TAX WHAT YOU DON'T WANT:

Frugal innovation is the need of the hour in the U.S., with the economy decimated by coronavirus. U.S. firms need a frugal and agile mind-set to not only survive during the current health crisis but also to innovate for success in the recessionary post-coronavirus word. A drastically new world where cost-conscious customers will seek more value for less.

Sadly, corporate America is ill-equipped to innovate frugally and flexibly. Indeed, frugal innovation, which emphasizes speed, agility, and affordability, is the antithesis of how corporate America innovates, instead relying on insular R&D labs, big budgets, and rigid go-to-market processes. [...]

2. REUSE EXISTING RESOURCES

Rather than reinvent the wheel, companies must reuse and repurpose widely available resources (technologies, data, assets) to generate more value. For example, when GE Healthcare engineers developed a low-cost portable ECG device, the MAC 400, that is sturdy enough for use in rural India, they didn't create a new printer from scratch. Instead, they adapted a printer used in buses to print tickets and integrated it into the MAC 400.

Likewise, the Delaware-incorporated startup AlgoSurg uses a patented AI-technology to quickly convert 2D X-ray images into 3D images without requiring an expensive CT scanner or MRI machine. AlgoSurg's cloud-based software enables orthopedic surgeons to virtually simulate bone surgeries very precisely so they can do their operations faster, better, and cost-effectively.

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