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July 7th, 2011, Version 1
The Intrapreneurship Circus
A day to encourage entrepreneurs within organizations
Minutes of the second Day of the Circus:
Bilbao/Spain, Thursday 2nd June 2011
Javier Ruiz welcomes everybody, introduces the purpose and the agenda (see appendix). He also
remembers the definitions of Intrapreneur and Intrapreneurship (see the research paper) and
introduces the four story tellers.

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CASE 1. SOLVAY
Etienne Collignon, Senior expert in HHRR corporative
services, has been deeply engaged in the entrepreneurship
process of EDS, one business of Solvay (www.solvay.com), a
chemical and plastic Group with headquarters in Brussels.
The executives of the business had some experience of
success with new business, introduced in a traditional
organization, and they had the deep desire to change the
culture and introduce more freedom in decision taking at
all levels of management. The EDS Entrepreneurship
project was launched in May 2010, seizing the opportunity
of a 3 days seminar with the 50 top leaders. More than 30 individual or team projects were then
defined, and a new way of working has been introduced, preparing the business to other
important changes. Etienne was explaining how everything happened in his company. Solvay is
the name of the group of companies and employs 17 000 people. EDS, is one part of the group
and employs 1600 people.
In EDS, “intrapreneurs” found a new chemical technology that they wanted to put to market
and make a business of it. Intrapreneurship was put on the strategy of the company and from a
few people the movement grew. Now the movement is spreading to other businesses in Solvay
as well. Intrapreneurship must be in strategy. It is absolutely crucial, states Etienne. “Use
people’s experience, and ask people to create answers”. Etienne’s question: Where are you in
the organization? What can YOU do to spark the intrapreneurship spirit? If you have a dream or
a project, push it. It starts with one... He mentions three steps:
1: Reflect on Mission, vision, strategy ;
2: Find your Leadership attitude : Humble leader, Allow to do, Authorise, Empower, Define
entrepreneurship, Recognize team work
3: Act in your organization : Give floor
to the people! How many people are
in your company who cannot do their
dreams? How much contribution you
lose?
First your people don’t dare, then they
don’t care.
FIRST ROUND. ¿What is your history
as intrapreneur?
The story of an intrapreneur
The story of a business starting
intrapreneurship
The story of myself as internal
support on intrapreneurship
ROUND TWO. What are your learning in your intrepreneurship journey?

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There are unhappy intrapreneurs near you: see them and support them
One leader can change the culture
Team Academy methods are excellent basics for change.
ROUND THREE. What are the challenges that you are facing nowadays?
Top executives do not see and recognize intrapreneurs
Managerial culture of leaders is frequently unsufficient to welcome a rich and complex
process like “intrapreneurship” in a company;
Intrapreneurship is not enough supported by books, executive ducation, business
schools
CASE 2. CAF
This is the story of Telmo Labayen,
senior executive of the entrepreneurial
development of CAF. He started the
round explaining that CAF is a
company of 800 employees and with
presence in 8 different countries
www.caf.es. CAF manufactures trains
and has already created 15 companies
mainly to develop some of the internal
technological parts of the train.
FIRST ROUND. ¿What is your history
as intrapreneur?
Although the first company (spin‐off)
was created in 1999, there is no
internal procedure or long term plans in CAF to create spin‐offs. Indeed CAF short‐term strategy
has been to identify new areas or new needs in the company itself. There has also been a strong
commitment of the senior managers of the company about this. Once the NEED has been
identified there are two options for CAF:
1. Buy a company (that already meets that need)
2. Create a new subsidiary one (to develop products/services to fulfil that need)
In CAF, as Telmo explains us there are only 5 persons that take the main decisions. But CAF also
empowers people. Indeed CAF identifies engineers who want to do more than only engineering
things, and allocates resources to train them as future company managers. These engineers
are in what CAF calls “EL BANQUILLO” (analogy with sports, when some players are in the dock
to substitute other players in the field) and when one of those companies arises one of those
engineers become a manager of that company.
With this policy, most of the companies created by CAF become suppliers of CAF, but is not
mandatory the selling nor the buying. These new companies have to be competitive. However
they are having less customers than CAF would like to.

