Initiating Pathways for Innovators Researchers and Entrepreneurs
THE INSPIRE JOURNEY A Best Practice Guide
An Innovation Mindset for Entrepreneurs, Innovators, Researchers and SMEs
Contents Acknowledgements Foreword
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Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Chapter 2: How to Use
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Chapter 3: Ideation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Chapter 4: Entrepreneurial Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Chapter 5: Market Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Chapter 6: Intellectual Property
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Chapter 7: Commercialisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Chapter 8: New Venture Capital
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Chapter 9: Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Chapter 10: Initiating Pathways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Chapter 11: Inspirations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Project Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
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Acknowledgements We would like to offer our thanks to all those who were involved in the INSPIRE project and in particular the participants. It was their commitment and hard work that allowed the ‘INSPIRE journey’ to be captured in this Best Practice Guide. We would like to thank the project steering committee, project partners, specialists and advisors who gave their guidance, knowledge and expertise to the programme. This guide would not be possible without all their contributions. Last but not least, we would like to thank the Ireland Wales Territorial Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 (INTERREG 4A) which provided part-funding for the project.
INSPIRE Project Partners Wales Pembrokeshire County Council, Bridge Innovation Centre, Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, SA72 6UN, Wales
Ireland Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland Contact: Mr Brian Ogilvie
Contact: Mr David Thomas Edited by Mr Brian Ogilvie, Institute of Technology Carlow.
Copyright ©2015 INSPIRE (Initiating Pathways for Innovators, Researchers and Entrepreneurs) This publication is protected by international copyright laws. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or transmitted in any way or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright holder. The publisher makes no representation, expressed or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained within this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility for any errors and omissions that might take place. Any Trade Marks and Registered Trade Marks mentioned within this text are the property of their respective owners. The INSPIRE project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Ireland Wales Programme (INTERREG 4A).
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FOREWORD Laurence Holt Since 1996, I have been involved with a number of initiatives designed to release people’s creativity through entrepreneurship. This journey has challenged me to try and find answers in nations and cultures as widely diverse as those of China, Central Asia, Africa and Europe. I concluded some time ago that whilst the culture and economic setting may vary, there are some fundamental principles that are universally applicable. The belief that such fundamental principles exist is based on an understanding that business is basically about people and relationships. It is about the individual entrepreneur using their talents to serve other people and doing so in a just and reliable way that fosters a positive relationship. It has been a pleasure to be involved with the INSPIRE team and the development of the Best Practice Guide for many reasons but the most gratifying by far is the fact that the Best Practice Guide presents in a readily accessible format the fundamental principles that have been consistently highlighted to me on my journey. INSPIRE has been an Irish / Welsh team effort with some very important added encouragement from Sweden. The INSPIRE team members were drawn from varied backgrounds, business, academia, information technology, finance, local government and politics. This mix has proved a rich seed bed of ideas and all important networks. As the project progressed, it emerged that our multi-skilled and multi-connected team in fact were
EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
developing an innovation pathway of their own. Traditional approaches to stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship have been built on a co-operation between business, academia and government and these approaches have been fruitful. However, as the challenges to western economies mount and the need for creative solutions becomes ever greater, it has become evident that social and cultural dimensions need to be added to the old three part model of co-operation between business, academia and government. I feel that the leaders of INSPIRE not only have facilitated qualitative and quantitative business growth in others, but have also enabled us to learn at the leading edge of entrepreneurial development. INSPIRE and projects like it are a response to the need for economic regeneration and the need for a new wave of entrepreneurial innovation in Wales and Ireland. Our economic requisite and that of many nations is self-evident and does not need further elaboration here. The authors of this guide and those collaborating on the INSPIRE project are of very varied backgrounds and convictions. Nevertheless, in all the variety there has been evident an attitude in all as to the seriousness of the task at hand and, at its most basic, a sense of ‘backs to the wall’, ‘things have to change’, ‘we must play our best shot’ to stimulate economic growth. Beyond a motivation rooted in the seriousness of the economic, financial and social situation, I don’t think I am overstating it when I say there has also been a sense of moral commitment. Underlying this commitment is a desire to see alternative economic models emerge. We live in a time when the liberal capitalist economic model is failing. To function merely at the level of competition and profit is better than nothing, but nonetheless it is a threadbare model. That world is an impoverished world and we desperately need new creative ways of sustainable economic development.
We must mobilise creativity and introduce not only new business development but also new business models. Creating a sustainable future will require us to include social and relational strengths for a greater depth and breadth of creativity. The Best Practice Guide is both a tool and process to lead you towards these things. As you progress on your individual or corporate journey, search for fresh ways of collaboration with government. The motivation for such partnership working is usually there from both sides but what we need is to move towards a better understanding of effective interventions by government and equipping creative people. To close, I return to my own journey. Sweden has always played a key part in my own business life. It was a stimulating relationship with the Scandinavian Institutes for Administrative Research (SIAR) that launched me into my own business back in 1974. Sweden is ranked one of the highest amongst the European nations for entrepreneurship, and through the participation of Swedish entrepreneur Ola Ekman, our Celtic nations can draw from this ‘Viking well’. Ola is from Gothenburg and it has been a special privilege to work with him. We all felt that, despite bringing a relatively short contribution in terms of time, Ola imparted something to us rather than simply giving us a few good ideas. I think this was proof in some way that culture is absorbed and imparted – you catch it rather than teach it. Laurence Holt is the chair of the INSPIRE project steering committee and a successful Management Specialist. He is the founder of Lightwork.
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FOREWORD Ola Ekman Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of spending a few days of inspiration with the INSPIRE project team and the participants from Ireland and Wales. We spent a couple of valuable days in Pembrokeshire bringing together the experiences of everyone involved in the project. Through the sharing of exercises and creative workshops, the combined forces of the group helped to bring our businesses and lives as entrepreneurs to a new level. I would like to share with you some thoughts and ideas from those days, but also from my life as a serial entrepreneur. I believe that the key to growing personally and in business is to listen to someone who has been there and done it before. My hope is that my views will help you to grow your ideas and inventions towards becoming powerful and sustainable businesses of the future.
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1980 was a bad year for my travel agency in Gothenburg, Sweden. With a failing market and new regulations, I was forced out of business. My company Global Travel became ‘Global Trouble’ for me. My immediate reaction was to look around and see who was to blame for the failure. Was it my accountant who didn’t give me the right numbers, my business partners for not selling enough, or the airlines that charged prices which were too high? I blamed everybody and everything except myself. I realised that this was a very unhealthy approach, as I soon became physically ill. The solution for me was to examine my role, to take action to solve the problems and to throw away the medicine. Having undergone this process, I learned rule number one for successful entrepreneurship - ‘Failure is not fatal’. This painful experience has taught me some powerful lessons which I have used to create many
successful new businesses since then. I had learned to ‘Fail forward’. To know ‘how not to do growth’ can be a very important lesson. Fifteen years ago, I was part-founder of an International Masters programme in Entrepreneurship at the University of Gothenburg. This concept for creating and accelerating new ideas and innovations into ventures with the help of our academic institutions was ground-breaking at that time. Initially, there was an immediate and strong resistance as ‘to create companies is really not an academic endeavour’. Our approach was to find and select the best ideas in Sweden and offer these inventors and idea providers help to commercialise their concepts. We would provide a team of students with assistance from a network of sponsors from the business community (accountants, lawyers, intellectual property specialists, entrepreneurs, marketing experts, mentors and others). This novel approach was an instant hit. Friends and networks are the key to growing fast. Since then we have created several new viable ventures every year. Successful, fast-growing people and companies are shaped through having a mix of experiences, multiple skill sets, multi-cultural teams and a powerful support network. Our greatest success so far has been a new technology that recycles car tyres. This company evolved from an idea in 2001 and was floated on the Swedish stock market earlier this year. Throughout my years of being involved in creating companies of the future, I have seen the power of mixing talents and skills combined with close and intense mentoring. Entrepreneurship is a talent that gives self-fulfilment. The challenge and enjoyment of combining my talents with that of others helps make entrepreneurship a fun and gratifying experience.
