“KPCo will work with you to design an innovation process that will help you feel visible, smart, adventurous, and artistic … because you ARE!” — Darrell Velegol

Over the past 10 years I’ve studied innovation processes and innovation portfolio budgeting. I’ve been especially interested in PRACTICAL methods for companies with dozens or 100s or even 1000s of projects in their innovation portfolio, and how the commercial and technical functions communicate. I’d love to learn about your challenges with this communication, the metrics you use, the analysis you use, and how you mitigate biases. Wanting to learn more -- Darrell

KPCo was founded after hearing from so many innovators — especially in R&D — that they felt invisible in their companies, and stuck in their ability to make change. They had lost the sense of curiosity, intellect, and artistry that they once felt in working with others. After studying the problem for 10 years, I have combined the best of the old innovation fundamentals with new ideas in algorithms to create a step-by-step, end-to-end PROCESS to help you you align your team’s tremendous power. After our work together, you’ll delight your customers with innovation, become more profitable (higher IRR, low risk), and retain your best people.

Purpose of KPCo

To help companies become winners at innovation.

KPCo’s values: Trust, Love, Commitment (TLC).

Trust. Innovation is a team sport, including Leadership, R&D, Marketing, Manufacturing, Legal, Regulatory-Safety, Supply Chain, and other functions. All of these must work together to turn ideas into valuable offerings to satisfy the Future Voice of the Customer. KPCo aims to build TRUST between KPCo and the customer — absolutely essential from our standpoint — as well as between the functions of the customer mentioned above. The trust is both for intention, and for competency. With trust in place, KPCo helps design step-by-step, end-to-end processes that delight your customers with innovation, become more profitable, and retain your best people, who are looking for adventure and meaning in their work!

Love. Innovation is a gift of love for your customers, and providing a process to translate creative ideas into innovations in the market is a gift of love to the artists working with you, who are all your employees who want to contribute to making the world a better place. Your people love new ideas, have a sense of adventure, and want to be visible in making a difference. KPCo believes that you show your love for your people by providing a clear process that magnifies their innovation efforts in this environment. As the Beatles said, “All you need is love!”

Commitment. Commitment has several key dimensions. It’s a statement of humility, that we can “commit” to a path without knowing all the answers. It’s also a statement of courage, that again without knowing everything, we have faith enough to give something a try. Without commitment, there can be little progress. We’ll help you see reasons for greater commitment.

Does your process for producing innovations need a better flow?

• Do you feel INVISIBLE and SILOED in your role? We’ll show you how to join with others in a step-by-step, end-to-end process and become VISIBLE and INFLUENTIAL!

• Do you feel BORED innovating “the same old thing again”? We’ll take you on a ride where you’ll feel ADVENTUROUS and CURIOUS again, doing great work!

• Do you feel like your hard-won intellect and creativity have turned into just another TOOL? We’ll help you revitalize the SMART ARTIST in you for all to see!

• Do you feel HOPELESS about whether your team has the ability to become great innovators? We’ll guide you through the step-by-step, end-to-end PROCESS that works time after time.

• Do you wonder about the very SURVIVAL of your company or team? We’ll raise your ability to bring significant PROFITABILITY to your company! You’ll have higher throughput of idea to market, higher value, and greater JOY as innovators!

The President of KPCo

Darrell Velegol, PhD, is the founder and President of the Knowlecular Processes Company. After almost 25 years on the faculty of Chemical Engineering at Penn State, where he has won many awards for both teaching and research, Darrell chose to focus his attention on the processes by which ideas transform into valuable innovations. He’s skilled at listening to needs, finding bottlenecks based on knowledge of the innovation process, and helping you to make you a winner at innovation.

In 2013 when he co-taught the MOOC "Creativity, Innovation, and Change", he became a STUDENT of innovation. He had heard from many colleagues and former PhD students how they lost their curious edge, lost their sense of adventure, and became invisible tools in their company. They felt stuck, and didn't believe their company was pursuing innovation that would change the world for the better, which is what they really wanted to do. They wanted visibility, adventure, a culture of curiosity, and appreciation for them as artists! How to ESCAPE? in 2017 Velegol started Knowlecular Processes. KPCo helps YOUR company produce innovations faster and at higher value. Not by cutting corners, not by shortcutting, but by better processes. The method is classic Chemical Engineering: 1) Listen to the problem, 2) identify bottlenecks and tradeoff points, 3) measure and analyze key metrics, 4) dollarize the value of suggested changes, 5) facilitate diverse technical discussions, and 6) take action. Give us a try — we promise it’ll be worth your while!

MY INTERESTS. My path to becoming me:

- family I (1970-now, John L. Velegol Sr., Dave & Carolyn Velegol, Duke-Sonja-Doug).

- baseball (1970s, NY Yankees, Big Red Machine, We are Family Pirates in 1970s -- Jackson, Rose, Bench, Stargell)

- football (1970s-now, Steelers, Penn State, Brooke High, friends in NCAA, Franco, Bill Walsh, Paterno).

- boxing (1970s, Ali, Foreman, Sugar Ray, Howard Cosell)

- tractors (1970s, John Deere, old engines).

- computer programming (TRS 80, Commodore machines, early IBMs).

- chemistry (Kay Bilal, Prof Denis McDowell)

- bodybuilding and powerlifting (1980s, Arnold, Fred Hatfield, Larry Pacifico),

- music (1980s-now, Billy Joel, Beatles, Paul McCartney, piano, guitar).

- politics (1980s-now, Prof Bob DiClerico, Gandhi, Alice Paul, Churchill, JFK, Robert Moses, Reagan)

- Chemical Engineering (1990s-now, Prof Joe Shaeiwitz, BSL, Denbigh, Fogler, Prof John Anderson)

- faith (1990s-now, Jesus, Bible, church Deacon, church Elder, St. Francis, Billy Graham, Tony Campolo, Joel Osteen, Dan Nold)

- movies (1990s-now, Godfathers, LOTRs, Rocky’s, Terminators, James Bond, Good Will Hunting, Christmas Vacation).

- Education and student success (2000s, Dewey, Paolo Freire, Myles Horton, Piaget, Montessori, Vygotsky).

- Colloidal Systems (2000s, 2010s, Russel-Saville-Schowalter, John Anderson, Dennis Prieve)

- family II (2000s-now, Stephanie, Lauren-Sabrina).

- Innovation (2010s, Jack Matson, Elon, creativity, game theory)

- Finance and innovation (2020s, John Kelly, Edward Thorp, Taleb)