What does it really take to turn a great idea into something that works in the real world?

In this episode, I sit down with Kofi Gyasi, Founder and CEO of NotedSource, and Joia Spooner-Fleming, an innovation consultant with deep experience at companies like P&G and SharkNinja, to unpack what lies behind successful innovation. 

We explore why research and validation are often the difference between ideas that scale and those that quietly disappear. From rooftop laundry lessons in Mexico City to product design decisions shaped by culture and human behavior, this conversation brings innovation back to something many teams overlook: understanding the people you are building for.

We also get into the mechanics of how innovation actually happens inside large organizations today. Kofi shares how NotedSource is helping companies connect with external experts and accelerate decision-making using AI. At the same time, Joia reflects on the reality of working at speed in environments where every decision carries commercial risk. Together, they highlight a tension many leaders will recognize: the need to move fast while still making informed, evidence-based choices. 

What stood out for me was the shift in mindset that both guests emphasized. Open innovation is not about tools alone. It starts with a willingness to look beyond your own organization, challenge assumptions, and invite new perspectives into the process. Whether you are building new products, entering new markets, or simply trying to avoid costly mistakes, the ability to combine human insight with emerging technologies is becoming a defining advantage.

So, as innovation becomes faster, more complex, and increasingly driven by AI, are we asking the right questions and listening closely enough to the answers?

Name:  Kofi Gyasi
Title: Founder & CEO
Company: NotedSource
LinkedIn | NotedSource |

Kofi Gyasi is the Founder and CEO of NotedSource, an AI-powered R&D platform that helps leading enterprises accelerate research, develop new products, and streamline external collaboration. Drawing on his background as a Research Scientist at Vanderbilt University and VP of Innovation at Citigroup, Kofi recognized the systemic friction that slows corporate R&D teams — from identifying the right external partners to managing contracting, payments, and the full collaboration lifecycle.

NotedSource was launched to solve that problem at scale, leveraging AI to give enterprise teams the tools to move faster from insight to impact with minimal resistance. By merging scientific rigor with corporate strategy, NotedSource is reshaping how the world’s largest institutions leverage external intelligence to solve complex technical challenges and drive growth.

Name: Joia Spooner-Fleming
Title: Innovation Consultant
LinkedIn | 

Joia Spooner-Fleming is an R&D and innovation consultant who helps mid-size consumer products companies answer the question that comes before everything else: what should we actually go after, and why will it win?

After 25 years leading R&D and innovation inside global Fortune 500 companies, including P&G, where she grew iconic brands like Gillette and Braun, and SharkNinja, where she led the Ninja brand across multiple categories, Joia brings operator-level rigor to a problem most consultants arrive at too late. She works at the upstream end of innovation, helping leadership teams move from uncertain opportunity to a portfolio with a real evidence base behind it, then building the AI-native capability to keep that intelligence running.

Today, Joia leads her own consultancy, and advises a curated portfolio of AI-native consumer products innovation platforms. She holds a degree in chemical engineering from MIT.