My role in the university has been to evaluate 100200 innovations every year, select the best ones and allocate them to student teams to commercialise. In the beginning, I was focused solely on the idea itself. I believed that if the idea was strong enough, then we could always change the traits of the inventor. I was wrong. This approach has led to many difficult relationship issues and provides a difficult environment to build a successful enterprise. I eventually realised that entrepreneurship is all about people. Now, I first spend time socialising, interviewing and assessing the inventor. This, in my view, builds stronger teams, yielding larger and more sustainable businesses. Spending time to make sure you have the right people and teams is the key to good commercialisation. It was as a result of this process that I was appointed Chairman at our regional incubator in Western Sweden. My background is in the film, music and information technology sectors. I quickly realised that these industry areas created more prosperity than any other in the world. It was during this time, around ten years ago, when I recognised that our standard model for innovation/idea creation – ‘the Triple Helix Model’ – was outdated. With new ways of living and communicating, life is changing much more rapidly. Therefore, we must also include social and cultural aspects in our growth-model to succeed. In every project we undertake, business, academia, government, social and cultural dimensions are included. Through my life as an entrepreneur, I have learned that the key to good entrepreneurship is to make sure you realise your own personal dream and not somebody else’s. To know why you want to do it, before understanding how and what you have to do, is important. My own simple rules for growth are: (a) ‘Dare to share your idea’ so that you can
get maximum input from your network; (b) Break patterns and habits to make sure you come ‘out of the box’ and find new ways of doing things; (c) Very important - have fun, to enjoy the process. At our Pembrokeshire conference, we tried idea creation through different exercises. The Brick and the Corkscrew tasks demonstrated that the possibilities and solutions are limitless if we dare to challenge our perceived limits and status quo. The Marshmallow Challenge gave some powerful input into the importance of good teamwork. We also agreed that a key to growth is to share our knowledge and success with others. One of my most important life lessons has been to understand that, before we start growing, we have to take away the obstacles for growth. When we are able to identify our own personal limitations, the commercialisation process will become much faster and more efficient. Many business areas are challenged by totally new and changing markets. Many traditional businesses disappear at a fast pace, while others grow exponentially – this in itself creates challenges. The future is close. In fact, it is actually already here. How can I prepare or adjust? One thing we have learned together is that ‘Nothing is impossible; it may just take a little longer’. And if someone tells us that it is impossible, we just tell them; “I know it is impossible, but if it was possible, how would you do it then?” Ola Ekman is a Swedish serial entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of the Master’s in Entrepreneurship at Gothenburg School of Economics and Law and a well-known mentor to companies and CEOs.
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1 Objectives INSPIRE (Initiating Pathways for Innovators, Researchers and Entrepreneurs) was established to create an environment to cultivate and develop idea generation among innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and SMEs and subsequently to develop the skill set needed to bring these ideas to commercialisation.
Achievements
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The INSPIRE project highlighted the skills deficit amongst SMEs, entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers in using creativity and idea generation as a strategic process for sustained economic development. Participants who engaged with the INSPIRE project have acquired the knowledge to identify, implement and transfer their learning, leading to the creation of a more innovative culture within their enterprises. This ability has been strongly guided by the INSPIRE project and its respective support structure, which provided professional training and mentoring along with enterprise support for innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and SMEs.
Framework The first stage of this process inculcated the creative processes needed to generate innovative and knowledge-based business ideas and practices that have potential to be turned into commercially-viable products, processes and services.
Introduction The second stage provided a series of interventions to instil the necessary skill set for successful idea commercialisation. Both stages provided opportunities for knowledgebased business interaction between crossborder participants. INSPIRE has skilled the participants in identifying pathways to capitalise on creativity and to use innovation as a strategic process for sustained competitive advantage and business sustainability. This has been achieved through developing new products, new processes, new services, new jobs and new companies.
Best Practice Guide This Best Practice Guide captures the INSPIRE process as a ‘journey’, which brought together over 80 entrepreneurs, businesses, researchers and sectoral experts in an environment conducive to building relationships, initiating pathways, imparting knowledge and delivering economic outputs for the region. It is designed as a self-learning resource to stimulate thinking, evaluate opportunities and capitalise on idea generation and creativity as a competitive tool.
Stakeholders The project, which ran from February 2012 to December 2014, was delivered jointly between Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) and the Institute of Technology Carlow (ITC). INSPIRE covered the local authorities of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Swansea in Wales and the counties of Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Kildare and South Tipperary in Ireland. INSPIRE received funding under Priority 1, Theme 1 ‘Innovation and Competitiveness’ of the European Territorial Co-operation, (ETC), more commonly known as INTERREG, and was financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) IrelandWales Programme 2007-2013 as part of the INTERREG programme. INTERREG is designed to facilitate co-operation between the member states of the EU on a number of different levels.
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2 About the Best Practice Guide This Best Practice Guide is intended to build on the methodology, observations and findings of the INSPIRE project. Its purpose is to enable institutions, practitioners, entrepreneurs and other experiential learners to make appropriate use of creativity and idea generation as a tool for competitive positioning and economic gain.
How the Guide Works The guide is designed to be a self-learning resource that brings the reader through a step-by-step process to stimulate, challenge and develop potential commercial opportunities. Each of the subject chapters focus on a different aspect of the INSPIRE journey. The chapters should be addressed in sequence and, though it is possible to select individual components, it is recommended that they are completed in the order that they appear.
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As you progress through the guide, you will start to create compelling insights and build conclusive answers to articulate your idea and mould it into a commercial opportunity. To support you through the INSPIRE journey, each chapter is divided into four steps: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. These stages consist of an activity or tool that explores a key concept and allows you to get a deeper understanding of how to structure, challenge and craft the opportunity that you are creating. You will find icons that provide concise but valuable information throughout the guide.
How To Use This Guide DISCOVER Exploring and learning more about your opportunity.
DEFINE Defining key concepts and terminology in a practical and straight forward manner.
DEVELOP Expanding your idea into a tangible output.
DELIVER Building a template or framework for your idea.
TOP TIPS Exciting tips that we have learned from the INSPIRE journey.
CASE STUDY Real-life applications of success stories from the INSPIRE programme.
INITIATING PATHWAYS Next steps and linkages to supports and assistance.
