Ep. 1.2: Continuous Innovation Through Hackathons with Pritesh Kasliwal, Lookout

The Synthesize Pod

"Continuous innovation isn't a one-time event; it needs to be woven into the very fabric of your team,"- Pritesh Kasliwal.

Pritesh Kasliwal serves as the Director of Innovation and Patents at Lookout, a leading cloud security company, and feels that innovation can’t be a checkbox on a to-do list. He sits down with hosts Matt Greeley and Margaret Kelsey to discuss his impressive career path, which spans roles at Red Hat, IBM, General Electric, and a legal firm. He offers a wealth of experience and a unique perspective on fostering innovation within organizations.

In this episode, Pritesh delves into the intricacies of cultivating an innovative mindset, the importance of mental space for creativity, and the value of personal relationships in driving innovation. He also touches upon the challenges of balancing short-term goals with long-term innovation and how hackathons can serve as a platform for exploring groundbreaking ideas.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Continuous Innovation Culture: Pritesh Kasliwal stresses the importance of embedding innovation and creativity into a team's everyday operations rather than relying solely on sporadic events like hackathons. This approach fosters a perpetual environment of innovation, promoting long-term growth and adaptability within the organization.
• Cross-Departmental Engagement in Innovation: Encouraging cross-departmental collaboration drives holistic problem-solving and brings fresh, varied insights to the table, strengthening the organization's overall innovation capacity.
• The Dual Impact of Hackathons: Understanding hackathons' broader impact underscores their importance not just for short-term achievements but also for sustaining long-term innovation culture and team dynamism.

Jump into the conversation:

00:00 Introduction to The Synthesize Pod with hosts Matt and Margaret, and special guest Pritesh Kasliwal

06:01 Difference between working with larger and smaller teams

12:46 Similarities between R&D engineering and doing patent work

19:57 Hackathon set-up

23:01 Passion behind Hackathons

25:59 Hackathon being open to participants from various sectors

27:49 How Lookout is embracing AI

32:35 Utilizing AI to your advantage

35:50 Impact of Hackathons on organizations

39:13 Definition of a successful hackathon

40:51 ROI from Hackathons

43:47 Business process behind hackathons

45:58 The future of hackathons

48:03 Maintaining a consistent mental space for innovation and creativity

50:09 Advice for those who want to run hackathons

53:24 On fostering an innovative and creative mindset within the organization

Connect with us:

Brightidea - www.brightidea.com
More on Hackathons - http://www.brightidea.com/hackathon

Matt Greeley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgreeley/

Margaret Kelsey on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey
Pritesh Kasliwal on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pritesh-kasliwal

Brightidea on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/brightidea/