“78 percent of companies in North America and Europe now employ open innovation, but there’s a problem ... bridging the gap between development and widespread distribution and absorption.”
Evolve is a collective of innovators fighting entrenched systems to disrupt their industries
What is corporate acceleration? How are large organizations approaching external innovation? What approaches produce significant returns? What frameworks have proven less successful? With these questions in mind, SwitchPitch, a DC based platform for managing relationships with startups, and Orange Sparkle Ball, an Atlanta based innovation consultancy, have partnered to create Evolve, a collective comprised of innovation leaders. Our goal is to convene small events where those focused on corporate or institutional innovation can gather and share learnings.
Conveners
SwitchPitch enables Fortune 500 companies to manage all innovation and startup relationships through our centralized Startup Relationship Management (SRM) platform. Enterprise companies are able to easily identify, vet and manage innovative startups interested in corporate partnerships to get deals done. SwitchPitch provides the most comprehensive startup innovation source available – enabling innovation teams to take action!
Orange Sparkle Ball is a cross-industry innovation accelerator aiding in moving cutting edge ideas and initiatives forward. Sitting at the junction between startup technology and corporate pain points, Orange Sparkle Ball works to structure and run pilots that demonstrate proof of the future state, create multi-faceted communication strategies to leadership and stakeholders, and develop spaces that support progress toward KPIs. Experience with Venture Capital Firms, Fortune 500 Companies, Tech Startups, Accelerators, and Universities, Orange Sparkle Ball provides a full ecosystem approach to customized solutions.
Steering Committee
Tiffany Murray
Product + Partnerships, Verizon's 5G Innovation Lab
Tiffany leads Ecosystem Partnerships for the 5G Lab in Washington DC, focused on public safety, smart cities, transportation, and education use cases for new technology. She runs the 5G First Responder Lab accelerator program, currently in the second year, working to bring cutting edge solutions, enabled by 5G, to market for those putting their lives on the line for others. She brings a varied breadth of experiences to her passion for innovation from her expertise in legal, communications, and partnership roles.
Tina Unterlaendar
Director of Innovation, VW Credit, Inc.
Tina joined VW Credit, Inc. in 2018 - the financial services arm of Volkswagen Group of America – as the new Director of Innovation. She is responsible for building up VW Credit’s innovation lab, defining the innovation strategy & roadmap and introducing a new innovation culture at this financial services institution. Her team focuses on innovation projects at the intersection of Fintech and Mobility. Prior, Tina served as the Head of Operations for Volkswagen Group’s Innovation and Engineering Center California (IECC).
Michael Goldstein
Founder, SwitchPitch
As a startup founder, seed investor, and occasional big company employee, Michael has experienced business development from many perspectives. It’s never easy, especially for startups – wrong time, wrong product, wrong contact, wrong price, etc. His current business, SwitchPitch, is a platform that helps enterprises and startups do business together. The platform consists of a database of 100k+ startups, enabling large companies to easily identify relevant startup partners, and track startup relationships.
Ashley Touchton
Innovation and Design Strategist, Orange Sparkle Ball
Ashley is a design and innovation strategy consultant passionate about accelerating startups and corporations. Her background in industrial design from Georgia Tech provided a multi-faceted approach to solving problems and the ability to rapidly pilot solutions for product fit and refinement. As a design strategy consultant, she focuses on startup design and innovation strategy as well as strategic corporate acceleration programs and bridging the gap between the two. Ashley is dedicated to moving quickly and efficiently to find the best solution while maintaining momentum for new initiatives.
Meaghan Kennedy
Founder, Orange Sparkle Ball
Meaghan founded Orange Sparkle Ball after graduating from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and conducting HIV research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Orange Sparkle Ball is an innovation and impact consultancy that accelerates initiatives in the private and public sector, as well as works with startups. Meaghan has taught at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has been a guest reviewer at Georgia Tech since 2007, a judge for the Global Social Venture Competition and Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), a mentor for social entrepreneurs and is a frequently invited to sit on innovation and entrepreneurial panels.
Lorena Molina-Irizarry
Director of Operations, Census Open Innovation Labs (COIL)
Lorena Molina-Irizarry serves as Director of Operations at the Census Open Innovation Labs (COIL) within the U.S. Census Bureau bringing together technologists, government and communities through open tech collaborations, tapping into the power of open data for good. In this capacity she also managed strategic partnerships with Big Tech companies, media, entertainment and civic-tech organizations to protect the integrity of the 2020 Census. Previously, she served as the Deputy Chief of National Partnerships, setting up the infrastructure for engaging and collaborating with national and local partners in industry, tech community and the third sector to increase data use and awareness, and the importance of the 2020 Census as the cornerstone of our democracy. She previously served as the Technology Communications Liaison for the CIO, leading technology and innovation communications efforts for the Census Bureau. She has been instrumental in developing and implementing innovation strategies, strategic workforce planning initiatives and civic digital talent pipelines for government.