis within the trends to understand which ones are going to bring the most disruption and need to be invested in

What we provided

A tailored presentation based on key trends, technological dive, and examples (startups and ongoing collaborations), to grasp opportunities and possibilities for markets in 3, 5, and 10 years. 

Context

THE BOOMING MARKET OF ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS

Due to increasing concerns around the ethics and sustainability of animal agriculture as well as its impact on human health, (interconnected with countless cardiovascular diseases), the Alternative Protein market is experiencing exponential interest and growth.

OUR CLIENT

Our client, a global ingredient manufacturer, was looking for a deeper understanding of the Alternative Protein emerging market, what direction the industry is heading in order to understand the challenges it is facing, as well as what role could they play and what opportunities are waiting for them.

Our Approach

Combining intense research, experts interviews and a market study we designed:

  1. Opportunities’ mapping: Profound research of the technologies, trends and growth forecasts in order to have a deeper understanding of the market situation
  2. Deep dive: Experts’ interviews and research to validate the collected data with scientific evidence
  3. Market Sizing & Recommendation: Detailed market study of the different opportunities to assess the viability & prioritization towards the client’s strategy and assets

What we provided

  • A comprehensive vision of today’s landscape of technologies, investments, actors and trends
  • Customized opportunities in the value chain were selected to enter the market and a strategy was designed for each of those scenarios 

Context

A leader in cosmetics decided to rethink its advanced research. To shape their strategic roadmap, they asked Hello Tomorrow to assess the trends and potential of the various technologies foreseen as key enablers of this transformation.

Three themes were of particular interest in this study :

  • Nature co-designed ingredients & formulas
  • Safe transformation & formulation process
  • Eco-impact usage and biodegradable ingredients & formulas

Our Approach

We leveraged our ecosystem and technological expertise as well as our knowledge of open innovation methodologies to run a study and animate workshops around :

  1. Technology potential overview: explaining the current state and mid-term potential of deep tech on several cosmetic categories
  2. Landscape overview: presenting the most remarkable players of the ecosystem with application to the cosmetics industry
  3. Best practices: for engaging with the deep tech ecosystem, including key success factors and testimonies from successful partners

What we provided

  • 80+ players scouted from startups to incubators or VCs
  • 5 main trends identified as transforming cosmetic R&D
  • cultural shift within the teams when it comes to open collaboration (ways of working, business involvement, type of partnership, expertise to develop internally vs externally…)
  • Ongoing follow-up assignment to decide on which opportunity spaces to bet and how to build on it with the ecosystem

Context

As Servier R&D was starting to build their new research institute in Saclay (expected in 2023), they decided to develop an incubation offer for Drug Discovery and Medical Biotech startups, based on Servier’s main areas of expertise.

They asked Hello Tomorrow to help them design the best incubator for startups, leveraging our large network.

To pursue a user-centric design, we involved startups as early as possible in the discussions, strongly believing that their experience and insights would be a real asset in imagining the future Servier R&D incubator.

Moreover, Servier’s executives wanted to onboard and educate their collaborators (and futur incubator mentors) about the specific needs of deep tech and healthcare startups, in order to prepare and engage them in future assignments.

Our Approach

We conducted a three-step program:

  1. We first sent a survey to a subset of our global network to gather their insight on what an “Servier incubator” should provide, and analysed the results.
  2. Then, we organised a workshop with 15 French startups. Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, we held it online, pushing us to adapt our proprietary methodology to the situation. The workshop involved more than 30 startups and 6 Servier decision makers, including their Research Scientific Director and Department Head on Prospective & Opportunities.
  3. Learning expedition: Once Servier’s decision maker team was aware of the challenges and roles of a deep tech incubator, we took the collaborators that will operate in the future incubator at a Learning Expedition to the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit. They met pioneer healthcare startups and engaged in discussions with them, through collective sessions about best practices in incubation as well as working groups about startups concrete expectations in incubators (whereas in terms of human and financial support than industrial and scientific expertise, strategy etc.)

What we provided

Both the survey and the workshop results allowed us to build a common vision, shared with Servier R&D and the startups, highlighting Servier’s unique positioning and sought after scientific expertise. 

