If there are no customers, no one buying any of the designers' time and talent, then there is no work for the designers. I.D. firms, like businesses ranging from parts suppliers to brokerage houses, typically lay people off when there is no work coming in. But Kim has decided that this approach is, in the long-run, counter productive. Funding is based on both profits made on previous projects and royalties coming in to Innodesign from some product designs it has developed for clients. If you go slowly, you'll never catch up with the market.
Traditional design is like watching a movie in slow-motion.
Do it quickly. And do it right. Virtual Product Design is having his designers develop products. Some of these products are Kim's ideas, with him acting as a client. Some of the ideas come from the designers themselves.