Innovation Underground
Case Study

Innovation Underground
Case Study

Identified Need

The Innovation Underground (IU) is an independent, privately-owned for-profit business and technology incubator in Texas. Serving start-ups across a broad range of industries and both for-profit and non-for-profit organizations, the IU has been in operation since 2012 and has served more than 100 early stage companies and entrepreneurs. With a strong rate of success and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, the IU was faced with a large influx of potential incubation members and spending a significant amount of time in the evaluation process. By streamlining the selection process for new members, the IU team would have more time to better serve existing members without compromising new business opportunities.

Value Created

When David Flint published his book “Think Beyond Value: Building Strategy to Win” the Innovation Underground team evaluated the V-REEL® Framework to determine if it might be a suitable tool for rapidly assessing the potential of a prospective IU member and business idea. The IU team found that the book and V-REEL® itself were simple enough for the unfamiliar person to rapidly engage, yet powerful enough to provide a good sense of the viability of an idea. Today, the IU uses the book and a V-REEL® presentation by prospective members to evaluate fit for IU membership. Using this approach has not only saved considerable time, but also provides prospective members with a valuable tool for use in strategically thinking through business concepts, even for those who do not ultimately join the IU community.

“Think Beyond Value has become a key resource for our team. It helps us better evaluate companies, and for the entrepreneurs that we work with, the V-REEL® Framework prompts them to think about what in their business is essential and creates value and how to position themselves in the marketplace.V-REEL® is a great exercise altogether that I now try to engage in on a regular basis and proves to be very helpful on a professional and personal level.”


Marie Marchand

Manager, Innovation Underground

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