Using Other Resources The Best Practice Guide makes two main assumptions: • Firstly, it is recognised that, from time-totime, users of this guide may require specific information and advice from enablers who can understand and assist with more individual guidance. From our experience of the INSPIRE project, this style of mentoring or professional service should be tailored to that individual’s or enterprise’s particular needs. It is therefore assumed that such help can be additionally sourced in parallel to using the Best Practice Guide. • Secondly, it is assumed that the fundamentals of the techniques and theories that encapsulate the INSPIRE journey can be easily obtained from a variety of sources – for example, text books and internet websites – and are therefore not included in the text.
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More people = Wider IDEATION It is often useful to involve a variety of people in the ideation process – they will all bring a whole different set of ideas, linkages and experiences that will make the process of creating new ideas interactive and multi-faceted.
Ideation
is a creative process of
generating, developing and communicating new ideas. An idea can be visual, concrete or abstract. It is a process involving innovation, development and actualisation.
• Engage customers early to establish the real problem • Initial meetings are crucial • Ask the right questions • Find the right partners • Don’t try to do everything – grab the lowhanging fruit
10 GETTING STARTED Your objective is to find a big enough problem that matters enough to customers that (1) they will pay for a solution and that (2) you can build a business around it.
Ideation DISCOVER • Exploring what you are trying to Solve • Identifying who has the Problem
DEFINE • Generating Ideas and Insight
DEVELOP • Selecting the right Ideas
11 DELIVER • Developing a Value Proposition
STEP
DISCOVER IDEATION
EXPLORING WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SOLVE Before investing months of time and lots of money, firstly find out if your idea is something worth doing. • De-couple the problem from the solution • Test your understanding of the problem with potential customers • Talk to your customers – through customer interviews Testing in this way lets you validate that you have a problem worth solving. Do this before you invest in building a solution.
IDENTIFYING WHO HAS THE PROBLEM
From there, you can identify the minimum feature set to address the right set of
THINK & FEEL?
problems. This becomes
What really counts? Major Preoccupations Worries & Aspirations
your Minimum Viable Product – a minimum feature set targeted at a narrow market segment (see Chapter 5).
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HEAR? Friends Influencers Who are the Influencers?
Customer Empathy WHAT DOES YOUR CUSTOMER...
SEE? Environment Friends What the market offers
SAY & DO? Attitude in Public Appearance Behaviour towards others
PAIN
GAIN
Fears / Frustrations Obstacles
Wants / Needs Measure of Success
STEP
DEFINE IDEATION GENERATING IDEAS AND INSIGHT Springboarding The process of springboarding starts from an idea and then builds on it. The stages can be summarised as: • Start from an initial idea • Map out everything that is known about the idea and its options • Discuss • Review • Explore some routes from this ideas map
2
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a solution for a
organise the session in the right location
specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed
3
by its member(s).
set the scene
1 put the group together
6 keep the participants fresh
7 encourage all participants
4 set and keep a time frame
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5 set objectives – establish what you want to achieve
8 capture the ideas
STEP
DEFINE IDEATION GENERATING IDEAS AND INSIGHT (CONTINUED)
SCAMPER is a creative brainstorming technique that helps you generate ideas for new products and services by encouraging you to think about how you
could improve existing ones. You use the tool by asking questions about existing products/ services, using each of the seven prompts.
UBSTITUTE - materials or resources to improve the product
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- a product or process - rules - for something else - feelings or attitude toward this product
OMBINE - with another product to create something new - purposes or objectives - to maximise the uses of this product - resources to create a new approach to this product
DAPT - to serve another purpose or use - to put the product into another context - other products or ideas to use for inspiration
ODIFY - the shape, look, or feel - through addition to this product - to create more value
UT TO ANOTHER USE - in another industry - by recycling the waste - by getting someone else to use this product - by behaving differently in another setting
LIMINATE
EVERSE
- to streamline or simplify
- process or sequence things differently
- features, parts, or rules
- to do the exact opposite of what you’re trying to do now
- to understate or tone down - to make it smaller, faster, lighter, or more fun
- components to change the order of this product - roles
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STEP
DEVELOP IDEATION
SELECTING THE RIGHT IDEAS
LIST YOUR IDEA OR SOLUTION
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LIST YOUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMER SEGMENTS
WHAT ALTERNATIVES ARE THEY USING TODAY?
PICK THE HIGHEST PRIORITY SEGMENT
HOW IS YOUR IDEA BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVES?
LIST SOME EARLY ADOPTERS IN THIS SEGMENT
WILL THEY BUY YOUR SOLUTION?
IF THE ANSWER IS ‘NO’, THEN MOVE TO THE NEXT IDEA
STEP
DELIVER IDEATION
A Value
Proposition is a clear
statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services. Put simply - it is what the customer gets for their money.
DEVELOPING A VALUE PROPOSITION
YOUR Value Proposition
EXAMPLE Value Proposition
<your Business> is for <sector> like
<QnA> is for <conference organisers>
<customers> who <problem>. We
like <IP Media> who <need more
offer them <your solution> which is
audience engagement and sponsorship
better than <existing alternatives>
revenue>. We offer them <realtime
because <differentiator>.
Q&A technology> which is better than
Instant-Opinion.com QnA
<a Twitter wall> because <it is private, moderated and does not require any specialist software>.
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Validate your proposed product/service with your customers – You are not selling, you are seeking their input. • • • •
What’s missing? What’s not needed? Would you pilot this? Would you pay for this?
‘Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or different service. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the change and their symptoms that indicate opportunities of successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation’ (Drucker, 1985).
18 GETTING STARTED What is really new? In reality around 45% of ‘new’ products are actually product replacements, 25% are additions to products, 20% are new product lines, and only 10% are ‘new-to-the-world’
Entrepreneurial Innovation DISCOVER • Challenging the Problem
DEFINE • Mapping your Journey
DEVELOP • Finding the Evidence
19 DELIVER • Creating Value
STEP
DISCOVER ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION CHALLENGING THE PROBLEM Your Value Proposition should address what market you are targeting, what product or service you are delivering, how you are delivering it and why.
3 Building Blocks of a Strong Value Proposition
GENERATING
DELIVERING
REDUCING CUSTOMER
Connect with Customers
Wants, Needs and ‘Must Haves’
Sales Generation
Uncertainty
Differentiate from Alternatives
Barriers against Substitution
Premium Pricing
Bargaining Power
Validate Your Claims
Trust and Loyalty
Repeat Purchase
Risk and Fears
20 • Winning Value Propositions must have all three building blocks above. • The stronger each block is, the better your Value Proposition will be. • They address the question ‘Why should we purchase your offering?’ • If you have a weak building block, then selling your product or service becomes more difficult.
STEP
DEFINE ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION
MAPPING YOUR JOURNEY Customer Journey Map AWARE
ENGAGE
USE
CONTINUE
LEAVE
How does the customer hear about you?
How do they contact you and start the buying process?
How do they buy and receive your product or service?
What happens after they buy from you?
How does a customer leave you?
What action should you take at each stage of the journey? What do you need to have in place at each stage of the journey to help turn a potential customer into an actual customer?
