lumni

Turn old problems into new revenue and time back

You know the ones. They’ve been silently eating budget and staff time for years.

I’m an innovation advisor who works like a founder. I get to the bottom of what’s really going on, test cheap solutions against it, and help you scale only what pays back.

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HOW I WORK INSIDE ORGANISATIONS

Why most corporate innovation is just theatre

By the time an initiative gets budget, a solution is usually already attached to it: a build, a platform, an AI pilot, more headcount… before the problem is properly understood.

Done the right way round, the problem comes first, then the strongest solutions are tested early and cheaply, instead of betting the budget on the first idea in the room.

That’s what you get from me: the problem understood deeply, proposed solutions, and cheap experiments proving what works, before you commit serious budget to anything.

The many shapes a solution can take

Decisions are made on your needs and evidence, not hype or personal preference.

Buy an existing tool

Is usually the best solution when a mature product genuinely solves the problem, checked against your real workflow, not a demo.

Commission CUSTOM SOFTWARE

From your own product team or an external agency. The right call when the need is truly unique and there’s an internal team with the budget and capacity to own the product indefinitely, not just launch it.

The one most companies never consider

Pilot an existing startup to solve the problem

Ambitious early-stage ventures are looking for companies exactly like yours to prove their solution and get the evidence they need to raise investment. They are flexible and eager to solve your problem at a fraction of the cost of custom software.

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Case study

A PILOT IN PRACTICE

How an engagement inside a major UK charity turned a problem inside their services into a live pilot with tech startups, aiming for both social and commercial return.

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Under pressure to implement AI in your organisation?

Before you invest in AI, prove where it creates value

Considering an AI tool, vendor, or pilot? A focused agile sprint that tests the opportunity against your real workflow and ends in a decision that stands up to scrutiny: proceed, pilot, buy, build, or stop.

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for founders

Startup venture strategy, for a select few

I also work with a small number of tech startup founders on strategy across the whole venture lifecycle, sharpening what they’re building, preparing them to raise, and positioning them for an exit.

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The research behind this approach

I wrote the 2026 industry report on why corporate innovation fails, and how the organisations that get it right bring startup discipline inside instead. If you’ve lived through a pilot that went nowhere, you’ll recognise your organisation in it.

The real failure numbers: 40 to 70% of innovation initiatives miss their goals, at a cost of up to £64.7bn a year to UK companies

2. The five patterns behind almost every failure (from inside-out ideas to pilot purgatory) with a self-assessment to find yours

3. What the organisations that succeed do differently, and a 4 to 5 week de-risking checklist to start

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Hi, I’m Daniela Navaes

Seventeen years across product and service design, user research, and entrepreneurship, including product leadership inside startups.

I run Lumni from London, working across the UK and Europe, partnering with specialist advisors commercial finance & M&A when necessary.

I sit on both sides of the table: inside organisations solving complex problems, and alongside startup founders building solutions, helping them validate their products, customer demand, raise investment and prepare for an exit.

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