Building startups from the ground up with partners is a labor of love for our team.

Just ask Build Director Molly Cross.

Molly oversees our Build associates, analysts, and managers to take themes of interest to our venture-building partners and methodically work to create concepts and, in time, companies that address their unique needs: whether it’s developing a new capability or solving a big societal problem.

We sat down with Molly to learn about her High Alpha Innovation experience thus far and how working alongside like-minded and equally passionate people and interesting organizations to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems makes her job far easier (and more enjoyable).

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Tell us about your career to date and what led you to want to join High Alpha Innovation.

I think about my career prior to joining High Alpha Innovation in two equal yet distinct parts.

The first 10 years was when I received my business training and developed my innovation toolkit. I earned my MBA and worked in roles across consulting and finance.

The second half of my career, and most recent 10 years, I have spent working at various early-stage, venture-backed companies, primarily in the digital health space.

I view High Alpha Innovation as the perfect opportunity to pair my innovation and consulting toolkit with my real-world, startup-operating experience. I fundamentally believe that collaboration between large corporations and startups is the key to unlocking transformational innovation

And I would be lying if I didn’t tell you the real reason I joined High Alpha Innovation: It’s for the people — the perfect blend of smart, bold, collaborative, and kind.

Walk us through a typical day. What are some core tasks and projects you take on daily?

On an average day, I get to work on a variety of programs and initiatives.

The majority of my day is spent on program work: collaborating with venture-build program teams on problem-solving, leading partners through our startup co-creation process, or getting really smart really quickly on the trends and topics that are most important to our partners.

I also spend time with prospective partners, networking, and on internal initiatives to help our teams run more effectively and efficiently as we experience increasing demand and growth of the business.

Share one of your favorite projects you’ve worked on so far at High Alpha Innovation.

My favorite program at High Alpha Innovation was working with a large health system in the state of Georgia. The theme of the program was improving access and visibility to healthcare services, and we quickly realized how critical yet unsustainable the role of the unpaid family caregiver is.

Through our research and co-creation process, we designed a tech-enabled services business to solve the needs of caregivers, and, personally, I developed an immense amount of empathy for this population.

What inspires and motivates you to thrive in your role?

There are three factors that bring out the best in me at High Alpha Innovation.

The first is the responsibility I feel towards our future founders. On the Build Team, we want to make sure that every company we design is solving a pressing problem in a creative way, so that a co-founder is not only inspired but also successful and feels fulfilled in joining the High Alpha Innovation portfolio.

The second is the responsibility I feel towards our corporate partners. I want to make sure that every one is excited about the companies we co-create.

And the third is my peers. Everyone at High Alpha Innovation is incredibly intelligent, thoughtful, and creative, and that pushes me to continually be better at my job.

What skills do you need to be successful in your role on your team?

There are two key skills required to be successful on the Build team: creative problem-solving and the ability to effectively work in teams.

At the end of the day, our work is to help our corporate and university partners solve pressing problems through business design. This requires structured and creative problem-solving, diversity of thought, psychological safety, and multiple people working together to achieve a common goal.

Describe our culture. How does the company live its mission, vision, and values?

Our team genuinely cares about each other and our collective success.

High Alpha Innovation is performance-based and expects each employee to contribute at a high level in their role. But we also have a growth mindset and ‘assume the best’ about one another, encouraging risk-taking, accepting mistakes, learning from them, and promoting a learning culture.

What sets the business apart from others you’ve worked at? What makes you want to grow here?

I want to continue my career at High Alpha Innovation because I am continually challenged by the creativity and flexibility required in my day-to-day work and excited about the path we are charting as a company, building new capabilities and a new category. I also love my coworkers!