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CAF also gives to this new mangers a safe infrastructure. Because of that we conclude in this
first round that the intrapreneur in CAF is not taking economical risk, he take more a
professional or career risk.
ROUND TWO. WHAT ARE YOUR LEARNING IN YOUR INTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY?
Telmo is not nowadays one of those entrepreneurs in CAF. However he considers himself
entrepreneur. He pointed out these conclusions of the intrapreneurship journey within CAF:
1. Commitment to top management
2. Empowerment of people
As we mentioned before, the big‐big decisions are taken by 5 top managers. But the rest of
decisions are taken by anyone (who wants) at CAF. So CAF has been able to create a FREEDOM
ecosystem where a lot of risk is taken by employees. But on the other side is also a SAVE
environment. Bosses lead by his own example. There is also an important role in CAF. One
person is in charge of listening to the other engineers! And yes, as Telmo explains us he listen
and ask questions in order to let you make your own decisions.
ROUND THREE. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES
THAT YOU ARE FACING NOWADAYS?
From the dialogue in the previous two rounds, the
table starts thinking together with Telmo on the
current situation of CAF and its future challenges.
The following is figured out: HOW CAF can jump
to the top right corner? The answer to this
question is not easy as every thing is unknown.
Alternative paths:
1. Which new sectors?
2. Which new companies CAF could buy?
After some dialogue between the people two possible ideas come out:
1. Investing in new seeds which are growing (new spin.offs of others)
2. Giving freedom to a team of our engineers to create “crazy/ambitious” things.
The first one probable needs some alliance with technology partners and the second one
requires the company trust on the people. Both options seems to be interesting to the
participants in this table, and even a mix of both (see figure following).

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CASE 3. PROGENIKA
Juan Pedro Lopez, Strategy Director of
Progenika Group told us their story.
www.progenika.com. Is a biotech
company founded in 2000 with the
mission of improving healthcare through
the development and commercialization
of diagnostic and prognostic products to
personalize the treatment of genetically
complex diseases.
Its development and production centers
are located in the Biscay Technology Park
(in Spain) and in Cambridge
(Massachusetts, USA), and it has commercial and intellectual property management offices in
Madrid and London. Over 140 scientists are currently employed by the company, which
products are commercialized in America, Europe and Middle East.
FIRST ROUND. THE STORY AS ENTREPRENEUR
The two founders of the company were scientists and Juan Pedro López, now Strategy Director
of the Group, was an external adviser. The biotech sector was new in Spain and the
opportunities and risks were huge. It was difficult to get funds but they could receive support
from the Basque Government and public venture capital. This was very helpful at the beginning

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but then, their first challenge was to make the company profitable and to concentrate in the
lower risk.
Their second challenge was to get a product because when they started they were doing many
different things, but soon they found the focus on non invasive diagnosis for human health via
DNA. In this period they have worked in building a network of partners and institutions
worldwide. They have selected the best technology and commercial partners and they have
established agreements with companies that already had good networks. So they have grown
fast in the last years and now are based also in the Biotech Park in Massachusetts.
The two founders of the company were not entrepreneurs, they had a scientific profile but Juan
Pedro helped them to have a business perspective. The culture of the company was top‐down
but they have started to transform it promoting leadership attitudes in the employees.
“Companies shall not stop changing, the need for change is constant” says Juan Pedro. “If you
are the leader of the company, promote the change and listen. You will get a lot of ideas. Also
be inspired from other fields and build broad networks”
ROUND TWO. Learnings in your
intrapreneurship journey
1. First you need THE idea.
2. You also need external advice to
transform the idea into a business plan.
3. At the beginning, they were pragmatic,
focusing in a service easy to
commercialize. They avoided the more
risky products so the company could
start and they faced the more complex
challenges when the company was
consolidated.
4. They concentrated efforts in few
products.
5. Once you start the company you have to
build the culture of the company. And
the culture is in permanent change.
6. Enthusiasm mobilized the entrepreneurs
and also the funders.
7. Usually it is necessary to start the company with top‐down leadership but as the
company evolves its better to promote a bottom‐up leadership.
8. It is important to identify technological partners and to build with them a win‐win
relationship.
9. Rely on partners that can make you a worldwide seller.
10. Build an entrepreneurship culture inside the organization.
ROUND THREE. What are the challenges that you are facing nowadays?
Hot questions that would help you to grow faster

