The Tesla of strawberries, turning pollution into plastics, everyone is a designer … Inspired by the world’s most innovative companies of 2022

March 30, 2022

Fast Company has been my go-to source of business inspiration for the last 25 years.

Back in the late 1990s every youthful business person was flocking to launch a start-up, to harness the power of the new technologies – the internet – to throw aside the conventions and limitations of physical organisations, in search of eyeballs, freedom, and a better future.  I was one of them, launching a knowledge-based business platform called Zixio with a colleague, a spin off from our management consulting firm. We raced around the world in search of partners and investments. Energised and excited by the ability to launch, reach and scale rapidly. We called it the “dotcom” boom.

Fast Company, launched in 1995 by two former HBR editors, became the digital business bible of the time.

Of course many of those companies failed, and the financial crash just after the turn of the millennium had much to do with the lack of strategic thinking and business models, which would eventually drive profitability and real value creation. Others evolved into the giants of business we know today – Facemash became Facebook and most recently Meta Platforms, podcasting platform Odeo became Twitter, and Google started out as Backrub. They were mavericks – they broke the rules, they were inspired by the outliers, they searched for the next trends. Which is exactly what Fast Company has always sought to celebrate.

The best thing about Fast Company is its annual ranking of the world’s Most Innovative Companies (MIC).

Unlike other rankings by the likes of BCG and Forbes, who base their “innovativeness” rankings largely on R&D spend, Fast Company is much more about ideas into action. And while, ultimately innovation is all about turning ideas into practical value – future revenues, profits and value creation – then it is great to celebrate the best ideas that are shaping markets and minds. Not all of FC’s MIC will be a long-term success, but their ideas evolve, connect and drive futures. This is why the stories of the top 50 (and the top 10 in many diverse categories) are well worth a read.

This year’s Fast Company MIC 2022 rankings are just out, with a clear focus on sustainable innovation, so here’s a taste of some of the highlights:

#1 Stripe

Payments that enable carbon-removal … Stripe, the online payments business founded by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, launched Stripe Climate to enable its business customers to participate in its strategy to fund innovative carbon-removal technology by contributing a percentage of their digital sales that move through Stripe’s software.

#2 Solugen

Turning sugar into industrial chemicals, without carbon emissions … Solugen, described as the first carbon negative molecule factory that can scale to meet the world’s needs, has developed a process of turning corn syrup into industrial chemicals using enzymes and metal catalysis—removing oil, coal, and natural gas from the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PjbXfD1PFc

#3 Twelve

Transforming pollution into plastics … Twelve is a chemical technology company based in Berkeley, California. They develop technology to convert CO₂ into profitable chemicals, such as plastics and transportation fuel … Their carbon-transformation process uses a metal catalyst and renewable energy to break CO2 and water molecules into smaller atomic bits, and then re-forms them into new chemicals that can be used in manufacturing.

#4 BlocPower

Changing the way we power our homes … BlocPower, based in Brooklyn NY and founded in 2014, provides heat pump systems for no upfront cost, that deliver precise, room-by-room temperature control, built-in air filtration – and even more significantly, BlocPower has focused its efforts on low and middle-income communities.

#5 Climate Trace

The emissions data to transform the way we live … 59 trillion bytes of data from more than 300 satellites and 11,000 sensors are the inputs for Climate Trace, a coalition formed in 2020, aimed at updating and maintaining greenhouse gas emissions estimates to give countries the insights they need to direct climate mitigation efforts more effectively

#6 Watershed

Get to zero carbon, faster … that’s the proposition which Watershed makes to companies like Apple, Shopify, and Warby Parker – helping them to accelerate their own sustainability strategies, to assess all their emissions, develop a reduction strategy, and connect to carbon-removal solutions. It also has Al Gore and Mark Carney on board.

#7 Doconomy

Calculating the cost of our lifestyles … the Swedish environmental impact technology firm, launched by Mathias Wikström in 2018, quantifies environmental impact with such tools as its Lifestyle Calculator. Users complete a detailed survey, and Doconomy estimates an individual’s annual emissions in categories such as transport, home, shopping, and diet.

#8 Microsoft

Humanizing how we work … using a 30,000-person Future Work survey, anonymised data from Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn stats. and brain research conducted in its Human Factors Lab, to create tools for the future of work. Teams alone had almost 250 million monthly active users—no company is in a better position to help take the pain out of productivity.

#9 SpaceX

Building a rocket ship for everyone … In 2005, Elon Musk laughed at the idea that rockets had to be expensive to be reliable. Instead, they could be the Honda Civics of the sky, he said. Last year, SpaceX completed a record 31 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket, including its launch of the first all-civilian crew into orbit at a cost of $55 million per seat.

#10 Canva

Everyone can be a designer … Australian millennial Melanie Perkins and her team created a simple design studio that can be used by anyone. Edit text, an image, a background, an animation with a simple tap. Its easy-to-use, templated design platform allows people to create business cards, birthday invitations, social media ads, sales presentations and more.

Some of the most interesting sector rankings include

Most Innovative Companies in Food 2022 … Jot ultra-coffee, 20 times stronger than normal, to Oishii super-premium strawberries … Here’s more about Oishii’s Hiroki Koga, and how he brought his luxurious Omakase Berry from Japan to New York, and now using vertical farming techniques, produces them, at $50 for 8 berries:

Most Innovative Companies in Retail 2022 … Faire to Food52, GlossGenius, and StitchFix harnessing the power of data, direct to consumers in a box … Here’s more about Rick Martinez’ Food52, the online food community, and a media platform that inspires you with exotic recipes, then sells you frying pans and espresso machines:

Most Innovative Companies in Media 2022 … Hybe to Magnolia Networks, Spotify and Warner Media, engaging new audiences with new business models … Here’s a bit more from Warner Media – with brands like CNN to HBO, TNT to WB – currently in the midst of a $43 acquisition by Discovery from former parent AT&T:

Most Innovative Companies in Health 2022 … Last year’s rankings were dominated by Biotech and Moderna’s mRNA Covid vaccinations. This year Brightline, Illumina and Walgreens all star, but also GSK with a new vaccine to combat malaria … Here’s more about Illumina, and genetic sequencing that is rapidly reshaping the future of healthcare:

Most Innovative Companies in Finance 2022 … Ramp, Goodleap and Forter lead the rankings – and also Public and Promise in personal finance, just two companies helping people take control of their money and wealth … In a world of fintech, its not just about digitalising your bank, but more fundamentally rethinking why we need banks:

Most Innovative Companies in Latin America 2022 … dLocal and iFood join the latin greats like Mercado Libre, Rappi and Nubank in a region that is often underestimated for its innovativeness … Here’s more from Rappi’s cofounder Sebastian Mejia, creator of Colombia’s superapp, thinking differently about the whole structure of business :

If that’s not enough inspiration, you might also be interested in some more of the fabulous business stories that I explored while researching and writing my most recent books … I’ve profiled over 100 business leaders, and 100 most inspiring companies, largely through one to one interviews. You can dip into them here: