Meet Special Projects: Clovr’s internal innovation engine
At Clovr Labs, we’re obsessed with building what’s next. As a company rooted in R&D and driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, new ideas are constantly emerging. But great ideas alone aren’t enough.
In a company that thrives on experimentation, the real challenge is execution at scale. How do you explore dozens of new concepts without wasting time and resources? Can you separate the shiny-but-empty from the truly viable? How do you turn early-stage thinking into something concrete that truly helps others?
That’s why we created Special Projects.
Why Special Projects exists
Born in 2024, this department was built to bring structure to innovation. The team operates as Clovr’s internal venture studio: a multidisciplinary unit that identifies promising ideas, runs them through a proprietary validation methodology, and—when the results are positive—turns them into real MVPs ready for the market.
Over the years, Clovr Labs has launched several ambitious initiatives that challenged the teams to not only build new solutions but also validate them under real-world conditions.
We realized that while we had the talent, tools, and mindset to build, what we lacked was a repeatable process—a way to evaluate new opportunities with speed and rigor, while reducing the guesswork that often derails early-stage ventures.
Addressing three core challenges
Special Projects helps address three core challenges:
- Volume: In an R&D-driven company, idea generation isn’t the issue—prioritization is. We needed a clear way to separate signals from noise.
- Validation: Before investing time and resources, we need to ensure that an idea actually solves a problem, has market potential, and can be built sustainably.
- Velocity: The market doesn’t wait. To stay ahead, we needed a faster, leaner way to test assumptions, engage potential users, and launch real prototypes.
How it works: A methodology for innovation
At the heart of Special Projects is a methodology we’ve developed in-house—one designed to take bold ideas from raw concept to validated prototype with clarity, speed, and precision.
Throughout every step, we’re guided by clear success criteria: validated interest, lack of critical barriers, strategic fit, and measurable engagement.
Here’s a snapshot of how it works:
Stage 0: Idea scoping and selection
We start by collecting and reviewing a batch of ~30 ideas. Using a scoring system based on criteria like value, feasibility, market fit, and scalability, we select the 10 most promising concepts to enter validation.
Phase 1: Internal evaluation
We define user personas, analyze the problem and market need, and align the idea with Clovr’s strategic goals. Each idea gets a one-pager summarizing its potential and the hypotheses we want to test.
Phase 2–3: Direct market feedback
We take the ideas outside. Through interviews, landing pages, and LinkedIn engagement, we test initial interest, gather objections, and refine positioning based on real-world signals, not assumptions.
Phase 4: Prototyping and MVP testing
Ideas that pass early validation move into MVP development and real-user testing. We focus on core functionality that delivers clear value, and test adoption through campaigns, demos, and live environments.
Phase 5–7: From product to business
Finally, we test the business model, infrastructure readiness, and go-to-market strategy. If everything checks out—traction, scalability, and positive user feedback—the idea graduates from “Special Project” to a real venture.
What makes Special Projects different?
We consider Special Projects as a mindset backed by method. While many organizations talk about innovation, few succeed at turning ideas into actual outcomes.
We’ve engineered a process that closes the gap between inspiration and execution. Here’s how:
- It’s built by builders, not just strategists: The methodology was created by the same people who’ve shipped real products within Clovr.
- It’s cross-functional, yet highly aligned: Every idea passes through a unified process, but we never force-fit solutions.
- It’s sector-agnostic by design: We’re not limiting ourselves to fintech or cybersecurity. If the idea is valuable, feasible, and aligned with Clovr’s strategic principles, it’s a candidate for Special Projects.
- It prioritizes validation over assumptions: At every phase, the process forces us to answer the hard questions: Who really needs this? Will they use it? Is it making the world better or worse?
From ideas to real products
One of the most distinctive aspects of Special Projects is the diversity of the ideas it tackles. But what unites them is a shared goal: to validate real problems and build solutions that matter.
In recent months, the team has explored everything from blockchain innovation to internal AI tooling and fintech-native infrastructure. Some of our latest projects include:
- Bordify—an experiment launched in response to new behavioral trends within the Bitcoin Ordinals ecosystem.
- Stuart AI—this initiative was born from the need to enhance our internal development process, so we integrated AI into code reviews.
- Clovault—one of our latest solutions: a neobank designed to fill a growing gap in the digital banking space.
What’s coming next for Special Projects?
As of mid-2025, the Special Projects team is preparing to launch a new wave of ideas. This next phase will push the boundaries even further, exploring emerging technologies and use cases across sectors.
If you’re exploring an opportunity, wrestling with a new concept, or simply want to brainstorm what’s possible, we’d love to hear from you.
Reach out to us, and let’s explore it together.
