What BrainStore does

BrainStore is a Swiss innovation consultancy and facilitation platform founded in 1997 by Markus Mettler in Biel/Bienne (predecessor entity Dactis founded in 1989), operated today as BrainStore Ltd. The company sells structured "creative workshops" — online and in-person, in five formats (XL, Large, Medium, Small, plus 2-Day, 1-Day, Half-Day in-person) — built around its proprietary Idea Machine process and the registered "DNA of Innovation" framework (34 building blocks across 6 categories). Supporting offerings include Flexpeditions ("unknown unknowns" expeditions), "Get. It. Done."-Events, training and coaching programs (Innovation Champ Training, Innovation Coaching, Innovation Check-Up), and an online workshop platform called the BrainStore Lobby (a proprietary video/whiteboard environment described as "Zoom on Steroids"), backed by a toolset including the Idea Box, Cycle Board, Road Map, Briefing Tool, Offers Engine, Community Tool, Board, and BrainStore Sites.

BrainStore runs a decentralized delivery model: the core BrainStore Ltd. entity works alongside a Partner Network of independent entrepreneurs who manage customer projects and compose project communities, with additional "BrainStore Members" holding tool access on a Pay-What-You-Wish annual basis. Headcount is 11-50 employees (peak ~70 during 2000-2008), and there are 15+ partner-operated locations across Switzerland, Germany, and the United States (Brooklyn and New Jersey), plus a dedicated BrainStore Deutschland and BrainStore International unit. Stated delivery scale is 1,000+ projects in 20+ countries, including work for 50+ Fortune 500 companies (BMW, BASF, Swiss Federal Railways, Kraft Europe, Swiss Post, PostFinance, Stromer AG, Kunsthaus Zurich) and 500+ SMEs, NGOs (Amnesty International, Greenpeace, WWF), and government clients (Principality of Liechtenstein, Canton of Bern).

Commercially, BrainStore operates under a trademarked Pay-What-You-Wish model where customers set the price within 2 days of receiving results, with no minimum or maximum, and the same model is used to compensate partner facilitators. After a 2008-driven revenue drop of ~40% and a 2011 bankruptcy filing, the company rebooted in 2012 by shedding corporate structures, adopting agile/co-working operations, launching the Lobby in 2020, and formalizing the partner network around 2016. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales, partner-led regional accounts, online self-serve via the Lobby, and thought leadership through teaching engagements at Cornell, HSG, and IMD.

Name

BrainStore

Legal name

BrainStore Ltd.

Website

https://brainstore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BrainStore is a Swiss innovation consultancy that runs structured ideation workshops, Flexpeditions, and online collaboration via its proprietary BrainStore Lobby platform, serving Fortune 500 enterprises, SMEs, governments, and NGOs across 20+ countries on a Pay-What-You-Wish pricing model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting
• Creative workshops
• Idea generation
• Innovation facilitation
• Innovation training

Headquarters

HQ city

Biel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Creative Workshops: Core revenue stream from delivering creative workshops online and in-person. Services include Idea Machine workshops, creative sessions, and innovation facilitation. Payment is determined by customers post-delivery using Pay-What-You-Wish model.
2. Training and Coaching: Revenue from customized training and coaching services for innovation teams, including Innovation Champ Training, Innovation Coaching, and Innovation Check-Up services.
3. Flexpeditions: Flexible expeditions to discover unknown unknowns - experiential learning journeys for discovering personal and organizational blind spots.
4. Tool and Process Access: Revenue from providing access to BrainStore tools and processes, including the BrainStore Toolbox and Idea Box for ongoing use within organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

BrainStore is an international innovation consultancy that delivers facilitation-led creative workshops (both online via the proprietary BrainStore Lobby and in-person) to help organizations generate fresh, implementable ideas. Its core offering is built on the proprietary Idea Machine process and the DNA of Innovation framework, supported by a suite of collaboration tools (BrainStore Toolbox, Idea Box, Lobby). Services include workshops in multiple sizes, Flexpeditions for discovery, Get. It. Done.-Events, and training/coaching programs, all delivered under a unique Pay-What-You-Wish pricing model.

Product overview

BrainStore is an innovation consultancy offering a platform of workshops, tools, and training services. The core offering includes Creative Workshops (online and in-person) available in multiple formats (XL, Large, Medium, Small, 2 Days, 1 Day, Half Day) that utilize the proprietary Idea Machine process. Supporting products include Flexpeditions for discovering unknown unknowns, and 'Get. It. Done.'-Events for action-oriented outcomes. BrainStore also provides access to proprietary tools including the Idea Machine Engine, BrainStore Lobby (video collaboration platform), BrainStore Toolbox, Idea Box, Briefing Tool, Cycle Board, Road Map, Offers Engine, Board, Sites, and Community Tool. Training offerings include Project Onboarding, Innovation Training for Teams, Innovation Champ Training, Innovation Coaching, and Innovation Check-Up. All services follow the unique Pay-What-You-Wish pricing model where customers set the price after receiving results.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BrainStore Toolbox: The top tool kit for preparing, implementing and evaluating innovation projects.
• BrainStore Idea Box
• BrainStore Lobby
• Idea Machine
• DNA of Innovation

