Not Discovered
The real problems, dilemmas, and bottlenecks facing customers and the organization are hidden behind surface-level needs.
→ Bottleneck DiagnosisBusiness Innovation Research Lab · Execution Partner
Researching business innovation,
turning it into corporate action.
The Innovation Lab researches changes in industries and markets, structures them into business model and strategy methodologies, and applies them in corporate training, workshops, coaching, and consulting as both a business innovation research lab and an execution partner.
Four Seasons · Business Redesign Cycle
Continuous Growth
01
Spring · Discovering BottlenecksBeyond surface-level needs, we identify the dilemmas blocking real growth
Spring
02
Summer · Execution in the MarketWe deliver training, workshops, and consulting through market language and offer structures
Summer
03
Autumn · Accumulating ResultsResults are captured as revenue, reports, and satisfaction scores and added to the Proof Library
Autumn
04
Winter · Building Capabilities and RedesigningWe consolidate the work through CBMP and toolkits and prepare for the next cycle
Winter
From Research to ExecutionEvidence accumulated through publications, methodologies, and field application
2010—Business Innovation Research and Publications
10,000+Total Training Participants
1,000+Team Diagnostics, Coaching, and Consulting
8 + 258 Books · 25 Industry Research Volumes
Problem Frame
Why does a good product fail to become a good business model?
The problem lies less in the product itself than in failing to identify the bottlenecks within the market and organization that constrain its potential. Unless you find the real problems customers experience, the dilemmas the organization repeatedly encounters, and the structures blocking revenue and execution, even a good product cannot become a good business model.
Not Understood
Customers cannot understand in their own terms why this problem matters or why it must be solved now.
→ Market-Language RedesignNot Chosen
Products and services are not organized into an offer structure that customers can buy.
→ Offer-Structure RedesignNot Operational
The revenue and execution structures do not operate repeatedly within the organization.
→ Revenue and Execution StructuresService Architecture
We resolve business bottlenecks through four execution structures
We do not present services as equally sized product cards. We place the business model and revenue structure at the substantial core, connecting market language and offer structure, execution alignment, and the AI execution layer with different levels of emphasis.
We design the language and sequence of offers that enable customers to understand the issue as their own problem and make a choice. This connects to the Product Concept Canvas and Visual Action Board-V.
/market-language-offer-design →
Entry 21
We connect pricing, packaging, recurring revenue, channels, and unit economics to create a business structure that sells and generates profit. The BM ZEN Canvas and 4by4 Pattern Matrix are the core tools.
/biz-model-consulting →
Core 40
We align the CEO’s and team’s decision criteria, meetings, reporting, and priorities to the same execution rhythm. This is delivered through Deep Innovation, Market Backward, and C-Level workshops.
/pgm-deepinnovation →
Motion 26
Rather than positioning AI as a separate service, we integrate it into the flow of research, documentation, proposals, and execution operations. AI ToolBox and NextBM200 belong to this layer.
/ai-execution-system-design →
Expand 13
Core Strength
The substantial core is the execution capability that turns business models into results
The Innovation Lab has continually researched shifting market boundaries, platform strategy, business model innovation, and revenue structures. We turn our research findings into field methodologies such as BM ZEN, BM Renovation, BM HealthCheck, pricing strategy, and revenue model design, and apply them in practice.
Research does not end with a report. The Innovation Lab’s role is to enter the client’s execution environment and work alongside them until the business model leads to actual revenue, organizational learning, an execution roadmap, and new-business results.
/biz-model-consulting →- Reviewing Revenue and Profit Structures After InvestmentFaced with the need to generate revenue and profit after Series A, we reassessed the entire market and business model. — CEO of a sensor chip manufacturer
- Realigning a Technology Company’s Market Approach and PositioningWe clarified whether the company should position itself as a manufacturer or a solution provider, along with its channel structure and B2C approach. — CEO of a medical device, fire safety, and smart-farming startup
- Customer Validation and Resource ReallocationAfter identifying the product lines in which customers showed genuine interest, we adjusted the allocation of development resources. — Head of R&D at a marine biotech startup
- Structuring Complex Concepts into Business ModelsScattered business concepts were developed into multiple concrete business models that could be evaluated. — CEO of an IoT-based service startup
Research Proof · Books & Methods
We read first, then structure,
and validate in corporate settings
Books are The Innovation Lab’s record of research, while methodologies are the language of execution that makes this research repeatable in the field. We connect insights into market change with strategies, tools, and programs that companies can use.
Yongho Cho
Founder
Lead Consultant
Business Author
Lead Consultant
Business Author
We capture the moment the market landscape changes and translate it into structures that enable companies to act.
He is one of South Korea’s leading researchers in platform strategy and business models, as well as a business trend analyst. In Platform Wars, he analyzed how major corporations dominate markets, and in All the Boundaries You Knew Will Disappear, he anticipated the “Big Blur” phenomenon—the collapse of boundaries between industries and between online and offline. Business Model Zen, a synthesis of his original methodology, has become a tool for turning ideas into viable business models.
After studying Industrial Engineering at Dongguk University and earning an MBA from Aalto University School of Business in Finland, he gained strategy consulting experience at Oracle and Samil PwC. Today, as Lead Consultant at The Innovation Lab, he addresses innovation challenges for Samsung Electronics, SK, KT, Lotte Group, startups, social ventures, small and medium-sized enterprises, and mid-sized companies through coaching, consulting, workshops, and lectures.
Industrial EngineeringAalto MBAOracleSamil PwCVisionArena 2010—
Platforms and Innovative CompaniesWe studied platform strategies that reshape markets and innovators creating change on the ground.
Big Blur · SOFT · BM ZENWe read the currents of collapsing boundaries and developed original methodologies for designing ideas and business models.
Strategic Thinking and Execution ToolsWe systematized strategic tools for reading uncertain landscapes and turning choices into action.
Industry-Specific BM IntelligenceWe expanded more than 5,000 business models into strategic reference models for 25 industries.
Selected Publications · 2011—2026
Eight Books Built on Years of Research
Research that began with platforms and industry boundaries has evolved into business model methodologies, strategic thinking, and BM reference models for future industries.
Platform Wars
Platform strategies used by major corporations to dominate markets
Book detail ↗
Street Innovator
How innovative companies create new value on the ground
Book detail ↗
All the Boundaries You Knew Will Disappear
Future strategies for understanding the collapse of boundaries between industries and between online and offline
Book detail ↗
Business Model Zen
An original methodology for turning ideas into viable business models
Book detail ↗
You Are Innovation
The SOFT ideation methodology derived from innovation cases
Book detail ↗
The Queen of Strategy
Strategic thinking for defining problems and making choices under uncertainty
Book detail ↗
Strategy Is a Tool: The Power to Read the Landscape
Strategic tools for understanding complex market landscapes and moving to execution
Book detail ↗
Next Business Model 2026
A strategy book that interprets changes in future industries from a business model perspective
Book detail ↗
Institutional Research Series · 2026
Next Business Model 2026: Complete 25-Volume Industry Edition
The Innovation Lab’s industry research series analyzes more than 5,000 Korean and international business models and structures them into directions for change and strategic reference models across 25 industries.
Offering
One Innovation System, Four Paths to Change
We begin with what needs to change now: the business, organization, ecosystem, or people. BM ZEN, close execution partnerships, the AX execution system, and toolkits run through all four paths.View All Offerings →
01 · Change the Business
Business Model Transformation Partnership
We redesign the marketability, differentiation, profitability, and execution structure of a company and its business.
02 · Change the OrganizationCorporate New-Business Innovation Journey
We develop organizational ideas into actionable plans ready for customer validation and executive decision-making.
03 · Grow the EcosystemStartup and Technology Commercialization Growth Program
We assess, train, and coach multiple startup teams and technology companies, helping them grow into businesses that gain traction in the market.
04 · Build the ExpertiseBusiness Model Academy · CBMP
We embed business model expertise as a repeatable capability within individuals and organizations.
Evidence Register
Business Model Transformation Experience Proven Across Repeated Engagements
Cases are not a list of completed engagements. Each record is evidence showing how we discovered the bottlenecks facing a client and organization, which methodology we used, and how the work led to decisions, execution, and results. “Season” is not decoration; it is a filter indicating the problem-solving stage.
TypeRecordInterventionOutputStage
Case
Samsung Electronics Korea B2B Business Model Innovation Workshop
We moved beyond an individual-account focus and embedded a Big Biz Model perspective across the organization
70+ BMs Identified · Added to Internal Knowledge Database
Autumn
Case
LS Group Innovation Jam Training and Coaching
Over 3 months, we connected group training, individual leader coaching, and IR preparation, elevating new-business ideas to a standard suitable for executive reporting
Execution Strategy Ready for Executive Reporting
Autumn
Case
UL Korea Key Leader Project Workshop
We rapidly connected idea development, customer interviews, BM design, cash-flow simulation, and IR presentations
Approximately KRW 100 Million in New Overseas-Business Revenue
Autumn
Case
Market Backward Coaching for 14 Service-Robot Companies
We redirected post-technology-validation questions toward the market, enabling participants to reassess customer needs, pricing, features, and market-entry direction
14 Companies · 5 Dedicated Coaching Sessions per Team
Spring
Case
Business Model Diagnostics for GNU’s Leading University for Startups Program
We applied a repeatable diagnostic system to a program serving 85 applicant teams, revealing early bottlenecks in marketability, offer structure, revenue structure, and feasibility
85 Applicant Teams · Diagnostic System Applied
Spring
Case
AIDX-Based Business Model Optimization Camp
We connected training, group mentoring, and one-to-one coaching to refine early-stage startup teams’ concepts and execution roadmaps
Satisfaction Scores: 9.5 / 10 / 9.8 / 9.9
Summer
See The Innovation Lab’s Approach Through Cases
8 Problem Types · 12 Detailed Cases · All Existing Project References Linked → /proof-library
Education / CBMP
Training Turns Business Models into Organizational Capability
A business model does not become an organizational capability if it remains only in a report. CBMP is a signature asset that extends this educational capability into a certification system. Operating since 2014, the business model expert program progresses through three cubes.
