Wows in Hyperdrive: Virtual Innovation in a New Normal
The Covid-19 pandemic has in many ways changed the way we work and live. As companies scramble to cater for remote working, now is the time, in fact, for innovation programmes and accelerators to be at their most innovative as they adapt to this new normal.
Stepping up to the challenge, DBS launched the inaugural DBS WOW Accelerator virtually for the first time. The WOW Accelerator is designed to push DBS projects to the next level in just three months. The accelerator enlists the support of fintech start-ups, technology interns and mentors called Agents of WOWs — all working together remotely to fast-track the projects.
What’s unique about this accelerator? How was it changed from a physical programme to one that’s fully digital and launched in just a couple of months? We sat down with WOW Accelerator programme leads Chow Pui Fang and Sun Lee to find out more.
Hi Pui Fang and Sun! Could you tell us more about why you decided to launch the WOW Accelerator programme?
Pui Fang: We’ve run our fair share of accelerator-type programmes in DBS over the years. In fact, we even introduced the Startup Xchange programme as a forward-looking alternative to the conventional accelerator model. These programmes have seen much successes, so as a next stage we thought — why not apply this approach inwards and introduce an internal accelerator for our own projects and solutions?
Sun: We saw that in order to embrace open innovation initiatives in the bank, we needed to boost the speed of proof-of-concepts (PoCs) and deployment. Validating and deploying PoCs has traditionally been a costly and time-consuming process which no longer makes sense in the modern-day context of an ever-changing market. The WOW Accelerator will elevate and catalyse the whole process in a mere span of three months.
Pui Fang: Yeah, despite our best efforts, large organisations do sometimes face hurdles that impede the progress and speed of bringing a solution from concept to market. Launching the WOW Accelerator is an experiment for us as well to test if this might be key to pushing out as many solutions as possible to production, as quickly as possible.
Nice! But how does the WOW Accelerator actually work?
Pui Fang: It’s pretty simple — the progamme mimics a cohort accelerator model, with five projects in this cycle. Each project’s solution will be taken from a high-level idea to a proof-of-concept stage in just 12 weeks with a validated, minimum viable product (MVP). The programme has also been designed to focus a lot on ensuring that the cohort graduates with MVPs that not only work, but also truly WOW our end-users. As the core team running the WOW Accelerator, our main role is to push the cohort to finesse and deliver such solutions that will help DBS live up to its most-innovative title. We’ve ramped up on and developed some human-centred-design methodologies for this purpose.
So how will the WOW Accelerator help participants on their innovation journeys and illuminate their WOWs?
Pui Fang: When faced with a time-crunch, many project owners may shift their focus towards development for the sake of simply “getting something out there”. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be at the expense of the end-users, where solutions delivered are neither something they care about nor want. The WOW Accelerator hopes to challenge this misconception and prove that it is possible to churn out quality solutions within a short period of time. At the end of the day, illuminating their WOWs would mean that participants have successfully gone above and beyond to impress end-users. The only way we can ensure this is to consciously design with the end-users in mind and constantly validating the solutions with them.
Sun: We provide a whole slew of tools and resources to guide project teams in diving deeper into the problems and understanding the true needs of end-users. By equipping them with the skills and tools to reframe problems in a more human-centric way, generate ideas, and adopt a hands-on approach to prototyping and testing, participants of the WOW Accelerator can generate powerful insights and solutions that are not only innovative but also impactful.
Pui Fang: We’re geared up to help the cohort achieve this accelerated timeline through a structured programme based on our innovation methodologies. Each solution will be taken through an iterative conceptualisation and development process, where participants are pushed to scrutinise and enhance their solutions through this lens at every step of the way.
It’s very exciting that this is the first-ever virtual DBS accelerator! How did you guys have to adapt to moving this fully online?
Pui Fang: Having to take the programme online was definitely a curveball and a challenge that we continue to face. In-person trainings, workshops and working sessions are the norm for most accelerators. As it became clear that this situation would persist for some time, we invested time and effort in digitalising our tools and resources to ensure that these components could be run virtually. Materials had to be re-designed for easier online collaboration, additional details had to be included to facilitate a more self-help approach, and dry runs had to be conducted to ensure that everything would go as planned.
Sun: We also provided masterclass training for internal mentors and tech interns, making sure that they were fully equipped to effectively collaborate with the project owners which is really crucial to the success of the programme. Online collaboration tools have been lifesavers — we have depended heavily on these platforms to facilitate many aspects of the accelerator, from project team discussions to user-testing and interview sessions for our participants to validate their solutions.
Pui Fang: The great news is that our efforts appear to be paying off. The accelerator successfully kicked off with all parties involved and everything is in full swing. We’ve onboarded the tech interns, conducted online training sessions, facilitated sync-ups between project teams, and we’re excited to hit all the other milestones virtually.
What do you think is unique about the WOW Accelerator, and how is it different from other accelerator programmes?
Sun: I would say that launching the first WOW Accelerator virtually already sets it apart from other accelerator programmes. It really reflects the spirit of the accelerator — pushing innovation regardless of whatever challenges may come our way.
Pui Fang: I agree. The WOW Accelerator also has a more inward focus, mainly accelerating solutions for the bank instead of start-ups. However, I feel that what really makes the programme unique is the make-up and working model of its project teams. We’re bringing together four very different parties as part of larger efforts to promote cross-collaboration for innovation across the bank. Each project team has a main sponsor, a tech prototyping build team of tech interns or a fintech start-up, internal mentors that we call Agents of WOW, and a tech subject-matter expert from our partner Capgemini as advisors to these interns.
That’s great! Now that everything is in full swing, what highlights can participants look forward to?
Pui Fang: The greatest highlight will of course be looking forward to a working prototype at the end of the 12 weeks. Our programme will give them the opportunity to validate the desirability of their solutions with real users for the first time and this is when they’ll finally find out if their solution is a yay or nay!
Sun: Besides looking forward to demo pitch day, we’ve also partnered with Capegemini team to mentor the interns to push their capabilities and explore new ways to solve complex tech problem. This enables the WOW tech interns to gain exclusive insights by learning directly from experts in the field.
Any words of wisdom for participants to unleash their full potential in the WOW Accelerator?
Sun: Believe in your potential no matter how old you are! You have to start by setting small goals and staying true to what you believe in. As long as you put in the effort, you’ll see small changes which can in turn lead to significant achievements; these are all steps that will take you closer to your goals and dreams.
Pui Fang: Be ready for a bumpy ride; be ready to go around in circles; be ready to have all the work you’ve done so far challenged or even trashed. But don’t give up. Delivering quality solutions is never easy or straightforward. Focus on the process and trust that everyone in your team is striving towards the same goal of helping you deliver a solution that WOWs. You’ll definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel!
The DBS WOW Accelerator is a three-month virtual accelerator programme focused on addressing challenges faced by various business units in the bank. Launched by the DBS Innovation team, the programme unites DBS talent with external partners to develop game-changing and human-centric solutions that drive innovation in the bank.