Determine how your customer will use your product or service. This helps you understand why your customer will buy from you. It helps to build a Unique Selling Point (USP) for your product or service.
Unique Selling Point (USP) is something that differentiates your product or service from your competition.
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STEP
DEVELOP ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION FINDING THE EVIDENCE
For each targeted customer segment determine with supporting evidence...
... your ability to access key decision-makers
... the product/service ‘fit’ with customer requirement
... the readiness of customers to change to your solution
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... your ability to influence customers to change
Useful types of
Evidence:
• Letters of intent from potential customers. • Positive results from market research surveys or focus groups (primary research). • Data from other people who have conducted market research (secondary research).
HIGH MEDIUM LOW
STEP
DELIVER ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION CREATING VALUE
ss
YOU NEED TO BE HERE
e ycl c e Lif
LEADERSHIP
DECLINING
ng
te
rm
gr
ow
th
UNREALISED POTENTIAL
Lo
CUSTOMER VALUE
Bu sin
e
High
Value Matrix
ESTABLISHING ERODING
DYING
23 BUSINESS VALUE
Understand what Perceived
Value
means to your customer. Different market offerings use different customer value drivers (Price, Quality, Service, Reputation, Choice).
High
A complete
5
Market Validation
process takes 60 days and has a budget of 10% of the expected cost of developing the product/service.
Ready A fast triage of your idea to understand if more time and effort should be invested. (Time investment of 2 days)
Aim A deep dive into the target market using primary research techniques to develop a product with unique, differentiable features that are compelling to your target audience. (Time investment of 60 days)
Fire The art of converting market data into product features and getting a product out the door quickly. (Until product ships)
GETTING STARTED
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Market Validation is a systematic approach to probe, test and validate your market opportunity before you invest significant money in product development. It lets you understand what customers really want, allowing you to tailor your product offering to meet their needs and giving you a real competitive edge. Source: If You Build It Will They Come? Three Steps to Test and Validate Any Market Opportunity. Rob Adams (Wiley, April, 2010)
Market Validation DISCOVER • Identifying the Lifecycle
DEFINE • Refining Features, Attributes & Benefits
DEVELOP • Developing your Minimum Viable Product • Analysing the Competition
DELIVER • Selecting a Route to Market
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STEP
DISCOVER MARKET VALIDATION IDENTIFYING THE LIFECYCLE Just because you have initial market sales, this does not
Rate of Market Adoption
guarantee that you
YOU NEED TO BE HERE
will reach a mass market.
Market Chasm
Growing Market
Established Market
Mature Market
Declining Market
Intellectual Property
Decision on features
Support/ differentiation
Whole product/ service to include bundling
New uses or new features
price
May be ‘free’
Penetration to gain traction or Skim to recover costs
Pricing maintained
Add features or packaging to reposition relative to competition
Harvest – reduce costs and offer to niche segment
place
Selective
Direct
Channels added
Existing channels
Channels removed
Free media – feedback
Awareness & education – Testimonials for broader audience
Paid media – Branding
Below the line promotion
Specialty outlets
Implications of ...
product
New to Market
promotion
YOU ARE HERE
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You have to make sure that your marketing efforts extend beyond the early adopters, who will leave you for the next ‘shiny new thing’. Extend beyond early adopters to include the beginnings of a mass market.
Each market sector will have its own distinct product lifecycle. This has implications for products and services trying to compete in this sector.
STEP
DEFINE MARKET VALIDATION
REFINING FEATURES, ATTRIBUTES & BENEFITS
FEATURES
ATTRIBUTES
BENEFITS
Features are memorable one or two word descriptive (brand) names for particular aspects of the product
Attributes explain the features in greater detail - How it works - What it solves - What it does
Premium Benefits that Pricing derive from the product solution Lead Generation usually provide a Gain (+) or Loyalty involve Avoiding a Loss (-)
= HAS / HAVE
= HOW IT WORKS
= FOR CUSTOMER
Example Power steering in a car
Easier to handle
More comfortable to drive
How this works • List the FABs for your product or service • FAB taps into Left and Right brain responses. Aids understanding, assists recall (use repetition) and increases positive appeal • Left is Logical = Features and Attributes • Right is Emotional = Benefits speak to our emotions • Customers buy Benefits • How do your Benefits compare to your competitors?
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STEP
DEVELOP MARKET VALIDATION DEVELOPING YOUR MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT The Lean Canvas creates a 1-page business model Complete the boxes from 1 to 9. The canvas is meant to be an organic document that evolves over time and it is ok to say “I don’t know” - but then you need to go and find the answers.
1
PROBLEM
Top 3 problems
4
SOLUTION
5
KEY METRICS
Top 3 features
Key activities you measure
Minimum Viable Product
Source: Adapted from The Business Model Canvas
is the smallest thing you can build that solves enough of the customer’s pain that they will pay for it.
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9
COST STRUCTURE
What are the main costs in our business model? What activities and resources drive these costs?
• Build a minimum set of features that enable you to gather feedback
from visionary early adopters
• Build only what is required • Release improvements to the product (product iterations) quickly
and inexpensively as you learn about your market and your solution
• Tests your vision with customers • Engages customers throughout the development stage • Keeps product and market validation in parallel
3
UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION
What value do we deliver to our customers? What problems do we solve? What needs are we addressing? What products/services do we offer?
7
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
CUSTOMER SEGMENTS
Can’t be easily copied or bought
Who are we creating value for?
8
Whose problems are we solving?
CHANNELS
Whose needs are we What channels can we use to reach our customer addressing? segments? What do our customers have in common and what How do we deliver our are their differences? value? How do we communicate with our customers?
6
2
What groups do our customers fall into?
REVENUE STREAMS
What value will our customers really pay for? How are they paying us today? How would they like to pay? What are our main revenue streams?
29
STEP
DEVELOP MARKET VALIDATION • Select the two main customer benefit drivers – for example, price and quality, the two benefits which generally matter most.
ANALYSING THE COMPETITION Analyse where your product/service is positioned based
• Estimate where your company is placed on the chart – for example, high price, high quality. • The size of the bubble represents your
on its benefit to customers.
relative share of the market. • Identify where your competitors are on
High
the chart.
COMPETITOR 3
CUSTOMER BENEFIT Driver A
COMPETITOR 2
COMPETITOR 4
COMPETITOR 1
Low
30
YOU?
Low
CUSTOMER BENEFIT Driver B
High
STEP
DELIVER MARKET VALIDATION SELECTING A ROUTE TO MARKET
Routes to Market
Direct Sales (End User)
Strategic Partnerships (Collaboration)
Intermediaries (Agents)
Sales Person (On the Road)
Wholesale
Licence Agreement
Sales Person (On the Phone)
Customer Service Providers
Embedded in another Product
Contracts Tenders
Retail
Sold alongside another Product
How to get a market-oriented product out quickly • Tightly targeted, narrow markets
Online Sales
• Minimally acceptable feature sets
with compelling customer benefits • Fast product iterations
Reducing the number of features reduces requirement for testing which facilitates on-schedule release.
31
6 Even if you have a patent, trademark or copyright, you will have to protect it by taking someone who infringes it to the Civil Courts. This can be expensive and time-consuming, particularly if the infringement takes place in another country.
