Who survived? Whoever innovates.

Innovation as an opportunity for success. Innovation as sustainable development. Innovation as a necessity and a way of life. In recent years, in the dramatically changing market, we have seen many examples of companies that have "benefited" from the crisis by offering innovative products and services that change the market and the way we live.

On the topic of business innovation, we are talking to Mark Marinov, Business Development Director of Sofia Tech Park - a kind of incubator of innovations on the Bulgarian market.

What are the important aspects of success during a crisis ?

History remembers plenty of examples of global crises and how companies went through them, how they survived and how they continued .

What does it take to survive a crisis? In my experience I can point out several main components:

• Sufficiently accessible and available corporate capital ("money for а rainy day"), however, not too many organizations are really prepared for that. On the contrary, they are relatively few. This component is not a guarantee of sustainable success, because after the crisis new conditions arise with other "surviving" companies, the dynamics are accelerating and the markets are not what they were before.
• Activities and projects that you can part with in order to minimize operating costs and thus reach the "exit" point of the This component can work, but does not guarantee stability, being able to only keep us whole for a certain, usually short, period of time.
• Innovative capacity, which I call the ability of organizations to adapt, change quickly and remain relevant in the market in which they operate. These companies most often manage to derive sufficient benefits from the crisis, which then become a competitive advantage when the market and economic conditions normalize. In addition, innovation within an organization is a process that creates new products, new concepts and new solutions that have the potential to become cornerstones of the company's activities and can ensure long-term, sustainable success. Unfortunately, the companies that focus on that final component aren’t that many, as the majority consider these activities, especially in a crisis situation, to be redundant and are the first to be dropped out of the processes in their business.

What does it take to develop innovation skills in such situations and thus improve our company's innovative capacity?

First of all, we need to transform our concern, that our company is at risk, into energy and enthusiasm for finding new solutions, concepts and products, or adapting our business to new conditions. This could happen through the following steps:

• A reflexion of the organization's mission and vision. Why we exist, how we work, what we offer to our customers and what in our products or services gives them the greatest value?
• Can the things we offer to our customers, continue to give them value in the changing environment and is it necessary to change in order to adapt? If necessary - what are the prospects for these changes? Do we have any options?
• Conversations with some of our key customers - how they perceive our decision to adapt, improve or even change the product from which they benefit. If they perceive it well and expect it with anticipation, then that’s it - you have (kept) customers to whom you are useful.
• Do we have the operational capacity to implement these changes and how quickly can we implement them? If not - what resource would it cost us to accelerate the pace and implement / improve our operational processes to implement the change in our product and services.
• Ultimately, the goal of all the previous steps is to get a positive answer, which motivates and gives a reason to take action.

We recently learned that ClubHouse is among the top 10 most innovative projects in international technology parks. What are your plans for its development in the future?

Yes, that's true. We are already evolving it. Finishing work is currently underway on a hardware upgrade, because the project has entered the more creative digital areas and offering diversity is important for our customers. ClubHouse was established to expand the activities of Sofia Tech Park towards the realization of the mission of the company in the sense of working on the promotion of innovative Bulgarian projects, people and companies - those who are with us in the Incubator and those who have not yet become part of our community. ClubHouse is not just a digital studio. It is a community of innovators. We have founded 14 interest clubs - BioTech Club, Drone Club, Artificial Intelligence Club, Club Cosmos to name a few and are currently negotiating 3 more.

As a person working actively in the field of innovation, in the heart of it in Sofia Tech Park, could you tell our readers - why "innovation" is a word so often mentioned by all of us ?

Maybe because it still sounds exotic to us. But that is not enough. I am actively working to change the meaninig of innovation from an exotic concept to something normal and even mandatory. This guarantees predictability, sustainability and continuous success for each business individually but also for the entire economy. Our innovative capacity predetermines our sustainable existence and development - as individuals, as economic units, as economies, as a civilization.