.svg)
Quest Series 2
Join a powerful, story-driven business simulation where you'll step into the shoes of the Head of Innovation at Aeki — a fictional company inspired by IKEA.
How this Simulation is set up
Quest Dates
The original Aeki simulation
Full description
Join a powerful, story-driven business simulation where you'll step into the shoes of the Head of Innovation at Aeki — a fictional company inspired by IKEA.
Navigate complex stakeholder relationships, build your own innovation team, and shape the future through strategic decisions that ripple across the entire organization.
What is Strategy Quest?
Strategy Quest is an immersive business simulation designed for corporate innovators and ambitious professionals.
Over five intense rounds spanning five weeks, you'll experience the full complexity of innovation leadership — from managing your own team of project leads and startup founders to navigating intricate internal politics that can make or break your initiatives.
You'll face shifting priorities, uncertain markets, and stakeholder relationships that evolve based on your reputation and engagement choices.
Whether you join solo or with your team, you'll experience authentic innovation leadership challenges in a risk-free environment where bold experimentation is rewarded.
📅 Key Facts
Season Start: Thursday, September 18th, 2025
Season End: Thursday, October 16th, 2025
Duration: 5 rounds over 5 weeks (one "year" per week)
Format: Flexible asynchronous participation + live video-call support during office hours (once/week)
Kickoff: Live session to get you started on Thursday, September 18th, 2025
Weekly Rhythm:
- Every Thursday: new scenario introduced through dynamic briefings and stakeholder communications
- Every Monday: submission deadline (flexible as your strategy continues evolving even if you miss one)
- Optional: Thursday office hours for questions, peer discussion, and strategy coaching
Price: €199/participant (incl. VAT) - Save €50 when you register by September 5th
Join as an individual or with a team
👥 Who it’s for
This experience is ideal for:
- Heads of Innovation, Growth & Transformation
- Business Unit or Department heads with new responsibility for innovation
- Corporate Venture Builders & Innovation Managers
- Strategy & Growth Professionals (e.g. in-house consultants)
- Mid-career professionals seeking exposure to leadership experience
🎯 Learning Framework
Learning: Master measurable innovation leadership competencies including stakeholder management, resource allocation, strategic decision-making under uncertainty, and cross-functional team coordination.
Storytelling: Experience a rich narrative where your decisions shape character development, organizational dynamics, and ultimate business outcomes through authentic corporate challenges.
Gameplay: Engage through dynamic decision-making scenarios, stakeholder relationship puzzles, team-building challenges, and strategic resource allocation dilemmas.
User Experience: Develop confidence, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence through immersive scenarios that mirror real-world innovation leadership pressures.
💡 What You'll Get
🎯 Leadership Experience in a high-stakes innovation environment with your own team to manage
🛡️ Safe Experimentation Space – test bold strategies, learn from relationship failures, and adapt without real-world consequences
⚡ Dynamic Performance Feedback in real-time from evolving stakeholder relationships and AI-generated market intelligence
⏰ Flexible Participation that fits your schedule, with regular support during office hours
🤝 Peer Learning Opportunities to benchmark against other innovation leaders facing similar challenges
📜 Professional Development including certificate of completion and personalized leadership feedback report
🧠 Practical Leadership Insights you can immediately apply to stakeholder management and innovation strategy in your current role
🎨 Immersive Storytelling that makes complex business concepts memorable and actionable
🚀 New Features & Experiences
🎪 Your Own Innovation Team
Interact directly with your project leads and startup founders. Build relationships, allocate resources, and guide their development as they tackle your strategic initiatives.
🕸️ Complex Internal Stakeholder Relationships
Navigate intricate corporate politics where relationships can make or break your actions. Engage strategically but watch your reputation system and stakeholder fatigue levels!
⚔️ Talent Growth and War
Develop your team's capabilities while defending against competitor poaching. Every talent decision affects your innovation capacity and team dynamics.
🏪 Deeper Access to Customers and Aeki Stores
Go beyond market research with immersive customer insights, store simulations, and direct feedback from your target markets.
📊 Enhanced Dashboards and Visualizations
Monitor your innovation portfolio health, stakeholder influence networks, and strategic progress through beautiful, interactive displays.
🤝 Department Collaboration
Work directly with Aeki's departments to roll out your innovation initiatives, experiencing the full complexity of organizational change management.
