Hacking Innovation. Josh Linkner

be comparatively fast, low-cost, and fluid. The goal of her hacker mindset is not to produce a 70-page business plan, but to uncover an untapped opportunity. Once that crack in the wall is identified, she’d follow with a similar barrage of “attacks” to fully exploit the opening. The hacker would rather use a changeable chalkboard than a printed menu, a pop-up restaurant over a permanent structure. Anything to support the mindset of large quantities of little experiments.

      The end result may not even be an end result. Instead, think of a series of interconnected hacks that follow this structure:

      1 Test many variables, identify a solution that shows potential

      2 Further test the promising ideas, quickly discard the others, and move on to new ones

      3 Once an idea shows merit, isolate and exploit it

      4 Test, measure

      5 Re-hack (refine, adapt)

      6 Evaluate results and look for next hack

      Our enterprising restaurateur is far more likely to win big while mitigating risk through the hacker approach. Quantity, in all its forms, drive quality – because she has conducted so many experiments, she can be confident that she is offering the best food, from the best ingredients, in the best location, at the best prices.

      CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

      Back at Not Impossible Labs, a new “impossible” challenge is being attacked. A jazz vocalist named Mandy Harvey was dealt an unimaginable setback at age 18. A rare disease attacked one of her primary tools – her ability to hear – putting her career and future in grave jeopardy. Within nine months, the disease took its toll; Mandy was completely deaf.

      We can only imagine how Mandy must have felt. Hopeless, depressed, defeated. But somehow, she summoned the inner strength to continue her musical journey. Still possessing perfect pitch and timing, she decided to continue singing despite the fact she couldn’t hear a single note. “Hope must never be lost,” said Mandy. “In it we find strength. And it is our duty to show and give it to others. Hope keeps life moving because it pulls us out of any dark situation.” With this powerful sense of purpose and determination, Mandy has been performing professionally for the last seven years as the only completely deaf jazz singer in the world.

      Mandy gave her message of hope to all of us, but who is proving hope to her? The hackers at Not Impossible Labs set out to develop a way for Mandy to “hear” her music once again. To discover the hack, Not Impossible Labs went wide. Instead of working insulated within their organization, they put the challenge to the entire hacker community. They enlisted the ideas of scientists, research geeks, artists, and of course...software hackers.

      Since a core hacking tenet is that many minds are better than singular genius, they wanted to cast a wide net for ideas from a diverse set of thinkers. The answer emerged not as a single lightning bolt of inspiration, but as a small concept that was built upon by many minds over time. As they explored the concept of hearing altogether, these creative hackers wondered if they could help Mandy “hear” in a completely different way. Since her auditory capacity could not be restored, what if they tapped into one of her other senses to allow her to embrace the music?

      Their ingenious solution was put to the test in November 2015. Mandy was outfitted with a series of small motors, attached to various parts of her body (wrists, ankles, waist). The motors created small vibrations, triggered by computer sensors that did the hearing for Mandy. They vibrated in different ways for different periods of time depending on a number of factors in the music, including tempo, pitch, and volume. For the first time in seven years, Mandy played with her band and “heard” the music in a rich, multi-sensory experience. Tears ran down her face, along with the cheeks of the camera crew and the Not Impossible team, as she connected with her music at a level she’d not felt for nearly a decade.

      Not Impossible Labs, like most good hackers, seeks input from a large number of diverse sources to uncover the most elegant solutions to complex problems. They leverage the power of numbers compared to the traditional approach of only seeking solutions from within. Small-thinking managers dismiss concepts with the not-invented-here mindset while sophisticated hackers solve the world’s biggest challenges by proactively seeking external insights.

      THE NETFLIX OF FITNESS

      Yony Feng is exactly what you’d imagine when thinking of a whiz kid software engineer. After earning both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, he quickly moved to the heart of Silicon Valley. In high demand for his masterful computer skills, Yony served in senior positions for both Cisco and Skype as he continued to hone his craft. This top-notch engineer is curious, articulate, and whip-smart, with the insightful wisdom of a Zen monk.

      With his highly coveted talents being courted by the top technology powerhouses of Silicon Valley, why the heck did he upend his family, relocate to New York, and take a gig at a fitness bike company? Well, Peloton ain’t no ordinary fitness company. In fact, calling them a fitness company is kind of like calling Apple a phone company.

      Part stationary bike manufacturer, part content producer, part tech company, Peloton is hacking home fitness. With Yony leading the charge as Chief Technology Officer, they are poised to become the “Netflix of Fitness”: delighting customers, building a rocking company, and making society healthier.

      “Going to a spinning class at the uber-trendy Soul Cycle or Flywheel Sports is a fantastic experience,” Yony told me. “But these classes are expensive, rarely convenient, and not available in many parts of the world. Home fitness bikes may function well, but the shared experience is lost with traditional alternatives.”

      Yony and his team set out to replicate the energizing experience of a live class that interacts with both the instructor and fellow cyclers. Peloton offers a premium stationary bike for home use that has a gorgeous built-in screen. The bike and accompanying technology are connected to the cloud, allowing riders to participate in dozens of live classes each day. Riders are sweating along with the instructor in real time, while seeing how they stack up to fellow cyclists in an interactive leaderboard. Compare your performance across the world, or limit your competitive set by age, gender, or geography. If you don’t see a live class that fits the bill, you can choose from over 4,000 pre-recorded rides. The high-definition content streams to your screen, while your bike updates itself automatically. Adjustments such as level, tension, and resistance change as you ride, all controlled by the software.

      I spoke with a Peloton customer who exhibited cult-like fervor for his machine. “I get an incredible experience, just like at class,” he beams. “But it costs less, saves me time, and I get to do my workouts on my own terms.” This loyalty is echoed in the company’s growth, which experienced a 5x boost in revenue from 2014 to 2015 and is forecasted to triple sales in 2016. Peloton has sold over 40,000 bikes to date, shipping to each of the 50 states and 22 countries. They’ve raised over $120 million of venture capital and are well positioned to be the breakaway leader in a whole new category of home fitness and content delivery.

      To achieve such remarkable success, Yoni embraced mindset #4: Quantity Is a Force Multiplier. He explained that high-volume, rapid experimentation is their secret ingredient, which has led them to develop products that make customers fall in love.

      “We conduct tons of experiments to improve the riding experience,” Yony explains. “We carefully study how our suite of products, technology, and content make our customers feel. In order to have riders truly feel like they are in class, we are constantly fine-tuning the experience. We test dozens of seating options, handle bar styles, and pedal choices. We test sound, lighting, and music. We bring in riders to our New York Studio and experiment with tiny fluctuations, such as the angle of the screen, to improve the overall experience. ”

      Yony’s inner-hacker has stepped into the spotlight. Rather than the traditional new product approach – launch big and launch