Business Model Power User
At this level, participants understand the core components of a business model and how they relate, and can perform an initial analysis through development and diagnosis.
Certification · Pass Individual/Team AssignmentBusiness Model Analyst
Participants understand BM patterns, apply them in the field, and make integrated use of market methodologies such as Lean Startup and service design.
Certification · Pass Assignment + 300 Hours of Professional PracticeBusiness Model Professional
At this level, participants link BMs to business strategy and connect them with platform business, case analysis, corporate capabilities, and trends.
Certification · Pass Assignment + 800 Hours of Professional PracticeThe Green, Blue, and Red Cubes use the same colors as the brand’s Four Seasons palette—the language of spring for discovery, summer for execution, and autumn for results applies equally to the CBMP level system.
Operating Since 2014
221 Participants to Date
Private Qualification Registration No. 2014-4156
Certification Issuer · The Innovation Lab Co., Ltd.
Toolkits
Execution Tools That Turn Thinking into Structure
These are not templates sitting in a resource library. They are thinking tools refined through more than 10 years of actual use in corporate innovation training, workshops, and coaching. They help prepare for the next cycle with winter’s focus on consolidation.
01 — Market Language · Offer Structure
Product Concept CanvasWe find a compelling reason to be chosen at the intersection of a category’s essence, customer pain points, and industry assumptions.
Visual Action Board-VWe take value propositions beyond appealing words and bring them into real customer response and hypothesis validation.
SOFT IdeationWe structure business potential using 25 thinking patterns derived from more than 500 innovation cases.
BM ZEN ChecklistWe structure the essential questions so that business decisions are not based on intuition alone.
02 — Business Model · Revenue Structure
BM ZEN Business Design CanvasIt helps you see a business as a living system in which customer value, revenue structure, and execution strategy are balanced.
BM ZEN Diagnostic CanvasIt reflects the weaknesses and areas for improvement in the current business model, helping identify the next design direction.
4by4 Pattern MatrixWe recombine customers, products, channels, and profit models through 38 patterns to identify differentiated options.
Business Model MapWe place scattered strategy tools on a single business-design map and connect them to an execution structure.
03 — Execution and Growth Validation / 04 — Ecosystem and Platform
Visual Action Board-GA growth-hypothesis validation board for testing and confirming whether a virtuous cycle of growth actually works.
Ecosystem Design Canvas IWe design a platform not as a marketplace, but as a space where customers, partners, and society all gain value.
Ecosystem Design Canvas IIWe design who complements whose value within the platform and which cycles generate growth.
BM HealthCheckA system for repeatedly assessing large numbers of teams against the same criteria. It was used to assess 85 teams.
AI Execution Layer
AI Is Not a Separate Buzzword, but an Extension of the Execution System
AI ToolBox, NextBM200, and the AI Business Transformation Canvas are execution infrastructure that makes the flow of research, proposals, documentation, decisions, and execution operations faster and more precise. They are simply an extension layer that accelerates the exploration and validation of business models and execution structures; they are not the company’s identity.
Contact
Connect Proven Methodologies to Your Company’s Execution and Results
From research that interprets changes in industries and markets to problem discovery, market language, offer structure, revenue structure, and execution structure, we work with you to solve business innovation challenges through accumulated methodologies and corporate field experience.
Business Model DiagnosisI want to start by identifying what is currently blocking growth.BM HealthCheck →
Training · WorkshopsI want to embed business model capabilities within the organization.HRD · New Business →
Operational ConsultingWe need a partner to manage execution alongside us until we achieve results.Partnership →
AX · AI Execution SystemI want to properly integrate AI into our work and business model.AX →
ANSWER ENGINE
Frequently Asked Questions
Quickly explore The Innovation Lab’s role and methodologies from the perspective of your challenge.
What kind of organization is The Innovation Lab?
The Innovation Lab is a business innovation research company and execution partner that studies changes in industries and markets, structures them into business model and strategy methodologies, and connects them to corporate execution and results.
What business innovation challenges do you support?
We support business model diagnosis and transformation, corporate new-business discovery and validation, startup and technology-commercialization growth, the embedding of organizational innovation capabilities, business model expert training, and AI execution-system design.
How do I begin working with The Innovation Lab?
During the initial consultation, we work with you to define the challenge your business or organization wants to solve, the customer and market situation, and the expected results. Based on the resulting diagnosis and priorities, we then propose consulting, workshops, training, coaching, or an operational partnership.
What are BM ZEN and the 8×48 Workflow?
BM ZEN is a methodology that integrates a business model across customer value, revenue, and execution structures. The 8×48 Workflow consists of 48 workstreams across eight modules, spanning direction alignment, opportunity selection, customer and problem discovery, validation, design, decision-making, and growth.