What you'll learn
What you'll master: The 11 Levers of Corporate Innovation
Strategy Quest is built around 11 proven innovation levers used by leading global companies. You'll gain strategical experience with each approach, supported by market best practices and expert insights:
External Growth & Partnerships:
- Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)
- M&A strategies
- External Venture Building
- Joint Ventures & Alliances
- Venture Clienting with startups and scale-ups
Internal Innovation:
- Internal Venture Building (intrapreneurship programs)
- Product Innovation and development pipelines
- Startup Incubation within corporate structures
Market & Ecosystem Strategies:
- Open Innovation and ecosystem development
- Strategic Market Expansion approaches
- Targeted Advertising Campaigns for new ventures
Decision-Making Skills You'll Develop
Strategic Portfolio Management: Learn to balance high-risk, high-reward bets with incremental innovations using portfolio theory adapted for corporate innovation.
Stakeholder Relationship Mastery: Navigate complex internal politics where every interaction affects your reputation and ability to execute. Master coalition-building across conflicting priorities—from cost-conscious CFOs to growth-hungry CEOs to risk-averse operations teams.
Team Leadership Under Pressure: Build and manage your own innovation team of project leads and startup founders while defending against talent poaching and managing performance across diverse personalities.
Resource Allocation Under Uncertainty: Practice dynamic budgeting techniques that let you pivot quickly when market conditions change or initiatives show unexpected results.
Innovation ROI Assessment: Develop skills to evaluate opportunities across different time horizons and risk profiles, balancing quick wins with transformational bets.
Measurable Skills Development
By the end of Strategy Quest, you'll be able to:
- Evaluate 5+ types of innovation opportunities using structured frameworks (incremental, adjacent, transformational, disruptive, and ecosystem plays)
- Build and manage high-performing innovation teams while navigating talent acquisition and retention challenges
- Navigate complex stakeholder relationships where reputation and engagement strategies directly impact your success
- Build compelling business cases that address both quantitative metrics and qualitative stakeholder concerns
- Manage innovation portfolios across different risk/return profiles and time horizons
- Leverage customer insights and market intelligence to guide strategic decisions
- Communicate innovation strategy effectively to diverse audiences from board members to engineering teams
"I’ve participated in Strategy Quest twice now. Both times were incredibly enriching, full of learning and fun."
Roman
"I knew this was going to be a stretch from my current job role and skills."
Bindu
"To make a decision on strategy for a big company, while considering all the options, is something really valuable."
Thea
FAQ
What is a business strategy simulation?
Business strategy simulation is an immersive training method where leaders test strategic decisions in a risk-free, AI-powered environment. Unlike traditional workshops, participants experience consequences of their choices, compress months of strategic thinking into hours, and receive objective feedback on their decision-making under pressure.
How does Strategy Quest work?
Strategy Quest combines AI agents, realistic market dynamics, and proven business frameworks to create authentic strategic scenarios. Participants make decisions solo or in teams, navigate incomplete information and stakeholder pressure, then see the outcomes play out. Each session compresses 12 months of strategic decision-making into a 2-hour intensive experience.
Who should attend Strategy Quest sessions?
Strategy Quest is designed for innovation leaders, heads of strategy, product leaders, transformation consultants and senior executives who make high-stakes strategic decisions. Our participants typically lead teams and are responsible for new product launches, market entry strategies, or major business pivots.
What makes Strategy Quest different from other business simulations?
Traditional business simulations focus on financial outcomes. Strategy Quest emphasizes leadership development and "real world decision making skills". You'll practice navigating organizational politics, building consensus under pressure, and developing strategic foresight skills that directly transfer to your day job as an innovation leader.
How long is a Strategy Quest session?
Each Strategy Quest session is a 3-hour intensive experience, typically run with cohorts of 8-12 participants. We also offer custom half-day and full-day programs for leadership teams who want deeper strategic alignment.
Do I need any preparation before attending?
No special preparation required. You'll receive a brief scenario overview 24 hours before your session, but the experience is designed to mirror real-world conditions where you must make decisions with incomplete information.
Is Strategy Quest suitable for remote teams?
Yes! Strategy Quest runs seamlessly in virtual environments. Our digital platform recreates the pressure and collaboration dynamics of in-person strategy sessions, making it perfect for distributed innovation teams.
What results can I expect from Strategy Quest?
Participants report faster strategic decision-making, improved confidence in high-stakes situations, a better understanding of their innovative and leadership styles and better ability to anticipate market consequences. 72% of participants say they've applied insights from Strategy Quest to real strategic decisions within 30 days.
Can Strategy Quest help with specific strategic challenges my company is facing?
Absolutely. We create custom scenarios based on your industry, competitive landscape, and specific strategic challenges. Many clients use Strategy Quest to stress-test actual strategies they're considering implementing. Reach out to us to explore custom scenarios.
How is feedback provided during the simulation?
You'll receive feedback as scenarios unfold, plus detailed debrief sessions analyzing your decision making patterns, leadership style under pressure, and strategic thinking approach. All feedback is behavior-based and objective, not opinion-based.