InnoCentive.com - Open Innovation Marketplace

Some problems are just too big for anyone to solve alone. Luckily for all of us, there is Innocentive.com. This network of creative thinkers (scientists, inventors, business people, etc.) is here to solve any problem you might have as a company or an individual. The site works in a simple yet effective way. Thinkers sign up to browse the site, after which companies post up challenges for them to solve. The thinker who comes up with the best solution to any company’s problem, gets a juicy financial reward. The possibilities on the site are endless. It could mean the end of companies hiring overpaid professionals to solve their problems for them. Just post up your problem, the reward you are willing to give, and wait for the brains who surf through the site daily to solve it for you. There is a confidentially pact made by the site, so you won’t necessarily know either who is helping you or who you are helping out.

“We believe in the power of open innovation, bringing together creative minds to create breakthrough solutions that touch every human life.”

The site proposes to eliminate the middleman and get companies solutions to their problems fast. This opens up a whole new door to companies who are going through hard times and need their problems solved by creative thinkers.

Does the site get a cut from the rewards won by thinkers? Why the confidentiality? Couldn’t the site work as a way for these “thinkers” to find jobs with the companies they help?