3 Reasons Innovation Deserves a Line in Your Budget

We are in an age of rapid advancement, and innovation has never been more essential for companies to stay ahead. 

To continue pushing your company, your employees and your industry forward, you have to take risks. I tell our team, fail, fail fast and move forward. This mindset is key to Starkey’s ability to innovate and offer leading hearing technology to our customers and their patients. 

We are setting the speed of innovation because we invest in it. Last year, we invested 13% of our revenue back into innovation. 

Investing in innovation should be a top priority for business leaders. It means investing in: 

• Your processes
• Your products 
• Your people 

Here are three reasons it’s a worthy investment that offers many returns and benefits. 

1. It grows market share 

In 2017, Starkey took a risk and began heavily investing in artificial intelligence. At the time, AI was not the buzzword it is today. Nobody else in the industry was doing this, but our team saw how this technology could advance hearing aids. 

As the only American-owned hearing technology manufacturer, we had been steadily competing against the four other major players in our industry. We needed to make a big swing to take that leap to the next level and gain market share. 

From investing in automation, quality control and distribution, to developing groundbreaking hearing technology, innovation led to first-of-its-kind features, higher-quality products and near-perfect on-time delivery performance. These changes in the United States laid the groundwork for our continued growth around the world. 

Not only did these investments help us grow market share, but they also eliminated previous issues, resulting in a better experience for our customers and their patients.

These changes took time and dedication from our team. While we’re in a fast-paced environment, it still took years of innovation to make an impact. Nearly a decade later, we are leading the industry with the technology we have packed into tiny devices. 

When you invest the money, keep moving forward and stay customer-focused, you can build market share, brand leadership and customer loyalty. This protects you for the future as well. When people believe you will never stop innovating to be the best, they will want to join you on the journey. 

2. It builds culture

Taking risks, allowing employees to try something new and being bold encourages a culture of innovation, whether it’s in customer service, manufacturing or operations. It’s a mindset employees embrace when they see innovation in action. 

At Starkey, this mindset has allowed us to invest more in talent. We’re hiring and growing in countries around the world. We’re able to make sure we have the right people for the right roles, and people who want to be there. This investment and its cultural impact are measurable. We’ve won numerous awards based on employee input. 

When you invest back into ideas, research, the people and the company, it shows that you have a belief in where it’s going. It allows you to attract top talent. People want to work with innovators.

It also leads to more organizational agility. The more you are used to constant innovation, the more your teams can adapt, collaborate and feel empowered to try new ideas. People don’t get stuck in the past. If something isn’t working, they try something different. 

Investing in innovation means you’re investing in tomorrow, and you show your employees and your prospective talent that this is a strong, healthy company focused on the future.

3. It builds momentum 

A culture rooted in innovation inevitably builds momentum because you’re always thinking about what’s next. 

Last year was a record year for Starkey, with our best month of sales ever in October 2025. We aren’t stopping there. Now, we’re building on this success by continuing to invest. Our team will continue developing advanced technologies and looking for new ways to expand health-related features in our hearing aids.

We’ve embraced this future-forward thinking, and the momentum keeps us going. 

Invest in innovation to set your company, your team and yourself up for long-term success. Change doesn’t stop. We can only make progress when we embrace the inevitable and innovate alongside it. 

We are in an age of rapid advancement, and innovation has never been more essential for companies to stay ahead. 

To continue pushing your company, your employees and your industry forward, you have to take risks. I tell our team, fail, fail fast and move forward. This mindset is key to Starkey’s ability to innovate and offer leading hearing technology to our customers and their patients. 

We are setting the speed of innovation because we invest in it. Last year, we invested 13% of our revenue back into innovation.