“Sometimes, your most promising product isn’t one you need to invent—it’s one you’ve already built.” Henry Ford

Is Your Next Big Product Already Inside Your Walls? 

Some of today’s most profitable tech products didn’t come from startups—they started in the back office. Yet, in most organizations, powerful innovations remain shelved or siloed, built only for internal use. Your next revenue engine may already exist—hidden within your own operations.

The journey from innovative internal solution to market-ready product is fraught with challenges. While many organizations successfully develop powerful technology tools for their own use, a significant gap exists between creating these solutions and successfully bringing them to market. This commercialization gap represents a missed opportunity for many companies, leaving potentially valuable revenue streams untapped and innovative products undeveloped. But what causes this persistent divide between ideation and successful commercialization?

The gap between ideation and commercialization doesn’t result from a lack of innovation—it stems from the absence of clear processes to evaluate, validate, and scale internal solutions for external markets. More companies recognize this untapped opportunity and partner with venture studios to bridge the gap.

Unearthing the Hidden Gold: What Internal Tools are Worth Millions?

The Blind Spot: Why Great In-House Tech Stays HiddenTeams often develop internal tools—like workflow automation software, AI engines, or analytics platforms—to boost efficiency. Yet companies rarely assess these tools for broader market potential. Most don’t miss the opportunity due to a lack of innovation; they simply lack the framework to turn operational tools into commercial products.

Unleash the Beast: The Real Financial Power of Internal Tech When companies commercialize in-house technology strategically, they can:

• Unlock new revenue streams through high-margin SaaS, licensing, or platform models.

• Launch spin-out ventures that explore new markets with minimal risk.

• Strengthen competitive positioning by capitalizing on first-mover advantages.

Real-World Examples of Internal Innovation Turned External Success

1. AWS: From internal infrastructure to a cloud computing giant Amazon built Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support its internal computing needs, then launched it publicly in 2006. AWS now dominates the global cloud market and contributes more than 60% of Amazon’s operating profit. → Takeaway: Amazon turned a solution for internal scalability into its most profitable business unit. [How Amazon grew an awkward side project into AWS, a behemoth that’s now 4 times bigger than its original shopping business]

   
   

2. Slack: From small comm tool to common communication fixtureSlack began as an internal communication tool at Tiny Speck, a gaming company developing the now-defunct game "Glitch." The team created Slack to solve their own remote collaboration challenges. When the game project failed in 2012, founder Stewart Butterfield recognized that their internal messaging platform had broader market potential and pivoted the entire company.→ Takeaway: By identifying the value in their internal communication solution, Tiny Speck transformed a side project into a platform that revolutionized workplace communication, eventually leading to a $27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce in 2021.[How Slack's internal communication tool became a $27 billion business]

   
   

3. Goldman Sachs’ Marquee: Internal tools made client-ready Goldman Sachs designed Marquee as a trading and analytics dashboard for its internal teams. When it recognized the platform’s broader value, it repackaged Marquee for institutional clients, creating a high-value digital offering. → Takeaway: By transforming internal capabilities into client-ready products, Goldman Sachs enhanced engagement and opened new revenue channels.[Here's how Goldman Sachs is aiming to win more trades from its biggest institutional clients]

   
   

4. PyTorch: Internal AI Research, Global AI Adoption Facebook AI Research created PyTorch for internal machine learning projects. By open-sourcing it in 2016, Facebook enabled global adoption, leading to the creation of the PyTorch Foundation in 2022. → Takeaway: Facebook converted a specialized research tool into a global standard for deep learning development.[What’s the origin of PyTorch]

   
   

Every organization—regardless of size or industry—develops unique operational solutions. From custom spreadsheets and workflows to proprietary algorithms and dashboards, these innovations solve specific problems while representing potential value far beyond their original purpose. The key is recognizing which internal tools have broader market applications.

Why Does Great Tech Stay Locked Away? 

Despite the potential, many companies fail to bring internal tools to market. These obstacles usually come from organizational and strategic challenges—not technical limitations.

1. Resource Constraints and Competing Priorities - Operational teams focus on KPIs and have little bandwidth or budget for speculative ventures.

2. Lack of Structured Commercialization Pathways - Without a clear roadmap, promising tools remain trapped in internal silos.

3. Gaps in Commercialization Expertise - Internal teams often lack experience in product-market fit, pricing, and customer development.

4. Difficulty Validating Market Potential - Companies rarely benchmark internal tools against external competitors or conduct proper market research.

5. Organizational Myopia - Many teams struggle to recognize external applications for internal tools, especially without outside perspectives or entrepreneurial input.

6. Perceived Scale Requirements - Many mid-sized companies mistakenly believe commercialization requires massive resources, when lean approaches can be more effective.

The Role of Strategic Venture Studio Partners

Bridging the Gap Between Internal Innovation and Market Opportunity

Even the most promising internal technologies can falter without the right structure, expertise, and resources to bring them to market. That’s where strategic venture partners come in.

Venture studio partners act as catalysts—providing the entrepreneurial muscle, commercialization framework, and cross-functional capabilities that internal teams often lack. They help organizations move beyond ideation, turning raw internal tools into refined, scalable offerings with real market traction.

What the Right Partner Brings to the Table:

Opportunity Discovery: Identifying which internal tools and use cases have market potential—and which don’t—based on rigorous feasibility assessments and market research.

Incubation Frameworks: Structuring commercialization pathways that include prototyping, MVP testing, customer validation, and go-to-market strategy.

Cross-Functional Expertise: Bringing in product managers, marketers, designers, and business strategists who complement internal IT and engineering teams.

Spinout and Scaling Models: Supporting the creation of independent ventures or internal product arms without disrupting core business operations.

Risk Mitigation: Reducing organizational risk by testing ideas in controlled environments before significant investment or organizational change.

In short, venture studio partners enable companies to unlock the hidden value within their walls—without requiring them to become a startup themselves.

Ready to Strike Gold? Let's Find Your Hidden Assets

In the coming weeks, I'll be dropping another article diving into how to evaluate your innovation's market potential and leverage venture studio partnerships for successful commercialization. 

Making the Leap from Internal Solution to External Product

Whether working independently or with external partners, organizations can benefit by treating internal tools as opportunities—not just operational utilities. By applying disciplined evaluation and strategic commercialization practices, what starts as an internal fix can evolve into a high-growth business line. While tech giants provide headline-grabbing examples, organizations across industries and of all sizes are discovering that their most valuable innovations may be hiding in plain sight—solving everyday operational challenges. The question isn't whether your organization has market-worthy innovation, but whether you have the framework to identify and commercialize them.

About Us

At Method360, we work with companies at the intersection of significant change—organizations navigating complex transformation, innovation, and growth. We help our clients unlock the full potential of their people, technologies, and strategies to drive meaningful impact in a rapidly evolving world.

We bring perspective and insight to the world’s toughest challenges, drawing on a deep understanding of human behavior and decades of experience applying disruptive technologies to high-stakes environments.

If you’re exploring your next big thing, consider partnering with FoundryX, Method360’s venture studio, purpose-built to help organizations turn internal innovation into market opportunity.

Interested in learning more or discussing your story? We’re here to help.