Hundreds of ideas are submitted within the firm in the first year of the program designed to spark new initiatives worthy of investment and further development.

GS Accelerate entrepreneurs collaborating in their incubator space, New York City, 2019.

As Goldman Sachs’ first Business Principle states, the firm’s people are one of its greatest assets. Throughout its history, many of the firm’s most impactful business innovations have come from within — born of the ideas of the people of Goldman Sachs. To help tap the full creative potential of its global talent base, Goldman Sachs announced in 2018 the launch of GS Accelerate, an initiative to foster innovation and provide investment in ideas that can help the firm grow and deliver best-in-class solutions for its clients.

In its first year, GS Accelerate received nearly 1,000 submissions from the firm’s people globally. Eight of these submissions were selected for continued investment. The teams behind those selected submissions then participated in an “entrepreneurial boot camp” to learn skills to develop their concept further — including how to build and articulate a detailed business case and budget, obtain support and sponsorship from firm leaders and ultimately, execute on their ideas.

In 2019, the program focused on driving innovation across three key areas: client experience and engagement, strategically growing business and investing in efficiency. Each year, GS Accelerate will open up its submission process anew, kindling the spirit of entrepreneurship that dates back to the days of Marcus Goldman and harnessing it in the service of continued growth, innovation and client-centered solutions.

This article was originally published as part of a series commemorating the 150th anniversary of Goldman Sachs' founding in 1869.