FAQs

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What does a Hacking Luck™ workshop for innovation teams actually look like?

Every workshop is built around your programme’s goals, portfolio and innovation remit, so there is no off-the-shelf agenda. A typical session opens with the research behind why some teams and founders consistently seem to find better opportunities, better timing, and better collaborators than others. Facilitated exercises then apply the eight Hacking Luck™ principles to your specific context, whether that is evaluating early-stage ventures, unlocking cross-functional creative thinking, or building a culture where calculated risk-taking is the norm. Before any session, Stephanie holds discovery calls with your innovation leadership to ensure the content reflects your mandate, your portfolio, and the challenges your team is genuinely wrestling with.

 

What does luck have to do with innovation?

More than most innovation leaders would expect. Look at any breakthrough product, any successful venture spin-out, or any corporate accelerator cohort and you will find chance everywhere: the serendipitous partnership, the pivot that only happened because of a setback, the market timing nobody planned for. Research from Dr Richard Wiseman and Pluchino et al. shows that people and organisations that appear consistently “lucky” behave in measurably different ways. Hacking Luck™ turns those behaviours into repeatable, teachable practices, so your teams and portfolio founders create more of those breakthrough moments by design rather than by accident.

 

How is this different from standard innovation training?

Most innovation training focuses on methodology: design thinking, lean startup, stage-gate processes and ideation frameworks. Hacking Luck™ works further upstream, on the mindsets and behaviours that determine whether teams are genuinely positioned to spot and seize opportunities in the first place. That means building openness to unexpected signals, strengthening the weak ties that lead to unlikely collaborations, developing resilience when experiments fail, and cultivating the kind of visibility that attracts the right partners and talent. It works alongside your existing innovation frameworks and does not replace them.

 

What topics and themes can be covered?

The workshop draws on the eight Hacking Luck™ principles: Agency, Openness, Positivity, Resilience, Network, Visibility, Risks and Zagging, each applied to the realities of innovation work. Common focus areas for innovation teams include building a culture of intelligent risk-taking, generating stronger deal flow through weak-tie network activation, helping portfolio founders develop resilience through setbacks, standing out in competitive ecosystems, and fostering the kind of cross-pollination that leads to unexpected breakthroughs. If your team is navigating a specific challenge, such as a stalled programme, a new mandate, portfolio underperformance, or a shift in strategic direction, the session can be built entirely around it.

 

Can it be tailored to our specific innovation context?

Yes, and this is non-negotiable. A corporate innovation department inside a FTSE 100 business, a university accelerator, and a venture build studio all operate differently, serve different stakeholders, and define success in different ways. Generic content rarely lands with experienced innovation professionals, who can spot it immediately. Before every engagement, Stephanie runs a thorough briefing process to understand your structure, portfolio, team dynamics and objectives. The result feels built for your organisation, not borrowed from a generic innovation playbook.

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Why Stephanie Melodia?

Stephanie has built and run an innovation-focused business herself. As founder of Bloom, an award-winning consultancy underpinned by a proprietary dataset of over 100 founders, she has worked at the intersection of entrepreneurship, growth strategy and organisational development for years. She is a VC scout at Ada Ventures, focused specifically on underrepresented founders, and lectures MBA students through Oneday Business School. She has spoken at some of the world’s most prestigious innovation and entrepreneurship events, from Web Summit in Lisbon to Big Data & AI Expo in Amsterdam to WeMakeFuture in Italy. She brings the peer-reviewed research, and she also brings the lived experience of building something from nothing.

 

How long does a workshop run, and what formats are available?

90 minutes works well as a session within a larger innovation event, leadership offsite, or accelerator programme day. A half day suits teams that want to go deeper without committing to a full day. A full day of six to seven hours allows for genuine depth, moving from diagnosis through to a working action plan. A three-month programme delivers a series of sessions that turns insight into sustained habit and culture change; this is the strongest option for teams looking to embed new ways of thinking and working over time, rather than a one-off injection of inspiration.

 

What size of team works best?

For workshops, the sweet spot is eight to 20 people: large enough for rich discussion and diverse perspectives, small enough for genuine dialogue and personal accountability. This suits innovation teams, programme cohorts, accelerator cohort groups, and leadership teams equally well. Larger cohorts can be structured into breakout groups, and for full programme or all-hands events, the keynote format is usually the more appropriate choice.

 

What do participants typically leave with?

Teams leave with a shared language and a common framework for creating conditions where good things are more likely to happen. Individuals leave with a personal action plan covering specific behavioural commitments they can act on immediately. The team as a whole leaves with a set of prioritised actions, clear owners, and a shared sense of direction. Post-session documentation of key outputs and next steps is included as standard.

 

How far in advance should we book?

Six to eight weeks is ideal, as it allows sufficient time for discovery, session design, and any pre-work with participants. For annual innovation summits, accelerator kick-offs, or flagship programme events, booking three to four months ahead is strongly recommended. Enquiries for 2027 programme dates are already being taken.

 

Where do workshops take place?

Wherever works best for your team: your office, an offsite venue, a co-working space, or your programme’s own location. Stephanie travels across the UK and internationally. For innovation offsites and accelerator residentials in particular, a change of environment often signals to participants that something genuinely different is about to happen, which sets the right tone before a session even begins.

 

How much does a workshop cost?

Fees are bespoke and depend on format, group size, level of customisation, and any travel requirements. Get in touch via the enquiry form and Stephanie’s team will follow up within two working days to discuss the details.

 

Can Stephanie also deliver a keynote at our innovation event or programme?

Yes. Her signature keynote, Hacking Luck™, is particularly well suited to innovation audiences: it shows ambitious teams how to reverse-engineer success, build luckier organisations, and stack the odds in their favour through research-backed, actionable frameworks. It runs 60 to 90 minutes and pairs well with a follow-on workshop for smaller groups. She also speaks on entrepreneurship, growth strategy, resilience, corporate innovation, and women in leadership. Every talk draws on peer-reviewed research and real-world case studies rather than generic inspiration.

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How do we enquire or book?

Fill in the enquiry form and Stephanie’s team will be in touch within two working days to confirm availability and discuss your requirements.