Work Innovation Labs
Creating an
Innovation Lab from
the Ground Up
Client Fortune 500 Financial Firm


This company is one of the largest online banks in the country, with over $130 billion in assets under management.
What we did
A partnership
to get ahead
and stay ahead
Offerings
- Innovation Strategy
Industry
- Financial Services

Staying competitive by building an
off-premise innovation lab and team
The Challenge
A forward-thinking deposit team at the bank noticed there was a lack of new, innovative ideas coming out of the company, and their technology team could not answer their business problems. This was hindering the firm’s ability to stay competitive, especially since they are an online-only bank.
The Solution
Skookum helped plan, build, and run an innovation
studio that expands the bank’s culture of innovative
thinking in an unrestricted space
Our team collaborated with the bank to set up the lab’s physical space and operating model, as well as staff Engineering and Studio Director positions — all in 30 days. We continue to facilitate cross-functional ideation sessions, design and build prototypes of concepts from those sessions, then test them to learn and iterate quickly.

The Value
The innovation studio is now fully operational and producing ideas that directly guide the bank’s product roadmap
There are members who work at the studio full time, as well as designers, engineers, developers, and other participants who rotate in to assist with new projects and initiatives. Concepts that come out of Skookum’s ideation sessions with the team influence the bank’s roadmap and drive innovation.
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Planned and built a functioning studio
Spent 30 days standing up a new, physical innovation lab space
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Validated dozens of new concepts
By testing concepts at the lab, we validated multiple ideas that digitally transform the business
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Fostering the innovation culture
Ensuring ongoing improvement at the bank