Co-founder of Tovala: innovation can be incremental

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As an entrepreneur, my goal was simple: I wanted delicious food at home without spending a lot of time preparing it. I took a look at what was already available – expensive take-out food, meal kits that required a lot of preparation, traditional microwave or frozen options – and wondered why we had to sacrifice quality for convenience. Where was the solution that met both needs?

I wanted to create what I was looking for and could not find, but how do you create what does not yet exist? If you are an aspiring entrepreneur with a great idea, you might as well ask yourself the same question. You may be thinking: I have to invent something completely from scratch, otherwise my company will not be considered innovative and we will not win.

I’m here to dispel this myth about innovation. My company, Tovala, introduced our innovation, a proprietary oven paired with a subscription meal service, learning from other companies’ products and plans and then building something unique. Here’s how we dealt with the ambiguity and intimidation factor and ultimately got over the myth of innovation.

Answer a real problem

Don’t pursue innovation for the sake of innovation. Instead, solve a problem that is real and recognizable. Before “Tovala” existed, I wanted to eliminate a common pain point for busy families by offering a fast, high-quality way to eat well at home. I was guided by that problem because I knew its ultimate solution would be relevant and useful. Our team remained focused on one clear question: “What would be the best way to make fresh home cooking incredibly affordable?” This question has been our guiding light of innovation, driving the development of the first smart oven and meals.

Know that you are not actually inventing from scratch

One of the biggest misconceptions about innovation is that you have to create something that doesn’t exist anywhere. In fact, most of the inventions are based on current technology. For us there was no need to reinvent the wheel, just to improve it. Co-founder and CTO Bryan Wilcox and lead technologist Peter Fiflis have tested every type of appliance imaginable, from pressure cookers to other early smart ovens to traditional toaster ovens. We studied other smart home devices to understand connected home technology. We learned from other perishable food shipping models. We have optimized, designed, added and brought under a single ecosystem what we have learned by observing and examining the world around us. Ultimately, the problems solved by innovation are large, but the actual steps required to innovate are small, progressive changes, additions, and builds.

Creating public accountability

It’s harder to let go of an idea when everyone in your life knows you’re trying to build a business. If you want to force your hand to stay committed to your innovation, make it public. I didn’t know how many years of work and research were in store, but I knew I wanted to be a part of it for the long term. So, I told a lot of people what I was working on. I have received support and guidance from my family, friends, colleagues and professors from the school of economics, and in this support I have also developed a sense of public responsibility. By announcing my intentions and creating expectations, I made the big, nebulous word of “innovation” something I was practically working on every day, measuring small steps of progress. My network was expecting a result and I was even more motivated to achieve it.

Surround yourself with experts

At first I had a lot of ideas, but no hardware or software experience. My only culinary credential was being a pretty decent home cook and working as a front-of-house in some restaurants. I had to gather and trust the right group of partners, which includes Bryan and Peter, but also many others with backgrounds in cooking, design, engineering, finance, marketing, operations and more. It also extends to include every new team member we hire, from our quality engineer to our menu innovation manager to our chief IoT engineer. They bring new perspectives and new ways to improve our business, from the menu to hardware and software and everything in between. You can’t do it all by yourself, and if you really want to accomplish what you set out to do, you need to involve the people who can help you accomplish it.

The word “innovation” evokes great technological leaps like the man on the moon or the first computer, but, in reality, mind-blowing innovation also happens incrementally. You just need the right plan and the people to start making it a reality.

David Rabie is co-founder and CEO of Tovala, a subscription meal service paired with a smart oven.

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