GETTING STARTED 1. Treat your IP as an asset
32
2. Protect your IP 3. Watch out for infringers 4. Be careful not to infringe 5. Make full use of all types of IP 6. Get independent, legal, financial and business advice 7. Gather information BUT keep ideas confidential 8. Make your IP work for you
Intellectual Property DISCOVER • Identifying your Intellectual Property
DEFINE • Designing the Right Process
DEVELOP • Building Linkages between Stakeholders
DELIVER • Introducing Open Innovation
33
STEP
DISCOVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IDENTIFYING YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Intellectual Property is the manifestation of ideas, creativity and invention in a tangible
REGISTERED TRADEMARKS
form.
REGISTERED DESIGNS
PLANT VARIETIES
PATENTS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Registered Un-registered TRADE SECRETS INCLUDING KNOW-HOW
DESIGN RIGHT
COMMON LAW RIGHTS IN A MARK
A patent gives its holder for a limited period the right to stop others from exploiting
34
the invention. There are renewal fees to be paid to keep the patent operative.
Trademarks are any sign that can be represented graphically and is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one business from those
of another. Registered trademarks can use the ® symbol while unregistered trademarks tend to use the ™ symbol.
Design Rights protect the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colour, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation.
Trade Secrets are any confidential business information which provides an enterprise with a competitive edge.
COPYRIGHT INCLUDING DATABASE RIGHTS
STEP
DEFINE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DESIGNING THE RIGHT PROCESS SMEs and entrepreneurs often lack internal R&D resources and therefore require access to external technologies. Intermediaries can resolve these problems by providing access to various stakeholders (government agencies, third level educational institutions etc.) that have the expertise and resources to assist.
Knowledge
Technology Creation
Innovation
Technology Sourcing
Development
Innovation
Modification
Verification TESTING
TESTING
Awareness Design
Evaluation
Decision making
Application
Market
Technology Transfer
35
is the process of transferring Intellectual Property, a piece of technology, knowledge, skills, capability, branding etc. from its
Why Technology Transfer? Because better transfer and industrial linkage can:
owner to a third-party organisation.
• open up interesting new lines of inquiry
It typically happens when the third
• expand opportunities for education and research
party has a route to its commercial
• lead to new sources of research support
exploitation that is not practically
• build regional and national competitiveness
viable for the owner.
• increase the possibility of financial remuneration • provide graduates for your business
STEP
DEVELOP INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BUILDING LINKAGES BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS Tech
Technology Transfer Company
y
Equit y/R oy al
gy
o ol
h as
C
hn
og
s t ie
Te c
nol
Small & Medium Enterprise Higher Education Institution
Res e
echn arch/T R oy a
36
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes but wish to restrict access to or by third parties. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or trade secrets. They offer trust and confidence to potential collaborators.
olo
gy
l ti e s
Stakeholder Group
Members of Stakeholder Group
Technology Producers
Independent inventors; researchers in higher education institutions, state or corporate laboratories.
Technology Consumers
Private sector manufacturers; government agencies; intellectual property brokers.
Product Producers
Private sector manufacturers; distributors; value-added retailers.
Product Consumers
End-users; consumers; businesses; professional service providers.
Resource Providers
Government agencies; higher education institutions; technology transfer intermediaries.
STEP
DELIVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Innovation Management
Open Innovation promotes the use
is a repeatable and continuously improving
of external as well as internal idea-sourcing
system that allows standardisation of
and routes to market through licensing,
structure and discipline for the innovation
patents, spin-outs and collaborations with
process. (Source: Praveen Gupta)
diverse stakeholders.
INTRODUCING OPEN INNOVATION Research
Com pa
Development
Commercialisation
IP in-licensing
ny B ound aries
Core Market Focus
Product out Co-branding (bundle your product with another company’s product)
Ideas and Technologies
Technology Spin-outs
IP out-licensing
(are an alternative form of commercialisation)
(move inward from outside)
Source: Adapted from Chesbrough
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Create a needs list Define the company’s core competencies Initiate scouting Redefine your IP strategy to accommodate Open Innovation Broaden outreach to additional stakeholders Let everyone know you’re ‘open’ to innovation
7.
Transform existing relationships - for example, elevate suppliers to strategic partners 8. Build a knowledge base 9. Collaborate with peer organisations 10. Celebrate and showcase successful collaborative innovation projects Source: Industryweek
37
A business
7
model explains how
your enterprise works. It should consist of four elements: a customer value proposition, a proďŹ t formula, key resources and key processes. Source: Adapted from Harvard Business Review
Often the best people to provide insights are the staff working on the products or services. If you have staff with different knowledge/skills/expertise, consider the temporary creation of a cross-functional team to maximise creative input to the innovation process for a project.
38 GETTING STARTED Successful innovating companies create an environment and rewards system that honours ideas, tolerates risk and failure, provides stimulation through diverse interactions and allows employees time to pursue potential opportunities.
Commercialisation DISCOVER • Consolidating your Business Model
DEFINE • Charting your Window of Opportunity
DEVELOP • Building the Prototype
39 DELIVER • Calculating the Break-even Point
STEP
DISCOVER COMMERCIALISATION CONSOLIDATING YOUR BUSINESS MODEL
Target Need Unique Benefit
CREATE
VALUE Resources
Revenue DELIVER
CAPTURE
Activities
Cost Structure
Profitability
40
Is the Business Model... 1. aligned with company goals?
- The results of the business model should enable an organisation to achieve its goals.
2. self-reinforcing?
- The choices within the business model should be consistent and complement each other.
3. robust?
- It should sustain its effectiveness over time by resisting imitators and substitute products/services.
Source: Adapted from Harvard Business Review
STEP
DEFINE COMMERCIALISATION CHARTING YOUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Your Window of Opportunity is
Pre-launch marketing distorts the lifecycle forward, helping to ensure ROI is achieved. It also increases overall sales by delaying pre-launch purchase decisions that may otherwise have been lost to competitors.
a timeframe within which to achieve a return on investment (ROI) for your product/service.
Apple iPhone estimated lifecycle
INCOME FROM SALES
Scheduled launch of superceding model.
Huge initial demand and peak sales occurs early following pre-launch marketing campaign
FMCG: very short window as reigning ‘current’ version.
Typical product lifecycle of income versus time
41 TIME Coordinate marketing and new product development (NPD) schedules and build anticipation to drive a strong start of trading – for example, Apple iPhone.
STEP
DEVELOP COMMERCIALISATION BUILDING THE PROTOTYPE
Market Feedback
Establish Prototype Objectives
Define Prototype Functionality
Define Prototype
Test with Customer
Prototyping Plan
Outline Definition
Executable Prototype
Evaluation Report
42 A prototype is an early sample, model or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is the key to getting a successful product ‘fit for purpose’ before you launch by refining the product, eliminating glitches and ensuring it meets with customer needs.
