Students from the Sergio Arboleda University of Colombia Promote Innovation in Their Projects Through Pentagrowth
By Sandra Campos, consultant specializing in tourism, and Pako Rodríguez, head of the tourism area.
(Original publication in Spanish)
The Pentagrowth methodology for designing disruptive business models by Ideas for Change continues to grow within academia. Although this methodology had already been employed in Spanish universities with a focus on tourism through the Smart Tourism Hub, this time, the focus has been on innovation and technology.
Pentagrowth has become an official subject this year in the undergraduate program of Technological Economic Innovation at the Sergio Arboleda University in Bogotá, Colombia.
This undergraduate program at the School of Economics arises from the need to go beyond mere data generation, to create innovative solutions that address the economic challenges of the present and future. The goal of the training program is to focus on markets, organizations, people, technology, and innovation as forms of growth, all from a perspective of circularity and sustainability.
To achieve this, they combine different teaching methodologies, with Pentagrowth occupying an entire course. Its purpose is to drive disruptive innovation and responsible technological ecosystems.
What is the Pentagrowth Methodology?
The Pentagrowth Model was created in 2013 by Javi Creus, founder of Ideas for Change, through the study of more than 50 large organizations that have experienced exponential growth in recent years. Through an exhaustive analysis, five constants were identified that could be extrapolated and applied to the development of new business ideas. These five constants formalized the five levers of the Pentagrowth model, which help organizations drive new innovations disruptively by identifying accessible opportunities that are not yet discovered but are present within organizations, stimulating growth based on existing internal resources.
In addition to identifying ideas and opportunities, Pentagrowth guides organizations through the process of validating, prototyping, and testing the new ideas that emerge to apply them successfully.
The methodological process encompasses the analysis of the five levers, which are shared by extended vision business ecosystems:
Connect: The network as a growth engine.
In the new economy, business success does not depend on the exclusivity of resources but on the ability to generate and leverage connections. Modern organizations operate in a network and platform environment where value is created through interaction and connectivity. Therefore, growth can be significantly accelerated by increasing and diversifying connections, which span multiple levels: people, situations, and data. The number of connected nodes determines the potential expansion scope of an organization. Additionally, continuous technological innovations offer enormous potential for this expansion, allowing unprecedented interconnection of devices and systems.
Aggregate: Expanding the offer with available assets.
The second premise of the Pentagrowth model deals with how organizations shape their offer and add value to it. Traditionally, organizations have grown by expanding their own inventories or modifying certain variables. However, in today's economy, accelerated growth is achieved by working with already existing and distributed assets. This includes not only physical elements but also open data and common information resources such as articles or videos. The fundamental principle behind this lever is the idea that the less internal effort an organization makes to expand the available offer, the greater its growth potential will be. Instead of investing in creating new inventory, the focus is on leveraging what is already available and underutilized. An example could be platforms like Airbnb or Uber, whose offer is based on the use of underutilized resources such as vacant rooms or available transportation spaces.
Empower: Harnessing the potential of users.
The concept of Empower is based on enabling the actors related to the organization, maximizing the use of their capabilities. It involves moving away from the traditional passive consumer or spectator, recognizing and leveraging their productive and creative potential for the organization's growth.
Users today are increasingly educated and connected, able to produce and perform multiple roles, even simultaneously. Thus, the more capacities and roles an organization harnesses from its users, the greater its growth potential. This includes allowing users to participate in the production, evaluation, and co-management of projects and services.
Instrument: Facilitating the success of partners.
The Instrument lever focuses on collaboration and support for business partners, enabling them to develop their own commercial initiatives using the organization's resources and framework.
In this way, the more an organization facilitates others to develop their own business proposals within its ecosystem, the greater its growth potential.
In today's era, competition is no longer limited to individual people or companies but has shifted to constantly moving business systems. The key to success lies in sharing markets and opening them to others, allowing them to build on what already exists.
