The Heart of Innovation: A Field Guide for Navigating to Authentic Demand

Written by Matt Chanoff, Merrick Furst, Daniel Sabbah and 2 more

Narrated by Alex Knox

Four innovation experts from the startup world, large enterprises, nonprofits, and academia come together to reveal the secret of uncovering authentic demand to build successful innovations.

Books on innovation mostly focus on how to nurture innovative cultures and brainstorm ideas. The Heart of Innovation is the first popular book to concretely delve into what innovations really are and how to create them. Many attempts at innovation fail because customers turn out to be indifferent. The key to success is to uncover unmet authentic demand; what customers cannot be indifferent to. Through fresh case studies, ranging from how SoulCycle revolutionized the fitness industry, to how IBM built an $8 billion business on the Web, to a single mother ending abuse in a slum in Africa, The Heart of Innovation explores how authentic demand is often hidden or taken for granted.

The first half of the book explores cases where people accidentally found their way to meeting an unmet authentic demand-or failed to. The second half of the book provides a field guide to methodically identifying and building products, services, and businesses around authentic demand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Dec 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9781663733405

Matt Chanoff

Matt Chanoff is a San Francisco-based angel investor and co-founder with Merrick of the startup studio Flashpoint.  He has served on the boards of early stage companies in logistics and cyber security, and currently sits on eight nonprofit boards in the areas of poverty, media, and education.He has a Master's of Arts degree in International Economics and Politics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.