Netflix

Not so much a single innovation as the successful application and extension of an innovative business model, Netflix has impressed by building on what it already had. Taking advantage of the growing digital economy, it’s changed the way television, in particular, is accessed and absorbed

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

2014 was the year Regeneron’s Genetics Centre became fully operational, and new research collaborations, including with Columbia University, were announced. The centre will allow Regeneron to continue its work in biopharmaceuticals

Airbnb

In 2014, Airbnb launched its first global marketing campaign – ‘Views’, by agency Pereira & O’Dell – to showcase its offerings around the world. It worked – the company has continued to grow, and Airbnb is now enshrined in tourists’ thinking

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate

Krawcheck’s purchase of women’s networking club 85 Broads, which she rebranded as ‘Ellevate’, has helped open up chances to professional women across the globe. In a world in which equal pay and opportunities have still not been achieved, her efforts are a welcome step

Tory Burch

At the beginning of 2014, the Tory Burch Foundation announced it was partnering with Bank of America on Elizabeth Street Capital, which is designed to provide early-stage women entrepreneurs in the US with access to low-cost capital, mentoring support and important business networking opportunities

A unique enterprise, the Tory Burch Foundation supplies access to affordable loans, business education, networking programmes and mentoring schemes to entrepreneurial women across America. Burch herself has driven the organisation, enthusing and inspiring women starting out in business from a variety of backgrounds. She has teamed up with a number of large companies – such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America – in order to facilitate the growth of the organisation and prospects for female entrepreneurs in the country.

Supplements

Innovation 40 - 2014

Netflix

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Airbnb

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate