By Sandra Campos, a consultant specialised in tourism, and Pako Rodríguez, head of the tourism area. (Original publication in Spanish)

The Pentagrowth methodology for the design of disruptive business models from Ideas for Change continues to grow within academia. While this methodology had already been employed in Spanish universities from a tourism perspective with the Smart Tourism Hub, this time the focus has been on innovation and technology.

Thus, Pentagrowth has been an official subject during this course of the Bachelor's in Economic Technology Innovation at Sergio Arboleda University in Bogotá, Colombia.

This bachelor's degree from the School of Economics arises from the need to go beyond data generation, creating innovative solutions that respond to the economic challenges of the present and future. The objective of the training program is to focus on markets, organisations, people, technology, and innovation as forms of growth, all from a perspective of circularity and sustainability.

To achieve this, they combine different teaching methodologies, among which Pentagrowth occupies an integral subject. Its purpose is to promote disruptive innovation and responsible technological ecosystems.

What is the Pentagrowth Methodology? 

The Pentagrowth Model was born in 2013, led by Javi Creus, founder of Ideas for Change, with the study of more than 50 large organisations that have experienced exponential growth in recent years. Through exhaustive analysis, five constants were identified that could be extrapolated and applied to the development of new business ideas. Based on these five constants, the five levers of the Pentagrowth model were formalised, which help organisations to drive new innovations disruptively by identifying accessible yet untapped opportunities present in organisations, stimulating growth based on existing internal resources.

In addition to identifying ideas and opportunities, Pentagrowth accompanies organisations in the process of validating, prototyping, and testing new ideas that arise to apply them successfully. 

The methodological process encompasses the analysis of the five levers, which are shared by expanded business ecosystems:

• Connect: the network as a growth engine. 

In the new economy, the success of businesses does not depend on resource exclusivity, but on the ability to generate and exploit connections. Modern organisations 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 their connections, which encompass multiple levels: people, situations, and data. The number of connected nodes determines the potential scope of an organisation's expansion. Furthermore, constant technological innovations offer enormous potential for this expansion, enabling unprecedented interconnection of devices and systems.

• Add: expand the offering with available assets.

The second premise of the Pentagrowth model concerns how organisations shape their offering and add value to it. Traditionally, organisations 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 on which this lever is based is that the less internal effort an organisation makes to expand the available offering, the greater its growth potential. Rather than investing in creating new inventory, it is about leveraging what is already available and underutilised. An example can be the platforms of Airbnb or Uber, whose offering is based on the use of underutilised resources such as vacant rooms or available transport spaces.

• Empower: Harness the potential of users.

The concept of Empowering is based on leveraging the actors related to the organisation by maximising the use of their capabilities. It is a vision distant from the traditional passive consumer or spectator, recognising and utilising the productive and creative potential of these individuals to benefit the growth of the organisation.

Users today are increasingly educated and connected, able to produce and perform multiple roles even simultaneously. Thus, the more capabilities and roles of its users an organisation harnesses, 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 business initiatives using the resources and framework of the organisation itself. 

In this way, the more facilities an organisation provides for third parties to develop their own business proposals within its ecosystem, the greater the growth potential will be. 

In the current 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 up to third parties, allowing them to build upon what already exists. 

• Share: shared knowledge as a means of growth.

The premise of the fifth and final lever is based on the idea that unused knowledge is wasted and that this multiplies over time. The more knowledge and resources an organisation shares with the community, the greater its growth potential; and the more open that information is, the greater the capacity to create a community will be. Thus, organisations that manage to convey to their environment that what they share with them also belongs to them will have a greater capacity to grow rapidly. 

Thus, this methodology promotes the idea of combining the empowerment of the available elements in each lever to find a structure designed to grow and capture value simultaneously, fostering opportunities for accelerated growth and thereby creating #FuturosQueMolan. 

Download the Pentagrowth report here

Innovative contributions: ideas arising during the course

The teaching of the Pentagrowth methodology  has followed a structure similar to that of the course offered by Academy of Ideas for Change, although with a greater degree of support from Pentagrowth consultants. Specifically, 3 follow-up sessions have been maintained with the students, allowing for a deeper exploration of what was learned in the course and validating those initial ideas. During the different sessions, students not only learned to use the model but also experienced its application in their business ideas firsthand. Indeed, one of the most exciting aspects of introducing our methodology as an official subject in a university bachelor’s program in Colombia has been witnessing the creativity and ingenuity of students when applying the concepts learned. Specifically, they highlighted very original ideas, confirming the transformative potential of our methodology in higher education.

1. "Cultivating Data" - One of the proposals from the students is the formulation of a vision where data is viewed as an agricultural resource that can be "cultivated". This idea suggests a profound integration of information technologies in agriculture, using the information obtained for the optimisation and improvement of agricultural production sustainably.

2. "The Future is Beyond Earth" - Another idea from the students is the conception of the need to go beyond the limits of our planet, suggesting that the future of humanity lies in space exploration and the use of solar energy. Their project considers the possibility of colonising other planets using advanced renewable energy technologies.

3. "Vertical and Connected Agriculture" - Another notion linked to food and planetary boundaries is related to a new form of agriculture. Specifically, an agricultural revolution is envisioned through the implementation of connected vertical systems. This idea combines sustainable agriculture with the Internet of Things, enabling a more efficient use of space and resources for food production.

4. "Video Games Made by People for People" - Another idea presented is based on a participatory approach in the development of video games, where communities can contribute and co-create content. This vision extends into the metaverse and the Internet of the senses, envisioning a future where video games are an immersive and collaborative experience.

Based on these ideas and during the delivery of the different blocks that make up the methodology, students were able to identify underutilised resources where they can leverage the growth of their projects: data, waste, people, and communities can constitute the resources that support their business ideas. Additionally, students also researched which emerging technologies could be applied in their projects, such as 3D printing, the use of drones, or Artificial Intelligence (AI).  In this way, students developed comprehensive projects that take into account not only the available technology but also the capacities 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 #FuturoQueMola. These ideas are just the beginning of what we hope will be a continuous flow of creativity and progress in academia and beyond.

Testimonials

“In today's dynamic world, companies face the constant challenge of staying at the forefront and incorporating new systems and modes of consumption. This is where the importance of business design arises, emphasising an innovative methodology that seeks to challenge traditional models and establish new ground rules in the market, as Pentagrowth does. Professionally, it not only incorporates an outside-the-box 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 Bachelor's in Innovation and Data Economics.

“Pentagrowth was incorporated into the curriculum of the first Bachelor's in Innovation and Data Economics in the country to provide students with the experience of Javi Creus, considered one of the most important Spanish-speaking experts in topics such as Digital Economy, collaborative economy, among others, and the Ideas for Change team. These exponential growths are condensed through the five growth levers that are grounded in the innovation projects developed by students from the first semesters.

– Carlos Eduardo Meneses Eraso, Director of the Economics and Innovation Area, Sergio Arboleda University.