STEP
DELIVER COMMERCIALISATION CALCULATING THE BREAK-EVEN
BREAK-EVEN POINT
€
Inc es l a S
om
O
e
tin pera
ofit
g Pr
Co s t s To t a l
Variable Costs
O
tin pera
g Lo
ss Fixed Costs
UNITS SOLD
/ Total Fixed Cost
/
(
)=
( Price Per Unit
–
Variable Cost Per Unit )
=
Break-even Point (No. of Units)
Sales Income/unit
- The money the business receives from its customers for selling 1 unit of product or delivering 1 unit of service
Fixed Cost/unit
- Costs which are not dependent on activity or output - Rent, salaries, rates, etc.
Variable Cost/unit
- The additional cost over and above overheads required to manufacture/ deliver 1 unit of product/service
Overhead
- Heat, light, rates, phone, salaried staff, etc.
43
Equity When you, and/or other owners of the business put money into the business in exchange for a share of ownership, it’s called Equity. Equity doesn’t have a price (interest charge) or timetable (repayment schedule) attached to it. Equity is permanent investment and doesn’t have to be repaid. All investors get back a share of the profit, if there is any. They also risk losing all their money.
Capital investment is money required to generate the capability to trade, including: – NPD (include cost of R&D staff to complete project) – Premises fit-out, plant and equipment, patents, etc.
Working capital is money required to trade continuously, including: – Other staff (include non-allocated R&D staff) – stock, rent, fuel, insurance, phone, etc.
Debt
44
All other money you raise is some form of debt, has a price, and a repayment schedule. It may be a term loan, payable in a lump sum or a series of instalments; it may come from a bank or from friends; it may be a Preference Share; it may be a Bond, but it all has to be repaid at some time. Lending may be secured or unsecured depending on the terms of the debt agreement. Debt finance can be short, medium or long term and should be sourced according to the life of the asset it is used to finance.
GETTING STARTED The capital requirements of different businesses vary dramatically. You need to understand how much capital you need relative to other businesses to determine what sort to raise.
8
New Venture Capital DISCOVER • Funding your Project
DEFINE • Funding your Requirement
DEVELOP • Planning Forward
45 DELIVER • Measuring Performance
STEP
NEW DISCOVER VENTURE CAPITAL
FUNDING YOUR PROJECT
HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED?
EQUITY Family & Friends
BASIS FOR FUNDING
Business Angels
Investor-Ready Business Plan
Venture Capitalists
Financial Projections Accounts for Trading to date
Investor’s Approach
GRANTS
How much can I make?
State Agencies
How much can I lose?
46
How do I get my money out? Who says this is any good? Who else is in it? Source: David Silver
LOANS Bank Overdraft Term Loan Leasing Invoice Discounting
Lender’s Approach Why do you need the amount requested? What will you do with it? How do you know it’s enough? How much less can you live with? Who else will you borrow from? How do you propose to repay it? How can you prove that you can? Source: Arnold S. Goldstein; Starting on a Shoe String
STEP
NEW DEFINE VENTURE CAPITAL
FUNDING YOUR REQUIREMENT Your financial projections translate the text of your business plan into numbers and help you quantify your funding requirements and communicate with investors. You will need to prepare monthly Profit and Loss (P&L), Cash Flow and Balance Sheet for at least 3 years based on clearly stated assumptions. By using your assumptions to drive the detailed calculations of revenues and cost, you will be able to quickly flex your projections as your market knowledge adapts.
BUSINESS PLAN
Overview P&L
Assumption DRIVERS
Cashflow Balance Sheet
Detailed Calculations
47 • All businesses need money, and some need more than most • All entrepreneurs have money, and some have more than most • The more you have, the less you need to borrow
STEP
NEW DEVELOP VENTURE CAPITAL
PLANNING FORWARD Investors and lenders use ratios (the relationship between two figures in your financial projections) to evaluate your project. You can use them to improve your project in advance of submitting your proposal by: 1. Calculating the ratios. 2. Comparing them to some target or norm for the market sector. 3. Identifying the differences. 4. Deciding whether to accept the ratio or to change your business plan with a view to improving the ratio when you recalculate.
Ratio
Actual
Norm/ Target
Difference
Accept Y/N?
Action Y/N?
Profit/(Loss) Ratios Gross Profit: Sales % Net profit: Sales % Net Purchases: Sales % Overhead: Sales % Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio (times) Quick Ratio (times) Stock Turnover (days) Debtor (days) Creditor (days) Investment Ratios Net Profit: Total Assets % Net Profit: Capital Employed % Sales: Total Assets (times) Sales: Fixed Assets (times) Sales: Current Assets (times)
48
Gearing Debt: Equity % Equity: Total Assets % Net Profit: Interest (times) Source: TENBizPlan, Ron Immink and Brian O’Kane, Oak Tree Press
– No one gives money away without strings. – No one lends or invests without wanting a return. – The higher the risk, the higher the cost of the money. – Investors generally want some control as well as a share of the profits. – Less money than what you need is worse than none at all, and will lead to disaster. Do your calculations of what you need and if you can’t get it all; don’t do it.
STEP
NEW DELIVER VENTURE CAPITAL Success in business comes from 3 things, done well:
MEASURING PERFORMANCE
• Customer satisfaction • Employee satisfaction • Profitability and cash-flow We measure performance against these – using numbers. If you have high customer satisfaction, you’re going to get a share [of the market]; if you have high employee satisfaction, you’re going to get productivity; and if you have cash in the till, you know it’s all working. Source: Adapted from Jack Welch
Non-Financial
Financial
Historic
Future
P&L CASH FLOW
PROJECTIONS (Yr1, Yr2, Yr3)
BALANCE SHEET
SELECT YOUR OWN INDICATORS e.g. new customers, customer complaints, likes on social media
49
9
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t focus solely on risk but follow the opportunity. Balance the opportunity for your business against the risk.
Risk is the uncertainty of outcome, within a range of potential exposures, arising from a combination of the impact and probability of potential events. Source: HM Treasury: Management of Risk, A Strategic Overview
Risk Management is a systematic process for evaluating and assessing the impact of risks.
50 GETTING STARTED Innovation is inherently risky. Without risk there is no innovation. You cannot escape risk as an innovator, but you can measure and manage it.
Risk Management DISCOVER • Identifying your Risk Tolerance
DEFINE • Quantifying Risk
DEVELOP • Assessing Risk
51 DELIVER • Mitigating your Risks
STEP
DISCOVER RISK MANAGEMENT
RISK TOLERANCE
IDENTIFYING YOUR RISK TOLERANCE
Risk Appetite Low Level
High Level
Once you have identified your appetite for risk, you can analyse and assess the impact and probability of the risks facing your project. Risk appetite is the risk you accept without promise of further rewards.
Risk Tolerance is the maximum amount of risk that you are willing to bear before turning down a project.
52 â&#x20AC;˘ Determine whether you are risk averse or risk hungry. â&#x20AC;˘ Do you prefer to pursue safe options with limited rewards or are you willing to consider all potential options, balancing the opportunity for greater rewards with the possibility of greater risks?
STEP
DEFINE RISK MANAGEMENT
QUANTIFYING RISK
T TIME
C Q TCQ Triangle
COST
QUALITY
The three constraints on any project (time, cost and quality) are interrelated; it is impossible to optimise all three competing values.
