Top Trends for 2022: Innovation’s New Normal – VentureWell

The challenges of the past year are changing the way early-stage entrepreneurs do business. VentureWell’s experts are seeing shifts that may prove long-lasting.

Faced with a global pandemic, increasingly unreliable supply chains, an ongoing reckoning on social justice issues, and an unresolved climate crisis, fledgling ventures were forced to navigate an unmapped and rapidly evolving business environment in 2021.

Early-stage entrepreneurs have responded with creative work-arounds and promising new strategies. See top trends predicted for 2022 at a recent round-table discussion with VentureWell thought leaders who work with early-stage entrepreneurs:

The virtual environment has opened new doors.

Restricted access to labs and university campuses presented significant challenges for ventures, but the shift to the virtual environment has also provided new advantages.

Teams are relocating, meeting, or podding to stay engaged and build culture.

For a new startup, maintaining team engagement is crucial. But in today’s remote work environment, new team members face challenges onboarding and getting to know colleagues. In response:

Supply-chain issues are encouraging ventures to revisit fundamentals.

Disruptions to the supply chain have sent shipping prices skyrocketing and limited access to key materials, but VentureWell leaders see opportunities for startups.

Diversity awareness is helping companies rethink their mission and how they can respond authentically.

As innovators recognize the advantages that diverse viewpoints can bring to a venture, VentureWell leaders are helping teams bring in new voices and engage historically underrepresented groups.

Race and gender are just two diversity considerations. Ventures are recognizing the needs of other groups in their customer base, such as people with disabilities, and building their teams and products accordingly.

Teams want to bring sustainability to a venture, but actions need to be right-sized.

Innovators are eager to bring green design and principles of environmental sustainability into their ventures. The question is how best to do that, and when.

Early-stage innovators have always had to adapt to changing circumstances, but today’s volatile environment is proving to be an extraordinary crucible for creativity. As ventures respond to the new realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, and use their platforms to address issues around social equity and environmental sustainability, VentureWell’s thought leaders see opportunities for positive shifts in the entrepreneurship culture.

Registration is now live for the OPEN 2022 conference! Join us from March 15-17 to discuss the trends, leading-edge strategies, and exciting new tools that will help move the field of innovation and entrepreneurship education forward and prepare early-stage entrepreneurs for a dynamic world. Reserve your conference pass today and save 50% on registration!