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Keep the Slippers: How Bombas and Others Are Redefining Innovation

May 2, 2025

“Innovation” gets tossed around a lot in business, but what separates true innovation from simple improvement, especially in business models?

This question has been on my mind lately as I’ve been tracking companies that are genuinely disrupting their industries through innovative approaches to value creation. The distinction, I’ve found, comes down to impact: while operational improvements optimize existing processes, true business model innovations fundamentally reshape how value is created, delivered and captured.

Here’s where it gets interesting. When I look at companies actually disrupting their industries, two types of stories jump out:

Customer Experience as Innovation Driver

Business model innovation often begins with reimagining the customer experience. Bombas, for example, turns returns into relationship-building by letting customers keep refunded items, a policy that fosters loyalty and fuels word-of-mouth. Similarly, Chewy transforms order mishaps into moments of goodwill by donating mistakenly ordered pet supplies. These strategies don’t just solve operational challenges – they reframe what it means to care for and value a customer.

Impact vs. Optimization

Dollar Shave Club didn’t just make razors more convenient – it redefined the category by sidestepping traditional retail and building emotional resonance through humor. Warby Parker challenged the monopoly-driven eyewear industry with direct-to-consumer sales and at-home try-ons, reshaping the entire customer journey. These examples go beyond optimization; they reinvent how value is created and delivered.

By contrast, when retailers shorten shipping times or fine-tune supply chains, they’re working to improve efficiency, which is still valuable, but fundamentally different in terms of impact. One transforms the model; the other enhances it.

Evaluating True Innovation: Key Differentiators

True business model innovation often stands out through:

• Disrupting traditional norms rather than merely optimizing them.
• Creating new value instead of enhancing existing processes.
• Scaling without proportional cost increases.
• Shifting customer experiences in transformative ways.

Balancing Innovation and Risk

Innovation always carries risk. Consider, for example, MoviePass’ attempt to revolutionize the movie-going experience. While its Netflix-style subscription model seemed attractive on the surface, it lacked a sustainable economic foundation, causing the concept to quickly collapse. This is but one example of a failure that underscores a critical lesson: bold ideas must be grounded in operational viability. Disruption can be powerful, but only when it’s paired with a clear view of what could go wrong.

The key is finding the sweet spot between transformative innovation and sustainable operations. The most successful companies I’ve observed don’t just innovate for innovation’s sake; they create new models that fundamentally change how value is delivered while maintaining operational viability.

Thriving in today’s business landscape means knowing when to disrupt and when to optimize. Innovation doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel—it means rethinking how you deliver value while staying financially sustainable. Ask yourself: are you changing the game or just playing it better?

Ready to Evaluate Your Next Move?

If you’re contemplating changes to your business approach, start by determining where your initiative falls on the innovation spectrum. Does it disrupt traditional industry norms or just optimize existing operations? Will it create entirely new ways for customers to engage with you, or simply enhance existing touch points? Can it scale beyond your current framework, potentially redefining your revenue streams?

These are the questions my teams and I work through with our clients as they navigate the sometimes blurry line between operational improvements and true business model innovation. Both have their place – the key is understanding which approach best serves your strategic objectives and having the frameworks to evaluate potential impact before you invest.

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