From making connections to setting goals and driving ideas, Asena Kessaf – Senior Manager, Open Innovation at TNW, the website and conferences focused on new technology and start-up companies in Europe – reveals how innovation shapes the world around us in a candid conversation with Danny Dagher, Bray St. Founder and Client Director.
“I’m Asena Kessaf, Senior Manager, Open Innovation at TNW (The Next Web). In my current role, I’m focused on guiding professionals in their corporate venturing journey and enabling value-based collaborations with start-ups that can eventually evolve into long-term partnerships or investments. I’m responsible for the creation and delivery of these bespoke programs, typically including venture-sourcing, corporate accelerators, pitch competitions and innovation research.”
“TNW is a Financial Times Company operating at the heart of the tech ecosystem as a global super-connector for start-ups, scale-ups, corporates, governments and funding providers. We do this through media, events, co-working spaces and innovation programs. In contrast to traditional innovation, whereby organisations rely on internal resources (i.e. R&D) to develop new products and services, Open Innovation is based around the concept that organisations should leverage external ideas and resources to advance their technology. In essence, all of TNW’s four pillars are focused on building this bridge between parties, each in their own way.”
“From the way we organise our lives to how we interact with each other, innovation plays a crucial role in shaping our current state. Think about our payment methods – moving from cash to bank cards and now contactless – or the evolution of the music industry thanks to YouTube and Spotify. Before, artists would have to be discovered and signed by a record label in order to have a chance of becoming known to the wider public, whereas the barrier is now lower for them to publish their work and attract a following.
In principle, I believe innovation is continuously advancing our society for the better, but all these innovations also have downsides. It’s important to be aware of both the pros and the cons to develop a nuanced view – I’m trying to be conscious of the impact these innovations can have on my life and deliberately choose what aspects I want innovation involved with. For instance, I’ll use a wearable for sports analytics to improve my endurance or ChatGPT to get up to speed on a certain topic, but maintain balance. Our need for digitisation can often result in feeling lonelier as a society, so I make a point of leaving my phone at home during weekends and visit record stores to explore new music.”
“I met Daniel from Bray St. a couple years ago through working with one of my clients, BTomorrow Ventures. With the latter, I helped build and run an accelerator program to support start-ups with a sustainability focus. Bray St. was an agency partner for that program, supporting the start-ups in finding their brand identity and developing a brand strategy.
Over the years, Daniel and I stayed in contact, and last year I connected him to my sister's foundation, Architectural Recovery Team (ART). It’s a non-profit she founded after the earthquake hit Turkey and Syria in early 2023 with the goal of developing sustainable modular housing for the survivors. Daniel was kind to offer Bray St.’s services pro-bono and the team is currently working on the foundation's brand strategy.
I often feel our focus is too much on innovation or technology itself and less on how it is communicated, whether that's an individual with an idea or a start-up wanting to bring their product or service to the broader public. Both will have to tell their story in such a compelling way that others will start believing in it and want to be part of it. That’s why I find the work that Bray St. does so important. Start-up founders are really good at one thing – building the product or service – but often could use support with knowing how to communicate the importance of their innovation to the broader public. I’ve seen Bray St. really help founders with helping to identify what they stand for, establish their identity and formulate how they want to express that externally.”
“In a certain sense, innovation shapes the world around us – the way we live, work and interact – so in an ideal world when looking into the distribution of funding you want to see that founders and start-ups are a fair representation of the society, and that investors make unbiased investment decisions based on the merit of business plans and projections.
However, the gender investment gap shows a systematic bias is at play and that only 2% or less of venture capital funding in Europe and the US was received by female-founded start-ups. This is really shocking, especially considering the ample research showing that female-owned companies and diverse teams generate higher revenues, show greater job growth and yield superior returns on investment.
The topic extends far beyond gender into the broader sense of diversity. When products and services are developed primarily by a homogenous group, they may fail to adequately address the diverse needs of its diverse users. This lack of representation results in solutions that, while seemingly universal, often overlook the nuances of different demographics, perpetuating inequities and hindering progress.”
“This year, I don’t have any big one-off goals I want to accomplish. Instead I’m focused on the smaller things: spending time with loved ones and doing the things I love on a more regular basis. One thing I am passionate about is contributing to a more inclusive (tech) ecosystem. Recently, I started as a mentor for TAP - a very cool Dutch-Palestinian start-up dedicated to accelerating the careers of high-potential Palestinian graduates. In addition to that, I want to contribute to closing the gender investment gap and doing something in support of female entrepreneurs.”