Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) is a well-established financial services firm renowned for its innovation in identifying and addressing unmet needs within the financial market. With an eye towards the future, BBH's Innovation team seeks to create new technology solutions that can either be integrated into their existing service offerings or spun out as independent entities. The challenge the company currently faces is the need to explore and validate emerging technologies and business models to ensure they remain at the forefront of the fintech revolution.

The specific project will be to focused on Gates 0-2 of our 8 stage innovation studio. Gate 0 is technically listening to the market to identify hot spots of market demand based on problems, Gate 1 is about synthesizing problems into a one pager to confirm if it makes sense for us to solve, and Gate 2 is about creating an early hypothesis around the solution shapes for the problem. For this project, we want the students to tune into the financial services market and surface problems they are hearing and seeing. Once they bring us a few problems, we will work with them to prioritize which ones to take further into the market research stages.

This project offers students a unique opportunity to delve into the cutting-edge of financial technology. They will engage in the early stages of the innovation process, focusing on problem validation. This involves determining the reality and significance of market problems, understanding customer needs, and recommending solutions that offer meaningful business value. The project unfolds in several phases: landscape familiarization, demand validation, and insight development.

For students, the project is ideal as it combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience in a dynamic industry. They will gain hands-on skills in research and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and strategic thinking. This is more than an academic exercise; it is a chance to contribute to real-world business challenges and potentially influence the future direction of financial services. Exploring these strategic challenges allows students to develop valuable career skills in consulting, finance, and innovation, making the experience both relevant and exciting.