Products and services

• Creative Workshops (Online and Live) Core facilitation-led workshops using the proprietary Idea Machine process, available in multiple formats (Online XL, Large, Medium, Small; in-person 2 Days, 1 Day, Half Day) for mission-critical innovation challenges requiring reliable, structured, diverse idea generation.
• Flexpeditions Flexible expeditions - both group and personal - to discover unknown unknowns and expand personal or organizational comfort zones through experiential exploration journeys.
• Get. It. Done.-Events Action-oriented event format that turns words into action, enabling participants to accomplish significant work in short timeframes via great tools, excellent preparation, and well-composed teams.
• BrainStore Lobby Online interactive workshop platform described as 'Zoom on Steroids,' providing 24/7 access to BrainStore's full toolset including workflow preparation, seamless breakout groups, and real-time content collaboration for remote innovation work.
• Idea Machine BrainStore's proprietary idea engine: a robust, scalable, replicable tool for generating fresh ideas at the touch of a button, central to all workshop and project work.
• Access to BrainStore Tools and Processes (including BrainStore Toolbox and Idea Box) The BrainStore Toolbox is the top tool kit for preparing, implementing, and evaluating innovation projects; the BrainStore Idea Box enables ongoing collection of ideas within a community. Together they provide recurring access to BrainStore's proprietary tools.
• Training, Coaching and Onboarding Services Suite of capability-building services covering Project Onboarding, Innovation Training for Teams, Innovation Champ Training, Innovation Coaching, and Innovation Check-Up - customized training and coaching for innovation teams and individuals, plus transparent assessments with actionable improvement plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000+ innovation and change projects completed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• BrainStore Partner NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of independent innovation entrepreneurs who manage customer projects, compose communities, and deliver BrainStore services. Partners have full access to tools, processes, and brand. Partners participate in revenue sharing and governance decisions.
• BrainStore MemberssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembers have selected access to BrainStore tools, handbooks, and case studies. They can participate in projects and apply for sandbox projects. Annual membership based on Pay-What-You-Wish pricing.
• Clean TalkminorOthersAnti-spam protection tool. When contact forms are submitted, messages and emails are stored and processed in CleanTalk Cloud Service, stored in log files for seven days.
• Google AnalyticsminorOthersWeb analytics tool used to improve web experience on BrainStore's pages.
• Google DriveminorOthersCloud storage for text documents, image galleries, presentations and spreadsheets.
• Font AwesomeminorOthersFont embedding service for website fonts.
• Hetzner HostingminorOthersWeb hosting provider where backend data from BrainStore is stored.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Innosight: Innovation strategy firm founded by Clayton Christensen offering growth strategy and innovation workshops to Fortune 500 clients. Comparable to BrainStore in serving enterprise innovation needs and offering proprietary frameworks, but at much larger scale and as part of the Huron Consulting group.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy best known for human-centered design and corporate innovation workshops. Comparable to BrainStore as a direct competitor in facilitated corporate innovation engagements and methodology-driven design thinking, though IDEO is much larger and US-headquartered.
• Livework: European service design and innovation consultancy offering design sprints and innovation facilitation. Comparable to BrainStore in serving European enterprise clients with workshop-driven methodology and similar scale in the DACH/EMEA region.
• Board of Innovation: Belgium-based innovation consultancy offering corporate innovation programs, workshops, and venture-building. Closely comparable to BrainStore in serving enterprise innovation mandates across Europe, with similar focus on facilitated ideation and corporate venture programs.
• Strategic Design & Innovation (SDI): Switzerland-based innovation and design strategy consultancy offering corporate innovation programs. Most directly comparable to BrainStore as a Swiss-headquartered peer serving DACH enterprise clients with similar methodology and workshop offerings.
• XPLANE: Visual thinking and innovation consultancy offering facilitation, ideation workshops, and enterprise innovation programs. Comparable to BrainStore in human-centered facilitation methodology and Fortune 500 client base.

Emerging players

• Hyper Island: Sweden-based innovation and leadership education company offering training programs and workshops on innovation, design thinking, and change. Comparable to BrainStore in design thinking and innovation training offerings, but with a stronger education and certification focus.

Broad incumbents

• frog (Capgemini Invent): Global design and innovation consultancy within Capgemini Invent that runs design thinking sprints and innovation workshops. Comparable to BrainStore in human-centered design methodology and Fortune 500 client base, with a much larger delivery footprint.
• ?What If! (Accenture): Innovation and creativity firm now part of Accenture that runs corporate innovation sprints and ideation workshops. Comparable to BrainStore in workshop-led enterprise innovation, but operating at the scale of a Big Four consultancy's innovation practice.

Others

• Service Design Network: Global membership organization for service design and innovation professionals, including corporate innovation practitioners. Adjacent peer — not a direct competitor, but the ecosystem in which BrainStore's methodology and partner network operate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brainstoreNYC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brainstore
• Instagraminstagram.com/brainstore
• Facebookfacebook.com/ideacommunity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BrainStore