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to detail all your major risks in a single document (risk register) so you can review them on a regular basis to consider if the risk is less or more serious, less or more likely to occur and crucially, if you can continue to live with it. You can then put in place procedures to mitigate the risk.
53
STEP
DEVELOP RISK MANAGEMENT ASSESSING RISK Your major risks are in the coloured boxes; you need to deal with
Types of Risk
these first. Look at how you can reduce the risk of occurrence and
• Financial (Loss, Excess Cost)
how you can deal with the consequences.
• Project (Failure, Delay, Overrun) • Compliance (Regulations) • Reputation
When assessing the risks and mapping them,
• Missing an Opportunity
look at their likelihood of occurring, their impact on the business if they do occur and
54
IMPACT
the cost of mitigating them.
Extreme Impact
Extreme Impact
Extreme Impact
Extreme Impact
Unlikely
Possible
Likely
Almost Certain
High Impact
High Impact
High Impact
High Impact
Unlikely
Possible
Likely
Almost Certain
Medium Impact
Medium Impact
Medium Impact
Medium Impact
Unlikely
Possible
Likely
Almost Certain
Low Impact
Low Impact
Low Impact
Low Impact
Unlikely
Possible
Likely
Almost Certain
PROBABILITY
Conduct a Sensitivity Analysis - Identify small but critical factors - Look at exposure to market conditions - Reconsider the business plan and look at alternatives (What would happen if…?) - Review the insurance situations (personal & business) - Review dependency – customers, suppliers, staff
STEP
DELIVER RISK MANAGEMENT MITIGATING YOUR RISKS Identification of Risk - TCQ Analysis - Assumptions - Symptoms
Feedback Loop
Assessment of Risk - Likelihoods - Effects - Impact
Treatment of Risk - Opportunity/Risk - Corrective Action - Contingency & Reserves
Avoidance
Acceptance/ Retention
Transfer
Reduction
55 Risk Monitoring & Control
If you cannot reduce risk to an acceptable level, try and transfer the risk by commercialising in other ways â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for example, licensing, franchising.
10
56 GETTING STARTED Identifying and initiating pathways to maintain the momentum of your project was always a key part of the INSPIRE journey. There are many organisations that can offer access to additional resources, specific advice and funding initiatives. They are there to help you.
Initiating Pathways RESEARCH • • • • •
European Research Programmes Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) Manufacturers/Suppliers National and European Patent Offices State Research Performing Organisations (RPOs)
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT • • • • •
Incubation Centres Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) Local Community Groups Start-Up Programmes State Agencies
BUSINESS PLANNING • • • • •
Cross-Border Programmes Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) Local Business Advisory Services Online Groups and Networks Sector Specific State Agencies
FINANCE & INVESTMENT • • • • • •
Accountancy Firms Banks Business Angels Crowd Funding State Agencies Venture Capitalists
57
INITIATING PATHWAYS Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will normally have a Technology Transfer Officer (TTO) or Industry Liaison Manager (ILM) who provides a single contact point for engaging with the college. They will introduce you to the relevant people in the HEI and advise you on their range of supports.
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Innovation and Research
Expertise
Enterprise Infrastructure
Pathways
Higher Education Institution
58
Specialised Centres
Pathways
Funding
Training and Consultancy
Source: Adapted from the Institute of Technology Carlow’s Enterprise Development Framework
Networks
Networking is an effective way of developing contacts and opportunities through introductions and referrals. Build a strong network of credible people who are willing to assist you and that you can trust.
Inspiration
Counselling
Mentoring
Consulting
Professional Growth
Motivation
YOUR NETWORK
Enterprise Growth
Leadership
Influencing
Advising
59 Find a good mentor. A mentor is an experienced practitioner who has encountered similar challenges and is willing to share these experiences with you. Mentors provide a ‘hands-off’ reality check and act as a confidential sounding board to help you to focus on key issues. They enable, facilitate and challenge.
11
60 INSPIRE participants share their experiences and successes.
Inspirations
61
INSPIRATIONS
Alan Marsh – P&S Nano Ltd Background
Legacy
Alan Marsh is the owner and Managing Director of P&S Nano, a pharmaceutical development company based in Pembrokeshire that develops products for the skin. Alan had a new idea and was seeking support to develop it. He hoped to achieve two things through getting involved with the INSPIRE project: the first was to network with local businesses and the business mentor community, and the second was to meet like-minded entrepreneurial people and companies.
Alan summarised the legacy of INSPIRE with this statement: “Overall INSPIRE was very helpful to me and the other delegates I spoke to. As a programme it has a lot of potential to help businesses and there is a demand for these services in the areas it operates within”.
Impact
62
Alan felt that the support provided by INSPIRE to become more creative was good, explaining “it was useful for idea generation; the INSPIRE personnel were very encouraging in terms of promoting creative thinking”. He also thought that the INSPIRE process used to develop ideas was good, saying how “the support gave us the chance to reflect on what we wanted to achieve as a business; it was helpful to keep us on track with development”. He felt that the strongest element of the support was the process of financing new products where the INSPIRE project “linked us to very useful contacts and opportunities to gain finances” and considered the support for managing risk “enlightening and important”. As a consequence of “support with financing and continued assistance from our mentor”, Alan felt that they were now better able to commercialise a new product or service; “we are in the commercialisation process and on track to get our product on the market”.
Initiating Pathways The company has been working closely with a University in South Wales, which has been providing further support which, combined with grant funding from the Welsh Government, has facilitated rapid development of the company’s first and highly innovative prescription product. Consequently, Alan is now at the stage of planning clinical trials prior to submission to the medical regulatory authorities for approval to launch and market the product.
Brian Comerford – Classroom Guidance Background
Legacy
Brian Comerford is the Director of Classroom Guidance, a company that was established in County Kilkenny to fill a niche surrounding existing resources for teachers. Since 2010, the business has expanded to provide guidance resources for schools. Brian became involved in the INSPIRE project hoping to develop his business background, learn some theory and get support to help him create a sustainable company “in the correct way”. Brian feels that the INSPIRE project has helped him in the way he had hoped.
Through his involvement with the INSPIRE journey, Brian feels that his business is more commercially viable. It has allowed him to re-focus the business and future-proof it by taking the company into new markets. There has been a lasting impact from the INSPIRE process for Classroom Guidance. This is visible from the way that the business has developed since engaging with the project. Brian’s future plans are to continue to grow his company and to become a recognised brand name amongst schools and colleges.
Impact
Initiating Pathways
Brian rates the mentoring support received as strong; “it is the gentle nudging that builds knowledge and develops confidence”. He rates the workshops as “very good” and learnt a lot from all of the modules. The INSPIRE project has enabled Brian to commercialise a new product and service for his enterprise from an initial concept for an advertising platform. Brian feels that INSPIRE has changed his attitude to research and development through a greater attention to detail and emphasis on market validation.
Brian is now participating on the Institute of Technology Carlow’s New Frontiers Programme - a government-funded entrepreneur development initiative for innovative start-ups. The company is also involved in collaborative research with the Institute’s computer and networking research group.
