Hortz: Innovation is not always then just about technology. By changing the traditional business model that every practitioner has been running with, you can, in essence, change the direction of the whole industry?
Blume: As this example clearly demonstrates, business innovation is not simply a matter of building a better mousetrap. It might be developing a more efficient way to build the same mousetrap, identifying more effective bait for the trap, or even coming up with new ways to dispose of mousetraps that have served their purpose. Chiropractic care has existed for more than a century, and The Joint is not fundamentally changing the way that chiropractic medicine is being practiced. But the company most certainly is changing the way that chiropractic care is being provided, as well as how chiropractic businesses are being structured and managed.
Hortz: So, as a portfolio manager and business valuation expert, you see companies and business managers that understand and successfully apply business innovation thinking and strategies as better investments for the long run?
Blume: As stewards of our clients’ capital, we are tasked with finding sustainable value where others may have missed it. It is our job to identify companies, such as The Joint, that are creating value for shareholders, customers, and other stakeholders in new and creative ways. No matter how the concept is applied, business innovation will continue to be one of the most important factors that separate a flash-in-the-pan business from one that creates and enhances long-term value to the benefit of its shareholders, the environment, and society as a whole.
Appleseed Capital is the institutional arm of Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, a Chicago based asset manager founded in 1990. Appleseed Capital strategies employ a go-anywhere value approach that integrates Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) criteria into its investment decision making.