Apple. Samsung. Procter & Gamble. OXO. Walgreens. Ford. Toyota. 3M. Design firm IDEO has done work for them all in their 21-year history, a go-to service for the richest companies in the world–and their competitors–who are in constant need of fresh ideas.But now, IDEO has decided to add on something new. Rather than work for just the biggest companies in the world, they’ll be working with some of the smallest. It’s part of their new Start-Up in Residence program, a five-month boot camp for just one lucky start-up team who will work right aside IDEO out of their Chicago office.

“We’re not an incubator. But we believe that design built into an organization will help build the types of companies that will help change the world,” IDEO Partner Iain Roberts tells Co.Design. “My experience in this field is, too often people are interested in raising the capital to grow, rather than building a great product that will build a great audience.”

IDEO + Food Genius Curry Crawl from IDEO on Vimeo.

Participants don’t attend mandatory sessions or have their ideas skewered in front of investors. Instead, they basically become IDEO employees. Whenever IDEO sets up a new client project, they assemble small teams with business, creative and technology perspectives (that can include psychologists, MBAs, and UX designers). These teams are “essentially start-ups,” Roberts explains, who team up to tackle a new problem together. The start-up in residence is the same basic thing, except rather than working for an IDEO client, they’re working for themselves.

The start-up then rubs elbows with IDEO employees all day long–employees who are at their disposal. “It’s very informal,” says Roberts. “Go and tap two designers on the shoulders and say ‘I need two hours of your time to work through this problem.’”

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http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670261/ideo-launches-a-start-up-incubator-but-dont-call-it-an-incubator