Tips and Resources v. 2.0

Cool resources and hot tips for innovators have moved!

You can now get your does of hot tips and cool resources several times a week - and in specific areas, including:

- Commercialization
- Raising capital
- Intellectual property protection
- Market research

Visit Young Inventors International for further details. If you're an innovator under the age of 35, join our international network for free. If you're young at heart, you can join as a supporting member.

Commercialization "Process"?

I have always been fascinated by the "process" of commercialization.

Although it does seem to have some key elements (product development, financing thereof, protection of intellectual property, etc.), it seems far from linear. That slight bit of chaos and uncertainty enthralls me.

That is why, when I find a model that purports to facilitate the process of bringing a technology to market, I always catch my breath. That is what happened when I stumbled across OpenTTO.org, which is a site by an Australian technology transfer expert and which outlines an open source process for technology transfer offices to improve commercialization outcomes. I found it great fun to dissect the model and devour its assumptions, etc. (more of the process-geek in me emerging - oh no!).

In particular, Adamson (the author of the methodology) states that the (Australian) commercialization process in bringing technologies out of universities to market can be fixed by "the right process, the right people, and the right rewards." I think that the statement applies to commercialization more broadly. Of course, it's a great mantra for running a business, as well. But as for the "right" process, well...:

A prominent educator and successful businessman once told me that the virtue(!) of the market is its ability to screen out failures. Aaaahhh...uncertainty.

Stuff works!

Cool Resource:
Howstuffworks - Search for "marketing plan," for example, and you get a wonderful article about the elements of marketing plans. Useful for much more than just finding out how vacuum cleaners work!

Hot Tip:
Working too hard as an entrepreneur? Wondering if you're cut out for the job? If you're uncertain, you can still profit from your invention. License it for development and sale by others!

Entrepreneurship Cont'd (Plus Some Philosophy to Boot)

Bryan: thank you for your comment. I was interested in finding out that Kirzner is the leading authority on Ludwig von Mises:0)

Lest we get too technical in our love for economics, I wanted to let you know that I agree with your thoughts: progress results because of both minor (incremental) and major (radical) innovations. And I don't think that entrepreneurship is on its way out any time soon (despite the consolidation and M&A'ic tendencies of some corporations).

In fact, I think that entrepreneurship drives the world, although perhaps it's not always entirely innovative. For example, small-scale farmers are entrepreneurs, but they may not necessarily be innovators - check out IDE, run by Paul Polak, an inspiring visionary with whom I have had the good fortune to converse for many hours a few months ago.

I also recently plucked an interesting book from a friend's bookshelf recently (you know who you are; if you're reading this, I promise to return it in the next few months as I rotate it through my reading itinerary): Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge.

Again, perhaps a bit esoteric, but it's a work about the philosophy of scientific change (and, by extrapolation, perhaps also innovation - at least scientific). The book presents Kuhn's statement of position about the significance of revolutions in science. The book then presents criticisms to Kuhn's argument (i.e. the significance of revolutions in science), and Kuhn's final reply.



By the way, you may ask: who is Kuhn? That's Thomas S. Kuhn, actually. He wrote the Structure of Scientific Revolutions, which is taken to be one of the authoritative books on the philosophy of science.

Licensing Opportunities

Cool Resource:
Flintbox - To follow up on my post about finding a technology to license, Flintbox provides a searchable database of technologies for just this purpose. While you're at it, check out BirchBob, too.

Hot Tip:
Focus! Don't try to offer a product or technology that solves all of your customer's ills. All you need to do is solve a problem that the customer finds relevant. Speak with your potential customers to find out about these challenges so that you can provide a targeted solution.