Since its birth in 1943, IKEA remains an inspiration for many businesses that are starting out on their own. Despite stepping down as a CEO in 1986 and passing the baton to his sons, Ingvar Kamprad's strongly held values and beliefs are still being carried out, perhaps because they had already been deeply etched in the culture of IKEA.
Today we will distill the many learnings and focus on one key mindset from Ingvar. This key tenet, we strongly believe, will help steer start-ups into their future.
Key Tenet: Betterment through Innovation
From the 9 principles in the testament of the furniture dealer, the last, and probably the most impactful, seem to strike a chord of relevancy with us.
"MOST THINGS STILL REMAIN TO BE DONE. A GLORIOUS FUTURE!"
This mindset speaks of how one strives for betterment through innovation. For example, how we constantly "ask ourselves how what we are doing today will better tomorrow".
Such a mindset helped to steer the company forward, anchoring their business not just in present times, but also in the future. If you think that IKEA only offers affordable, functional home furnishing products (and meatballs), you are not alone. Many people do not know about the other visionary projects IKEA is working on. Make sure your seatbelts are on as I bring you through three of the top projects now!
IKEA PLACE
Within 7 weeks in the making, they already uploaded more than 2000 items in their catalogue, IKEA PLACE is an augmented reality app to help you improve your experience in buying IKEA furniture. The app helps to scale the furniture you picked into the space you have captured with your phone via a 98% accuracy. Indeed, this digital transformation is making way for the future of shopping.
IKEA Solar Residential Kits
Another step forward into the renewable energy space, IKEA is teaming up with UK's leading solar company, Solarcentury. Together, they are making solar power systems and home battery packs accessible to people living in the UK.
"At IKEA we're always looking for ways to help customers take positive actions at home for both the environment and their wallets." Commented Hege Saebjornsen, Country Sustainability Manager, IKEA UK & Ireland
Smart Home
The concept of a smart home is not new. Despite years and years of promises, the connected home has yet to rub shoulders with the majority of the market. People may have heard about it, but not many have seen or used, perhaps even a demonstration kit. And with IKEA stepping into the picture, maybe things will take a better turn now.
"It's too complicated and too expensive. Let's make it super easy to install and super easy to understand, at a price tag you haven't seen before," says Björn Block, Head of Ikea's Home Smart division
IKEA is advancing forward into the future at unprecedented speed. But that is not all. The smart lightbulbs that they already have use the Zigbee Light Link standard, which means that these are compatible with a wide range of devices.
Such commitment to inter-operability feels so rare in today's competitive market. (*cough* A-p-p-l-e *cough*) After all, the smart home space is still rather niche and to be able to monopolize the market seems to be a really great idea to investors.
But like I mentioned earlier in the mindset that IKEA embraces- forward-thinking. IKEA understood that if the smart home, in general, has a chance to sprouting its roots, it needs as much interoperability and collaboration as possible. And that's exactly what IKEA is selling.
In a Nutshell
With the world's largest furniture retailer leading the way in educating the masses towards the future, what kind of plans should start-ups have today for the future?
If you have a plan for a start-up, how important is your idea for a successful startup? Let's look at this article to find out more! (on Medium)
This article was first published on Swedish App Scene.