#14: Rybrevant & Lazcluze: A New Era in Lung Cancer Treatment

Introduction

In today’s fast-paced world, innovation is key to success, but how do you foster it within a large, established company? Derek Fetzer, an experienced entrepreneur, shares his insights on how to drive innovation within an organization, drawing from his experience at Johnson & Johnson and the creation of the impactful Caring Crowd platform

Listen to the Episode Here:

What Is Interpreneurship?

For a long time, surgery and radiation were the primary treatment methods for lung cancer. However, recent decades have witnessed a significant shift with the development of targeted therapies and immunotherapy.
● Targeted therapies focus on specific vulnerabilities within cancer cells, acting like a “lock and key” mechanism. For example, if a patient’s tumor has a mutation in the EGFR gene, there are drugs that can precisely block the signals that drive cancer growth
● Immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, works by releasing the brakes on the immune system, enabling it to recognize and attack cancer cells. This approach re-educates the body’s own defenses to fight the cancer

The Caring Crowd Platform: A Case Study in Intrapreneurship

Fetzer’s Caring Crowd platform is an example of successful intrapreneurship. The platform, which won the 2017 South by Southwest People’s Choice award, was a crowdfunding platform for global public health, similar to GoFundMe or Kickstarter. It successfully funded over 600 projects worldwide, impacting at least 1.5 million people and raising between $3 and $4 million. These projects included initiatives that provided fresh water to children and other grassroots projects that may have been overlooked

How to Drive Innovation Within a Large Organization

Fetzer’s journey with Caring Crowd offers several valuable lessons for driving innovation within a large organization:
● Understand the Organization: Begin by understanding the organization’s objectives and strategies.
● Identify Pain Points: Listen to the pain points, not just the solutions people propose. People may focus on less attractive tasks that they want to delegate.
● Stealth Innovation: Engage in casual conversations with trusted colleagues to build excitement and develop a well-articulated idea before presenting it to higher-level executives. This can be described as “stealth innovation,” to avoid premature rejection of ideas.
● Involve Key Stakeholders Early: Include people from legal and regulatory departments early in the design of an idea.
● Seek the Converted: Focus on engaging with people who are immediately excited about the vision. Don’t waste time trying to convince those who aren’t receptive. If nobody is enthusiastic about the vision, it may be necessary to reevaluate the idea

Challenges and the Path Forward

Market research plays a crucial role in understanding the needs of the market and the obstacles to reaching a better state.  According to Fetzer, people aren’t always good at articulating their needs or imagining a better way of doing things. Market research uses psychology, behavioral science, and statistics to determine whether a need exists and if it can be filled

Setting up a Market Research Study
 
Fetzer outlines the following steps for setting up a market research study:
● Start with a business question.
● Conduct secondary analysis (Google searches, books).
● Have qualitative interviews with stakeholders.
● Synthesize the input.
● Conduct a quantitative exercise to determine the size of the issues, markets, and demographics.
● Create recommendations from the findings.
 
According to Fetzer, some market research can miss the mark if it is too broad and not focused enough. It is best to focus on specific decisions instead of engaging in a “fishing expedition”. Also, organizations must be willing to implement changes based on the findings. It is important to engage with their purpose, drawing inspiration from Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Embracing failure as part of the journey is critical toward fulfilling your purpose as is making the best decisions with what you have, and being happy with the progress you are making.
 
Derek Fetzer’s experience and insights offer a compelling roadmap for fostering innovation within large organizations. By adopting an intrapreneurial mindset, embracing failure, and understanding the market, you can drive meaningful change and achieve impactful results.
 

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