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Progenika is certified by the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration, for research. The
company faces three main challenges now:
1. To get all standards and certifications and become first class.
2. To change the organizational model into a bottom‐up model.
3. To sell big numbers: to get finance and grow.
These are challenges that Progenika faces simultaneously.
CASE 4. EnergyMinds
Iñigo Cobelo, researcher of
Tecnalia is promoting
energyMinds, a new Spin Off
from Tecnalia. Beatriz Gonzalez,
Director of Ventures in Tecnalia is
also in this table.
What is your story?
As a researcher in the Energy Unit,
I have been involved in EU
collaborative R&D projects in the
field of smart grids and related
technologies. But I was
wandering how to get out some
more impacts from research to
the market, not staying only in
the research stage.
Renewable enegy is a nice field, but saving energy is the starting point. Specially in buildings
where many people are living and/or working, there are a huge margin for savings with a better
use of energy.
I have had the opportunity to dedicate part of my time to create a spin‐off, staying with my
salary coming from Tecnalia. Other colleague and me we have invest our money in the new
company, energyMinds. Now, I’m engaged and dedicate more of my private time in the
company, which is also mine. Tecnalia wants to promote new technology based firms, and we
have two options in the future:
‐ Staying in Tecnalia once the firm has been launched to the market
‐ Moving to the company. I’m not sure about this.
What happens in your company related to intrapreneurship?
Tecnalia promotes researcher to be close to the business in your field/speciality.
Why you are not leaving Tecnalia? Because I like the support of a big organization where I have
opportunity to grow as a researcher, and also the salary every month is a good thing.

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What are you learning?
• To choose properly your partners in the new firm is very important. In Tecnalia is very
important who is participating in the board of the shareholders, and the entrepreneurs
cannot be part of it if they don’t jump to the new company.
o Who is the owner of the knowledge if the firm is failing? It depends on the contract
established between the firm and Tecnalia. Usually the knowledge stays in the people.
• I also have learnt about the importance of the network that you have in order to
succeed, and friendship is a key issue. The network that work is that of your friends.
Creating strong human links is a key issue.
• When you create really the
company you move faster!!!
What are the challenges you’re facing
nowadays? What are the hot
questions that if you could answer,
your progress will go faster?
Innovation = Idea + Leader + Team +
Plan + Implement
Should I do the JUMP?
◊‐‐‐‐◊‐‐‐‐◊
Patrick Bijman facilitates the feedback from the 4 experiences, and every table shares the
findings with the others.
To finish this part of the day, we ask everyone to reflect for some minutes and to write a
question they want to answer today and get with everyone. We stand up and go together at the
end of the room, posting the cards on the wall.
◊‐‐‐‐◊‐‐‐‐◊‐‐‐‐◊‐‐‐‐◊‐‐‐‐◊‐‐‐‐◊

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Then we introduce our guests from Team Academy Finland,
to listen their experiences and messages.
Johanes Partanen, Ulla Luukas, other coaches and students from Team Academy Finland share
their thoughts and experiences on creating and growing as team entrepreneurs, that can be
useful for intrapreneurs.
LUNCH TIME BREAK
In the afternoon, we re‐start splitting into three tables to imagine how “An Intrapreneurial
Ecosystem would be at individual, group and organizational level”.
Ecosystem at individual level
Several treads were discussed.
About the Environment:
The importance of having
space and time to develop
intrapreneurs’ idea and to
make it happened. Also
environmental conditions and
the framework of the
organization where the
intrapreneur works is
important. Conditions should
nurture the freedom of
thinking, allow, authorised and
empower intraprenuers. Conditions are set by the organization which is seen, in a simplistic
approach, as people and procedures. It happens more than often that hierarchical structure

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stops the spirit and the initiatives, some times due to sticky procedures, other times because of
the soft involvement of people in the spirit of intrapreneurship.
It was stated that it is
difficult and rare to be
intrapreneur in civil
servants organisations.
But at the table there
was an example that this
is –slowly‐ changing.
About values:
Related to the values that
might characterised
intra/entrepreneurs, the
following were mention:
charisma, self steem,
courage, capacity of
reinventing theirself.
You can born with some of these characteristics traits or skills. The issue is to cultivate and
expand them. People from educational sector emphasised the need to focus on educational
systems that guarantee that you get entrepreneurial competences or skills‐ Or at least don’t kill
them. This is what the industrial sectors and society are demanding.
Are you an intrapreneur, entrepreneur?
With this starting question, we agree that:
• There’s not difference
between intraprenuer or
entrepreneur.
• It is impossible that
action/an idea / can be
carried out by only one
person, it is always the
team who achieves
results. That’s why we
think that either
intrapreneur or
entrepreneur, at some
point, join more people
and become a
“teampreneur”.