As a summary, a prioritized list of key functionalities, offers and expertise expected by startups was provided, all linked to specific key internal and external stakeholders to be onboarded.

The Learning Expedition at Hello Tomorrow’s Global Summit allowed future incubator mentors and collaborators to engage with the community of deep tech startups in a direct and intimate way. 

As a result, Servier’s collaborators understood how their future working routines and objectives will change in an fast-paced environment. 

They also got a clear view of startups’ expectations of an incubator.

Context

With an ever-growing population and pressure on ecosystems, Bayer Crop Science’s mission as an industry leader is to deliver world-class innovation to foster new possibilities in agriculture.

How to identify crop pests or diseases early via digital plant phenotyping?

How to use in silico toxicology to perform a reliable, relevant and accurate product safety assessment for humans without the use of animals?

While ensuring sustainability, these were the questions that Bayer Crop Science answered by teaming up with Hello Tomorrow.

Our Approach

Hello Tomorrow worked with the Crop Science team to organize the challenge, from the framing to the remote final at their LifeHub:

  1. Framing, including specific topics and value proposition for startups
  2. Sourcing of relevant startups
  3. Communication campaign, global and targeted, throughout the challenge
  4. Application platform operation and selection process for the jury
  5. Final event organisation as an online event broadcasted from Bayer’s LifeHub in Lyon, France

What we provided

Within 3 months, from the first framing meeting to the challenge final event:

  • A tailor-made brochure produced by our graphic designer as well as dedicated application platform
  • 300 deep tech startups identified that can meet the challenge
  • 120 startup applications
  • 6 Bayer experts involved in the jury, equipped with the Hello Tomorrow evaluation forms and grids
  • 6 finalists selected to take part in a final pitching event, with almost 200 live viewers
  • Ongoing collaborations with KREATiS, the grand winner

Context

As a biopharmaceutical leader, Takeda is accelerating the use of digital and data to speed delivery of life-saving medicines, while also easing the burden of diagnosis and treatment for patients, their families and healthcare providers.

Therefore, Takeda is opening its doors to new partnerships to accelerate the future of personalized healthcare.

The first edition of the Digital Health Innovation Challenge by Takeda was open to solutions in Real World Evidence, Integrated & Personalized Care and Early Diagnosis for Sleep Disorders, Treatment of Transplant Recipients, & Genetic Rare Diseases.

Our Approach

Hello Tomorrow worked with the Takeda team to organize the challenge, from the framing to the final event:

  1. Framing, including specific topics and value proposition for startups
  2. Sourcing of relevant startups
  3. Co-organisation of a Q&A webinar
  4. Communication campaign, global and targeted, throughout the challenge
  5. Application platform operation and selection process for the jury
  6. Final event as an online internal Takeda event

What we provided

Within 3 months, from the first framing meeting to the innovation challenge final event on March 23rd:

  • A complete communication kit produced by our graphic designer, communications officer, and innovation consultant
  • A dedicated Takeda-branded application platform in partnership with Brightidea
  • 500+ startups identified as of interest to the Challenge
  • An external webinar involving Takeda experts, with 113 participants (188 registered)
  • 100+ startup applications across 21 different countries
  • 50 Takeda experts involved in the evaluation process, equipped with the Hello Tomorrow evaluation forms and grids
  • 6 finalists selected to pitch in an exclusive Takeda digital event which gathered more than 350 Takeda collaborators
  • Finalists: ExactCure, IDUN Technologies, Patient Connect, Patients Know Best, Sidekick Health, and Volv

Context

What is Airbus going to look like in 20-30 years?

How to achieve an efficient and comprehensive digital transformation?

How to speed up production cycles?

These are the questions that Airbus DDMS (Digital Design Manufacturing & Services) is trying to answer.

To speed up their transition they decided to team up with Hello Tomorrow to find future technological gems in all fields related to industry 4.0.

