If you don’t already know Claire VO, here is a short introduction. As one the first to join the Vitagora team many moons ago, first as project manager, then project team leader, Claire has acquired an enviable level of knowledge of Vitagora’s extensive food business network, as well as the inner workings of innovation project funding options. Labs, R&D centres, SMEs, multinationals etc. – no-one has a better grasp of their areas of expertise, their innovation strategies and priorities than Claire.

 

By joining the ToasterLAB team, Claire will be putting this knowledge to good use for the program’s startups. Following their initial intensive acceleration phase (organised and lead by Claire Maugras), our startup “students” pass into the capable hands of Claire VO for the additional 9 months of post-acceleration.

 

Claire VO is also developing a new service within ToasterLAB: supporting intrapreneurship teams. For several months, she has been building her own knowledge and experience on this area.

 

“Intrapreneurship consists of mimicking the actions of a startup while staying within the structure of a large company for whom you may work. Intrapreneurs innovate much like entrepreneurs… There is a lot of work to be done to increase the acceptance of intrapreneurship in business, in particular for the food sector”, she admits. “Some people see intrapreneurs as a force for disruption, and don’t understand their need to spend so much time on a project outside of their original job description, or why this should use up company resources.”

 

Hence the need to provide structure and support. “Best practices, feedback from companies and people who have experience in this area, and one-on-one support on methods, building business models etc. And also providing moral support so they don’t lose confidence in the approach. This is the basis of my role towards intrapreneurs who also follow the same acceleration program modules as the startups.”