After completing his bachelor's degree, Olli gained valuable initial experience in strategy consulting with us as an intern. He then successfully completed the Master's program in "Strategic Management" at the University of Innsbruck as member of Dean’s List. His passion for mountain sports and sustainable innovations led him to a venture capital firm for his first career step, where he developed growth strategies for outdoor brands. Olli's strong interest in exploring new business models brought him back to us. Today, as a project manager, he guides various companies on their path to new business.
'Each project brings new strategic challenges, from questions about future market positioning, innovative business models, to co-innovation projects and venture building initiatives.'
– Oliver Espig
Captivated by a guest lecture from an IMP partner at my university on methodologies for developing disruptive business models, I soon found myself as an intern at IMP in strategy consulting. After six exciting months with a steep learning curve and a solidified interest in strategy work, especially in developing new business models, I decided to explore the corporate side before returning to consulting. I wanted to understand what it takes to make new business models and strategies successful within companies. What was supposed to be a short stint turned into a few years at a VC, where I developed and implemented growth strategies for two outdoor brands, aligning with my passion for mountain sports.
My enduring interest in discovering and developing innovative and sustainable business models brought me back to strategy consulting. Seeking more responsibility, room for personal expression, and a collaborative environment with innovative and unconventional consulting methods, I returned to IMP. The term "searching" might be misleading, as I had stayed in regular contact with my former mentor since my internship. It all happened quickly—as if I had never left. Just a few days later, I found myself somewhere in Bremen, co-moderating a major workshop. Reflecting on my years at IMP, here are five standout experiences:
#1 Entrepreneurship & Innovation, but scientifically grounded
One of the main reasons I chose IMP again was the entrepreneurial context of our projects. Most of our projects aim to discover and develop new business potentials. This task, where creativity and innovation meet entrepreneurial implementation, is the most enjoyable for me! It requires entrepreneurial spirit not only from our clients – mostly leading mid-sized and large companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland – but also from us. As "navigators," we bring the right tools, instruments, and unconventional methodologies into the strategy process, based on groundbreaking academic work.
#2 Today chocolate, tomorrow screws
We have no industry focus at IMP. For me as a consultant, this is both challenging and incredibly exciting. Project after project, you get to know different industries and company areas. No client, no project is the same. Each project brings new strategic challenges, from questions about future market positioning, innovative business models, to co-innovation projects and venture building initiatives. We use a multi-project management approach. Unlike other strategy consulting firms that focus on one client for several weeks, we manage multiple client projects simultaneously. As a project manager, you're responsible for multiple projects (usually 2-4), traveling to clients mainly for workshops and working meetings.
#3 Three quests to shape the future of businesses
The exciting part about our consulting projects is not only the different industries and strategic topics you encounter but also our unique "Open Strategy" approach. Instead of going to the client, understanding the problem, and solving it with the management team or on our own, we operate differently. Our strategy projects thrive on diversity of perspectives. In alignment with the management, we involve various leaders in the strategy process. We even go a step further to think truly "out-of-the-box," involving external experts from the value chain, startups, and research throughout the strategy process. Whether it's trend research or developing new disruptive business models in multi-day workshop formats, our results benefit significantly from this diversity and the dynamic between internal and external perspectives. As a consultant, your challenge is to understand the problem, navigate the process, and integrate the right perspectives at the right points to piece together a coherent picture. Along this journey, you meet a wide range of personalities, from executives and top leaders to serial entrepreneurs and researchers, learning about the future themes that are being worked on – or in other words, what the world will and can look like in the future.
#4 Collective Creation
Whether singer, guitarist, drummer, bassist, or background singer, everyone at IMP can contribute. Songs are written together or individually but always played together. Every team member is encouraged to realize their potential. At the start of my journey at IMP and in annual feedback meetings, focus areas are jointly defined, which can be worked on independently or collectively. These could be new workshop formats, value propositions, or cultural topics. For instance, I co-conceived our New Sustainable Business Track with a colleague, which we are now testing.
#5 Young & Wild, Thinkers & Leaders
None of us are the same; everyone brings their own strengths and weaknesses. Some enjoy delving deeply and meticulously into problems and analyses, while others prefer to dive right in with solutions already in mind. Some support Bremen, others Munich. We are a mix of ambitious green horns and consultants with many years of top management experience. This diversity in minds, ways of thinking, and philosophies makes us strong and ensures we have been addressing strategic issues at the executive level for many years. Despite our differences, our passion and interest in understanding and solving a wide range of strategic challenges with an innovative and participatory consulting approach unite us as a team.
