Steve Blanks
Experience shaped by doing
My work is grounded in turning ideas into practical, manufacturable products.
Based in Cheshire, I work with SMEs, entrepreneurs and product teams across the UK, bringing practical product development experience to ideas at every stage of the journey.
Over more than three decades, I’ve designed, developed and launched physical products across a wide range of sectors, often under constraint, often with imperfect information, and always with real-world consequences.
Alongside client work, I continue to develop my own products, taking ideas through design, prototyping, IP and manufacture. It keeps the experience I bring current, practical and grounded in the same decisions my clients face.
That experience shapes how I approach decisions when they matter.
It also shaped Skiing Uphill... The Innovation Black Run and Innovation Simplified™
the practical thinking, tools and support behind incub8ideas.
How the work typically unfolds
Working together is collaborative and practical.
Sometimes that’s hands-on design work. That can include in-house 3D printing to fast-track physical prototypes, helping to explore, test and refine ideas as they develop.
Sometimes it’s stepping back to make sense of trade-offs and choices that aren’t obvious at first glance.
Experience You Can Trust
With extensive global manufacturing experience, I help SMEs turn bold ideas into real, manufacturable products.
Specializing in advanced materials, emerging technologies, and user-centric design, I ensure your product isn’t just inventive, it’s practical, scalable, and production-ready.
What I Do
Collaborate – Think of me as an extension of your team, listening and acting in your best interests.
Design – Sparking inventive ideas and refining them into reliable, repeatable products.
Project Manage – Delivering on time and on budget, keeping innovation moving.
Who I Am
Always Open – Honest, practical advice with a freethinking approach to problem-solving.
Entrepreneurial – Thriving in creative chaos, bringing clarity and a path to success.
Positive Mindset – Fearless in doing what’s best, learning from every step.
I bring first-hand experience from both entrepreneurship and leading global design teams helping businesses turn ideas into reality.
Recognised by SME News in the UK Enterprise Awards as Most Insightful Start-Up Consultant 2026.
With 30+ years in global manufacturing, I’ve worked across Automotive, Aerospace, Rail, Construction, and Electrical sectors, solving complex challenges across borders.
Expert in product innovation, specializing in plastics and precision metal forming, I know how to leverage materials, technology, and design for optimal manufacturing.
A serial inventor and Aptiv Innovation Hall of Fame inductee (2018), I understand the value of IP and how to protect it.
I also know the startup journey first-hand—winning the 2013 Nesta Hands Off My Bike competition, a UK government-backed initiative that launched an innovative bicycle security product.
Why No Case Studies?
Your ideas stay your ideas.
I work under strict NDAs, so I don't use confidential client projects as marketing material.
"Replacing metal with polymers in an established market is tough; Steve's non-executive guidance helped us deliver a game-changing, user-centric solution.”
JOHN PITT
Founder
KLIPP-IT, U.K.
"Steve is a true innovator. His creative thinking enables him to approach challenges from unique angles, often resulting in solutions that are not only effective but also transformative."
JON ZICK
Head of Product Innovation
HellermannTyton, USA
“Innovation is to find the right path to a prototype and finished product. Steve has proven to be able to do just that."
KAI GOERLICH
Consultant
Visionary Labs, Germany
One body of thinking. Three ways to explore it.
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Skiing Uphill brings the thinking together.
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The Resource Hub turns it into practical ways to explore and apply it.
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Innovation³ Blog captures individual ideas and insights along the way.
Together, they form a connected Innovation Simplified™ ecosystem.