Independent Strategic Innovation & Design Research Agency
About Us
Ben Strutt, founder of TheUnlock, speaking at the annual European software conference, Boardwave Live.
Why we can help
The Unlock was founded to help innovation teams and executives efficiently draw on an independent business growth perspective - 'fresh eyes' - built over 25 years across multiple industries and categories.
As a designer, insight researcher, and strategist, Ben has influenced the project work of over 200 global consumer and healthcare businesses and brands and is a named inventor on more than 25 patents and design registrations.
His consumer and stakeholder-focused innovation work spans the fields of packaged goods, consumer electronics, consumer health, pharma, and medical devices, and includes an expert focus on FemTech, and intimate personal care product and service categories.
Commercial leadership experience includes serving as Director and Board member while helping scale a global design and technology agency from 30 staff to over 300 employee-owners over a decade; working inside Corporate R&D, innovation and design groups; founding his own start-up; and Marketing Chartership.
A global client-base has enabled the discovery of fieldwork insights on four continents, and translation of research into strategies, value propositions, concepts, prototypes, and market-ready products and services. It has also offered opportunity to coach related method and mindset.
Unlock collaborations are informed by deep understanding of both Client-side and Consulting perspectives, experience of leveraging the full potential of multi-disciplinary environments, and the timeline and priority tensions that can emerge between different business functions.
However, the learning process never ends! Initially we may not have all the answers, but together we will structure activities and evidence-based pathways to bring clarity and make decisions.
If projects require additional expertise, a strong design, engineering, science and manufacturing personal network enables assembly of a bespoke team, or connections to trusted consumer, medical device & pharma turn-key partners.
Folio snapshot
A career in Design, Innovation Insight, and Strategy has provided an opportunity to explore many different applications and market sectors, and to create differentiated products and experiences. Collaboration and skill diversity were central to every solution's success. A selection of the brands, businesses, products and buildings Ben has had the privilege to creatively influence, includes:
