Rocketstart at empiriecom: What happens when we just take our ideas a step further?
Here at empiriecom, we love trying new things and are committed to continuous improvement. But when it comes to ideas, that first step isn’t always easy: We often come up with an initial thought right away, but how can we build on it? How can we look at it from new perspectives and derive concrete approaches from it? To find out, we tried out a new method with the help of Till, the founder of Rocketstart.
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An idea takes on new perspectives
Rocketstart is an app that helps with idea generation. It’s based on the “Moonshot – The Innovation Game” approach to innovation developed by Till Hasbach. To start, you create your own idea in the app. This is followed by various challenges that provide new inspiration for further development. The tasks usually take five to ten minutes and can be easily integrated into your daily work routine.
The challenges address different aspects of an idea. Sometimes they focus on the target audience, the specific benefits, or the underlying assumptions. Other times, they’re about shifting perspectives: What would a planet look like where everyone used this idea? Or what would Pippi Longstocking make of it?
The process is supplemented by AI. It provides feedback, asks follow-up questions, and picks up on individual thoughts. By the end, it becomes clearer which aspects are already well-developed and where there are still unanswered questions.
The app’s design is also playful. Each idea is represented by a small character. Its appearance changes as the idea is developed, and with each level, the stage of development becomes visible.
From Concept to Field Testing
Our colleague Marcel first made contact with Till, the founder of Rocketstart, several years ago. empiriecom got to know him at our tenth Inno Day in November 2025. Once a quarter, our employees set aside time for their own projects and ideas and have the opportunity to try out new things. Till was invited as a guest speaker and presented his approach in his session titled “Moonshot – The Innovation Game,” and a group of employees had the opportunity to try out the game remotely during that Inno Day.
We stayed in touch with him. Some time later, the opportunity arose to test Rocketstart at empiriecom as part of a beta test. Over several weeks, employees were able to test the app with their own ideas from their day-to-day work.
It was interesting for us to see the different paths each idea took.
Till also looks back on it positively:
“Working with empiriecom was extremely valuable for our product development! The quick feedback, the great ideas from the motivated team, and the insightful comments on bugs and new features helped us greatly improve the Rocketstart user experience.
To me, this is a perfect example of how product development under real-world conditions can become a successful open innovation project. I hope that empiriecom benefits from this test just as much as we did and, with creative drive and Rocketstart energy, develops as many valuable solutions as possible from the good ideas of its employees.”