MBO Partners announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire MindSumo, Inc., an open innovation platform based out of Durham, N.C.
The MindSumo innovation platform allows businesses to crowdsource breakthrough ideas and insights by posting online "challenges." A community of 500,000 Millennial and Gen Z users submit solutions in order to win money and recognition for their creative problem solving. Examples include market research, innovation surveys, and even product development and rollout plans.
"MindSumo is a uniquely collaborative modern business model that offers real value for both parties," says Miles Everson, CEO, MBO Partners. "Savvy enterprises are rethinking the way work gets done, increasingly shifting from purchasing services to purchasing results. Similarly, savvy individuals are eager to share their expertise and realize immediate benefits. MindSumo makes this seamless. Adding this capability to the MBO platform, which enables frictionless transactions and engagement between independents and enterprises of all sizes, is a natural fit for all."
According to MIT's Sloan School of Management, innovation is a fast-growing focus area for the modern business model. In 2013, just 30 percent of businesses practiced open innovation (going beyond their network of partners for ideas), whereas today, 83 percent of companies do, drawing on a multiplicity of sources, including universities, think tanks, consultants, crowdsourcing platforms, startups, and innovation labs.
"While we remain focused on our core capabilities here at MindSumo, I could not be more pleased to have the resources of a platform like MBO as we further develop our offerings in the growing space of millennial and Gen Z crowdsourcing and co-creation," said Keaton Swett, co-founder of MindSumo. "MBO and MindSumo share a common vision centered around unlocking the creative potential of platform thinking to transform the future of how we create and deliver work outcomes."
MindSumo will operate a business within the MBO ecosystem, continuing to service its current client base and contracts. Brands that have used MindSumo include Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Dell, Unilever, Disney, Deloitte, Starbucks, Capital One and more.
Terms of the deal—which was approved by the boards of MindSumo, Inc. and MBO Partners, respectively, were not publicly disclosed.
About MBO Partners®
MBO Partners delivers solutions that make it safer and easier for enterprise organizations and top independent professionals to work together. Through its proprietary platform, MBO has built a comprehensive workforce ecosystem that fuels both sides of the independent economy. MBO strengthens relationships, minimizes risk, and maximizes value for its clients. Its unmatched experience and industry leadership enable it to operate on the forefront of the independent economy and consistently advance the next way of working.
For more information, visit www.mbopartners.com