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In a team, people should have:
1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Common goal or vision
In plenary, we all share the
findings of every group, having
the big picture involving also the
group and company level
perspectives, followed by a
summary and conclusions (see
the pictures).
Participants give their personal
vision of the Intrapreneur
through a big card where they
write their insights and thoughts before leaving. Every one post it on the wall and comment the
idea as check out of the day.

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We close the day with a drink in the new space of Team Academy Euskadi, where the arquitect,
Begoña Suarez, designer of the space explains her source of inspiration in Team Academy
Finland as a space of freedom and responsibility, and also in Alvar Aalto,
the creative and well known Finnish arquitect.
We thanks every one for being in this Intrapreneurship Circus Bilbao edition, announcing the
next one to be hold in the Netherlands in Autumm.
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Appendix: Basic information on the second Day of the Circus, 2nd
June 2011 in Bilbao
Intrapreneurship is a powerful concept. If properly executed it can lead to an entrepreneurial
spirit within organizations in which innovation and team challenges are the dominant
phenomena.
A Circus offers a variety of well prepared activities, very professional performers, exciting and
surprising moments, out of standard life, for all ages, with fun. Join the arena at the
Intrapreneurship Circus. An event, travelling through Europe, for all of you who are looking for
new ways and methods to energize themselves and the organizations they work in (profit and
not for profit).
Programme
The Circus second stage consists of a one‐day programme in which we share knowledge and
experience about the what, the how and the why of intrapreneurship;
Why should we encourage people to deploy initiative and become intrapreneur?
How to interpretate the group behavior vis‐à‐vis an emergent member becoming
intrapreneur?
What sort of group support should we provide? And what about to the intrapreneur?
What are the good drivers to survive and get success with an intrapreneurial project?
Is “team /network intrapreneurship” a driver for success and what does it mean
precisely?
What can we learn from those companies that have yet created breakthrough, launched
start‐up, gone to emerging markets?
And what can public policies contribute to intrapreneurship?
What does it mean being intrapreneur in Not for Profit and Governmental organizations?
Is the corporate culture an obstacle to generate intrapreneurs? From actual culture to
desired culture: the reduction of contradiction. What should we change?
- What is intrapreneurship?
- Why intrapreneurship? Why do organizations want to create an entrepreneurial
organization? What do we gain with intrapreneurship? What does it ‘cost’?
- How to implement intrapreneurship? Who are the intrapreneurs? What are their skills?
How do they interact with the management? What are the success factors? Team
dynamics? How to cultivate an entrepreneurial culture?

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The Team Academy Learning Process on Intrapreneurship
Team Academy is a Finnish educational concept based on learning by doing. Team dynamics and
entrepreneurship are the basic fundaments of this price winning concept.
A few years ago, during the first international programme for coaches, participants had the idea
of a Team Academy Circus travelling in Europe to visit the places where the first Team Academy
‘subsidiaries’ were growing. A Circus has a variety of well prepared activities, very professional
performers, exciting moments, out of standard life, for all ages, with fun.
Inspired by that idea, The Intrapreneurship Circus is a set of extraordinary activities that create
exceptional moments for participants. We offer it in different places in Europe starting in Paris
on 23rd
of March 2011, then Bilbao and Amsterdam before the end of 2011, later other places.
Each new Day has its own dynamics but will use the knowledge created in previous events of
the Circus and address new deep issues. Doing so, the learners can join for one Day or follow
the Circus in different places.
How did it start?
Team Academy’s “teampreneurship” model can be deployed in various environments; one of
them is inside companies.
TeamFactory (Paris) and Team Academy Euskadi (Bilbao) have been created inside existing
organization like large company or regional development/research center: that gives a lot of
experience! In various places, like in Nederlands, the Team Academy offer is progressively
covering the different ages of entrepreneurship, including intrapreneurship.
Before Before the meeting, participants are invited to read a 12 pages research paper. It makes
the point on intrapreneurship in business publications, and proposes a definition of “team
intrapreneurship”.
9:00 Coffee
9:30 Launching the Circus
10:00 Stories of audacious intrapreneurs and entrepreneurial companies: Cases of Solvay, CAF,
Energy Minds and BIC‐Berrilan. Conversations in small groups
11:15
12:00
Lessons learned from their experience. Sharing in plenary
Opening mind, opening heart, opening will
Inspiration from well known practitioners and thinkers on entrepreneurship.
Johanes Partanen and coaches from Team Academy Finland and the European Network
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Building Intrapreneurial Ecosystems at individual, group and company level. Working in
parallel groups
16:00 Dialogue session in the circle. Crystallizing insights for future action
17:30 Conclusions and Birthgiving in the new space of Team Academy Euskadi
18:30 Closing the Circus
Before Before the meeting, participants are invited to read a 12 pages research paper. It makes
the point on intrapreneurship in business publications, and proposes a definition of “team
intrapreneurship”.
9:00 Coffee
9:30 Launching the Circus
10:00 Stories of audacious intrapreneurs and entrepreneurial companies: Cases of Solvay, CAF,
Energy Minds and BIC‐Berrilan. Conversations in small groups
11:15
12:00
Lessons learned from their experience. Sharing in plenary
Opening mind, opening heart, opening will
Inspiration from well known practitioners and thinkers on entrepreneurship.
Johanes Partanen and coaches from Team Academy Finland and the European Network
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Building Intrapreneurial Ecosystems at individual, group and company level. Working in
parallel groups
16:00 Dialogue session in the circle. Crystallizing insights for future action
17:30 Conclusions and Birthgiving in the new space of Team Academy Euskadi
18:30 Closing the Circus
Circus …Circus …