Our Approach

Hello Tomorrow worked with the DDMS team to organize the challenge, from the framing to the final at the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit:

  1. Framing with planning, terms & conditions, and value proposition for startups
  2. Sourcing of relevant startups
  3. Communication campaign, global and targeted, throughout the challenge
  4. Application platform operation and selection process for the jury
  5. Finals event organisation as an Airbus corporate day

What we provided

  • Within 3 months, from the first framing meeting to the challenge final event:
  • A tailor-made brochure produced by our graphic designer as well as an application platform seen more than 2,500 times
  • 300 deep tech startups identified that can meet the challenge
  • 160 startup applications
  • 9 Airbus experts involved in the jury, equipped with the Hello Tomorrow evaluation forms and grids
  • 10 finalists selected to take part in the final

Context

Jointly organised by Hello Tomorrow and Enterprise Singapore, the Hello Tomorrow Innovation Alliance, a Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) Acceleration Programme, accelerates the growth of cutting-edge Singaporean startups looking to expand in France and Europe.

Benefiting to overall 3 cohorts, Hello Tomorrow supported and trained Singaporean startups for their entry into the French market, leveraging its ecosystem and flagship event, the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit.

Our Approach

After a selection of relevant Singaporean deep tech startups and a thorough assessment of needs, a 6-week program was carried out with:

  1. One month of training by Hello Tomorrow and partners to design market access strategy, understand corporate culture & collaboration frameworks, get better at pitching…
  2. Mentorship sessions with a seasoned expert following the startups’ field and overall program goal
  3. 1-week immersion in the French ecosystem with onsites visits and discoveries
  4. Business meetings during the Deep Tech Week and the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit to exchange with prospects and potential partners

What we provided

Despite a difficult context related to the Covid-19 pandemic, Singaporean startups benefited from a complete program from ecosystem discovery to partnership development.

Masterclasses on innovation, and business practices in France;
Guided tour of the ecosystem;
Networking opportunities;
Participate at our Deep Tech Days
3 cohorts made of 10 participants
6 startups made the trip to Paris
100+ business meeting conducted with corporates, research centers, investors, industry experts
Collaborations ongoing

Context

Jointly organised by Bpifrance and Hello Tomorrow, the CO-INNO program accelerates and supports the most cutting-edge French startups from the discovery of a forein ecosystem to the establishment of technological partnerships, funding and even their settlement onsite.

This first edition landed in Singapore, an international hub benefiting from: 

  • A strong innovation ecosystem. Singapore was ranked the 8th most innovative economy in the world and 2nd in Asia for innovation, after South Korea according to the 2020 Global Innovation Index (GII).
  • A strategic location. Considered an open-door to the ASEAN region, About 1900 French companies have already established themselves here.

A rich network. Both Bpifrance and Hello Tomorrow benefit from strong relations with entities onsite, from Singaporean institutions able to support company expansion to potential partners, suppliers, and clients known by the APAC Hello Tomorrow hub.

Our Approach

Governed by the ‘Advanced & Resilient Industries’ thematic, this first cohort is made of 6 French deep tech startups with solutions ranging from biotech to Industry 4.0.

The program is carried out in 3 main phases: 

  1. Training sessions with preparatory modules on foreign culture, business etiquette as well as ecosystem stakeholders and co-innovation. Startups are also introduced to their local mentor. 
  2. Matching needs and expectations to introduce French startups to Singaporean entities (corporate, startups, institutions, etc.), apprehend what co-innovation and co-development would look like, and leverage the Singaporean ecosystem and its events during an onsite immersion week 

Decision making to pursue international strategy with office hours from Hello Tomorrow to further support potential applications for funding

What we provided

The program is currently ongoing, yet startups from this first cohort will benefit from: 

  • 5 masterclasses ranging from understanding foreign culture and practices to co-innovation frameworks and implications
  • Support of a dedicated mentor throughout the program 
  • Introductions and business meetings with potential prospects and partners in Singapore
  • Workshops to generate collaboration ideas and leverage existing Hello Tomorrow canvases for collaboration framework, business model, and market fit
  • Guided tour of the Singaporean ecosystem
  • Networking opportunities including participation in SWITCH, Singapore’s flagship innovation event 
  • Office hours following startup’s strategy to apply to funding or settle in the region