Business Strategy Innovation Business Series

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Business StrategyInnovation Business Series
Your Partner for Ventures in Science and
Technology
The U.S. Civilian Research and Development
Foundation (CRDF) Industry Partner Development
Program (PDP)
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Business Mindset Personality
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Your Role Your Strengths
Know Yourself
4
Business Model
Sell Technology
Serve Markets/Customers
Build an Organization
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Partner for Critical Needs
Network
Partner
Fill the gap between your strengths and business
needs
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Business Activities for Scientists

• Contract research
• Collaborative research
• Use of Institute facilities by others
• Licensing intellectual property
• Joint ventures
• Partnerships
• Creating spin-out companies
• Specialized research services
• Engineering services

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End-Customer Marketing?
If partner is the end-customer, then scientist
does the end-user marketing.
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Market Strategy
Existing Market Same customers, need and budget
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Easier to Satisfy Demand

• Satisfy demand pull vs. push
• Easier to provide what is wanted than to search
  for someone that wants what you have
• Deterministic find a need, satisfy it
• Incremental innovation versus invention
• 97 of all U.S. startups do not receive venture
  capital
• Most technology businesses are not based upon
  patents
• Most U.S. technology licensing offices are not
  profitable
• Scientific business versus commercialization
• Services advising/consulting, contract RD,
  specialized research projects, product
  innovation, production improvement, cost
  reduction, value added reselling, etc.

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Market Pull v. Push
Market Push
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Niche Marketing

• Target specialty markets
• (niche markets)
• Greater relative importance in a specialty market
• Be realistic large markets unlikely
• Major transnational corporations spend billions
  to keep you out
• More difficult to sell to large corporations
• Compelling need
• Required for survival vs. beneficial

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Established Market Economies

• Foreign Market Chains are specialized
• Technology
• Application
• Component
• Unit
• End product
• Packaging
• Distribution
• Retail

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Market Chains
Position in market chain (also called value
chain)
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Specialization
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Progression v. Transformation
Difficult to Cross
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Minimize Funding Requirements

• Easier to start with a service (funding)
• Get paid to build the product
• Get paid in advance, not when done
• You have no funding now, why start with a
  strategy that requires something you do NOT have?
• Free and better market research
• Learn through relationships and services
• Companies know their markets
• Learn through partners and customers

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Identify Customer (Buyer)

• Where do you fit best?
• Business model
• Smallest level of activity possible
• Competitive basis you and your technology
• Do NOT re-invent the wheel
• Find people who buy from scientists
• Find companies who use science
• Easier to build relationships than factories
• Sometimes you have to build the factory
• Possible, but much more difficult
• Get paid later instead of now

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Common Sense Approach

• Start with Buyers
• Get paid to build solution
• Why?
• You can build solutions but not buyers

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Innovation Business Lessons

• Identify customers and their needs
• Start with a service to get paid sooner
• Learn from your customers
• Expand your activity
• Protect intellectual property and information
• Communicate!
• Talk to people
• Write simply and state benefits/conclusions
• Close deals

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QA Business Strategy
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CRDF Contact Information

• U.S. Civilian Research Development Foundation
  (CRDF)
• 1530 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300
• Arlington, VA 22209 USA
• Emails
• info_at_crdf.org General CRDF enquiries
• pdp_at_crdf.org Partner Development Program
  (business questions)
• tgp_at_crdf.org Travel Grant Program
• fstm_at_crdf.org First Steps to Market Grants (new
  partnerships)
• nstm_at_crdf.org Next Steps to Market Grants
  (commercial partnerships)
• Website www.crdf.org
• Tel [phone]