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We, a group of key players in Team Academy’s European network have modeled the
intrapreneurship idea to provide innovative framework to support its use in organizational
settings.
Documents
Two documents have been created for the first Intrapreneurship Circus Day.
Etienne Collignon and Javier Ruiz, Intrapreneurship and team entrepreneurship : new
contributions to build learning organizations and learning networks, Version May 2011,
15 pages. The basic document recording the findings during this action‐research journey.
Antonio Linares, Complex systems meaning attractors and company entrepreneurship
initiatives, 2011, 7 pages. Presented in the first Edition, Paris March 2011.
These documents are available, see facilitation team members.
Facilitation Team
Etienne Collignon, TeamFactory, Sol France and Solvay
Javier Ruiz, Team Academy Euskadi, SoL Spain and Tecnalia
Antonio Linares, SoL Spain and Evocalia
Patrick Bijman, Team Academy Netherlands, in link with Sol Nederlands
Agnès Cabannes, Sol France and TeamFactory / France
Ville Keränen, Monkey Business/Finland
Sanna Tossavainen, Team Entrepreneurs Angers/France
Ana Arrabe, SoL Spain
The Venue: Tecnalia Research and Innovation
Tecnalia Research & Innovation (www.tecnalia.com) is a non profit foundation that has been
born out of the merger between Cidemco, ESI, Euve, Fatronik, Inasmet, Labein, Leia and
Robotiker, thus creating the largest private Research, Development and Innovation (R+D+i)
group in Spain and one of the leading ones in Europe, with a staff of over 1,400 people and a
turnover of 125 million euros. In 2007 Tecnalia launched Team Academy Euskadi as an open
platform for experimenting and learning on innovative leadership and entrepreneurship in
knowledge intensive environments, involving entrepreneurs, professionals, researchers and
young postgraduates.
Team Academy Euskadi: www.teamacademy‐euskadi.net Is an open space to experiment, learn
and to develop your leadership skills, where you can create entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial teams
that are capable of setting up innovative business ventures.
Based on the original learning methodology used at TEAM ACADEMY since it was launched in Finland in
1993, and adapted to our cultural and technological environment, Team Academy in Euskadi has been
set up with the purpose of creating entrepreneurial teams that are capable of using the knowledge and
experience acquired over 50 years by TECNALIA (www.tecnalia.com) in research projects in a wide range
of fields and sectors.

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Team Academy was founded in 1993 by Johannes Partanen at the University of Applied
Sciences of Jyväskylä, Finland. The number of students has increased from 24 to now 180
learners in 10 teams. All teams operate as independent co‐operative companies. With support
of coaches, students work on real life projects, that are both learning environment and ways of
making business. Thanks to real life experience, 42 % of students have started their own
company by the 3rd
year since graduation.
Sol Spain. Sociedad para el Aprendizaje Organizativo www.solspain.org, es una comunidad, sin
ánimo de lucro, abierta a personas e instituciones en España que comparten un interés por
desarrollar las competencias para el aprendizaje organizativo necesarias para conseguir cambios
fundamentales en las personas y sus organizaciones. Somos un lugar de encuentro para
enriquecer nuestro pensamiento y generar soluciones a nivel personal, organizativo y social,
ante una realidad cambiante e incierta. Formamos parte de la comunidad global SoL ‐ Society
for Organizational Learning.