Share: Shared knowledge as a form of growth.
The premise of the fifth and final lever is based on the idea that knowledge not used is wasted, and it multiplies over time. The more knowledge and resources an organization shares with the community, the greater its growth potential; and the more open that information is, the greater its ability to create a community. Thus, organizations that manage to make their environment understand that what they share also belongs to them will have more capacity to grow quickly.
Thus, this methodology promotes the idea of combining the enhancement of the elements available in each lever until finding a structure designed to grow and capture value at the same time, fostering opportunities for accelerated growth and creating #FuturesThatRock.
Innovative Contributions: Ideas Arising During the Course
The teaching of the Pentagrowth methodology followed a structure similar to that of the course offered by the Academy of Ideas for Change, but with a greater degree of support from Pentagrowth consultants.
Specifically, three follow-up sessions were held with the students to deepen their understanding of the course material and validate their initial ideas. During these sessions, students not only learned to use the model but also experienced its application firsthand in their business ideas.
One of the most exciting aspects of introducing our methodology as an official subject in an undergraduate program in Colombia was witnessing the creativity and ingenuity of the students as they applied the concepts they learned. Particularly, some highly original ideas stood out, confirming the transformative potential of our methodology in higher education.
"Cultivating Data" - One student proposal envisions data as an agricultural resource that can be "cultivated." This idea suggests a deep integration of information technologies in agriculture, using the data obtained to optimize and improve agricultural production sustainably.
"The Future is Beyond Earth" - Another student idea involves the concept that humanity's future lies beyond the limits of our planet, suggesting that space exploration and the use of solar energy are essential. Their project considers the possibility of colonizing other planets using advanced renewable energy technologies.
"Vertical and Connected Agriculture" - Another concept related to food and planetary boundaries involves a new approach to agriculture. Specifically, it envisions a revolution in agriculture through the implementation of connected vertical systems. This idea combines sustainable farming with the Internet of Things, enabling more efficient use of space and resources for food production.
"Video Games Made by People for People" - Another idea presented is based on a participatory approach to video game development, where communities can contribute and co-create content. This vision extends to the metaverse and the Internet of Senses, imagining a future where video games are an immersive and collaborative experience.
Based on these ideas and during the teaching of the different blocks that make up the methodology, students were able to identify underutilized resources to leverage the growth of their projects: data, waste, people, and communities can constitute the resources that sustain their business ideas. Additionally, students also explored which emerging technologies could be applied to their projects, such as 3D printing, the use of drones, or Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In this way, students developed comprehensive projects that consider not only the available technology but also the capabilities and needs of the community. These projects reflect a holistic vision that considers the entire system and seeks sustainable and efficient solutions.
The introduction of our methodology as an official subject has proven to be a catalyst for innovation, inspiring students to imagine and create a better future, a #FutureThatRocks. These ideas are just the beginning of what we hope will be a continuous flow of creativity and progress within academia and beyond.
Testimonials
“In today's dynamic world, companies face the constant challenge of staying ahead and integrating into new systems and modes of consumption. This is where the importance of business design comes in, emphasizing an innovative methodology that seeks to challenge traditional models and establish new market rules, as Pentagrowth does. Professionally, it not only incorporates an unconventional vision but also provides the tools for innovation to make sense in the creation of the future, making innovation an active exercise and reinventing roles.”
– José Gabriel Orozco, student of the Undergraduate Program in Innovation and Data Economics.
“Pentagrowth was incorporated into the curriculum of the country's first undergraduate program in Innovation and Data Economics with the purpose of bringing the experience of Javi Creus, considered one of the most important Spanish-speaking experts in Digital Economy, collaborative economy, among others, and the Ideas for Change team to the students. These exponential growths are condensed through the five growth levers, which are applied to the innovation projects that students develop from the first semesters.”
– Carlos Eduardo Meneses Eraso, Director of the Economics and Innovation Area, Sergio Arboleda University.