63
INSPIRATIONS
Clare O’Morchoe – Kiltra Timber Background
Legacy
Kiltra Timber is based in County Wexford and was founded in 1998 by Tom O’Morchoe along with Willie Bohanna. Tom drafted in his daughter Clare to assist in the business four years ago. Initially her role was in sales and marketing but it has since expanded to include production too. Kiltra Timber imports sustainable hard and soft timber from America and manufactures high-value, timber flooring.
From its involvement with the INSPIRE project, Kiltra Timber believes it is more sustainable: “a year ago I would have been busy at all costs, but now I know I need to be ‘busy enough’ and do not need to chase every inquiry”.
Impact Kiltra Timber became involved with INSPIRE to help the business develop its understanding of innovation and build skill sets that in turn would lead the company to increase its range of timber products. Kiltra Timber believes that INSPIRE has exceeded its expectations and helped it to achieve more than had been hoped. Kiltra Timber has been able to re-focus its product offering by going back to the drawing board and learning new ways to understand idea generation and innovation. The company is currently in the process of creating a new product as a result of its involvement with INSPIRE.
64
Kiltra Timber believe that its approach to research and development has benefited, and the level of new product development activity has increased since being involved in the INSPIRE project. The team is now more willing to take time to carry out research and are in a better position to analyse the market.
INSPIRE has helped the company to increase its turnover, strengthen its business model, which has in turn, helped it to become export-ready. The legacy of the INSPIRE project for Kiltra Timber is the increased skill set and the new network of contacts that have been developed. Kiltra Timber attended the INSPIRE cross-border event and found it “useful and very valuable”. The team thought that getting away from Ireland was a good way to expand horizons, explaining, “we can become too insular in thinking about potential markets”. Kiltra Timber felt that new skills were learnt and the speaker Ola Ekman really encouraged participants in a “very effective and stimulating way” to get the most out of their business. Kiltra Timber observed that there had not only been stronger bonds formed on the trip, but business collaborations were also being hatched on the ferry journey back home. Kiltra Timber plans to continue to grow its business steadily by focusing on quality materials and entering into high-end markets not only in Ireland but more widely in the UK and Europe.
Johnathan Rowles – Dragon’s Breath Solar Background
Legacy
Dragon’s Breath Solar is based in Pembrokeshire and was founded in 2006 by Johnathan Rowles. The business seeks to provide renewable energy solutions all around the world. It provides a range of services up to the installation of off-grid power generation and storage systems. The company participated on the INSPIRE programme to get a better understanding of how innovation can be incorporated into its business model to create a more competitive company.
Johnathan feels that since his involvement with the INSPIRE project, Dragon’s Breath Solar is more sustainable because the company has gained an understanding of the importance of making foundations for its business. Dragon’s Breath Solar hopes to continue to grow its business and develop new off-grid solar battery energy products.
Impact Johnathan rated the support received from consultancy and mentoring as very good. He stated that all mentoring sessions were useful to him, but considered those that dealt with understanding how to develop new products and managing the innovation process as particularly useful. Johnathan felt that the INSPIRE project has enabled him to commercialise a new product for his business: a range of innovative solar street lights. The lights can be installed as independent units that generate power, store the power and light a specified area. Through allowing more time to design and explore new concepts, Johnathan believes that the INSPIRE project has changed his approach to research and development. He also feels that his understanding of how to commercialise new products has also been strengthened.
65
INSPIRATIONS
Leeann Smith – Chocolates by Me Background
Legacy
Leeann Smith is based in Carmarthenshire. She became involved with INSPIRE because she wished to further explore an idea for a product that she had. She used INSPIRE to see whether her concept could be successfully launched on the market. Leeann makes chocolates with corporate logos on them under the brand name ‘Chocolates by Me.’ She has launched her new company and is looking to roll out the novelty product across retailers and hospitality venues throughout the UK. Her customers include businesses who are seeking the latest corporate gift or anyone who wants a novel present for weddings, birthdays and special occasions. She has recently secured contracts with several large hotel chains.
Leeann feels that INSPIRE has changed her approach to research and development, explaining that “INSPIRE has helped me alter my approach to customers and how to target potential markets as well as commercialising my products. I’ve been introduced to new things to think about in the innovation process and have refined my presentation skills”. She also feels that her enterprise is more sustainable after her involvement with INSPIRE explaining “It’s helped me get a new product on the market; I now have an extra source of revenue for my company”.
Impact
66
Leeann felt for her, the INSPIRE project had provided a very good foundation for understanding intellectual property. She comments that “the advisor I spoke to knew their stuff and helped a lot. I was put into contact with more people who could help me with copyrights etc.” In managing the innovation process, Leeann states that “The mentoring helped me stay organised and allowed me to plan my moves”. She felt that the INSPIRE project was good at getting her to become more creative, explaining “It was a pretty good environment to think creatively” as well as helping her to develop ideas: “I already had ideas, but the support was there when I needed it. It was a good opportunity to think my idea through and discuss them with experienced business people”. The INSPIRE project also helped Leeann to increase her contact with customers and potential customers.
Mark Cradock – Maven TM Background
Legacy
Mark Cradock is the owner and Managing Director of Maven TM, an enterprise that provides telemarket inside sales and lead generation services to the technology industry. Headed up by industry veterans, the company generates a large quantity of quality sales opportunities based on experience and methodologies tested across thousands of such campaigns that Maven’s agents have been involved in.
Mark believes that his approach to research and development has changed since being involved in the INSPIRE project, detailing “in terms of generating ideas and developing products, we’ve gained some new methods”. He feels that his approach to commercialising products has changed “we have a greater awareness of what the process involves”. Through creating a “more diverse range of revenue sources”, Mark believes that his enterprise will be more sustainable as a consequence of the INSPIRE journey.
Having heard about the INSPIRE project from a contact at the Institute of Technology Carlow, Mark hoped that the programme would help his business to “develop ideas on a new product, network with useful contacts and improve knowledge and skills”.
Impact The INSPIRE project has been very important in terms of starting Mark’s enterprise: “It has helped with a number of things. Firstly the programme gave us a platform to generate ideas and look at ways to increase our sales sources. Secondly, we received helpful advice on what to consider in terms of the viability of new ideas”. Mark states that he has “learnt new skills which have enabled him to commercialise a new product for his portfolio”. He also feels that the INSPIRE project has helped him to differentiate his service portfolio, explaining “I’ve been able to diversify my revenue streams thanks to being able to get a new product ready to launch”. The company recognises that both contact with customers, potential customers and suppliers has also increased as a result of Mark’s involvement with the INSPIRE project.
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PROJECT TEAM David Thomas is Director of the INSPIRE project. He is the Principal Officer in the Regeneration Team of Pembrokeshire County Council where he is employed as the Manager of the Bridge Innovation Centre and Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park. He is responsible for the management and business development of the Park, with an emphasis on innovation, helping businesses to grow and working with companies to bring new products and services to market. Peter Lord is the Project Manager for the INSPIRE project in Wales.
Brian Ogilvie is Project Manager for the INSPIRE project in Ireland and Head of Department for Research & Commercialisation Support with the Institute of Technology Carlow. He is responsible for the management of the Institute’s collaboration with industry, knowledge transfer function and Research, Development & Innovation (RDI) supports.
Ciara Reynolds is the Project Administrator for the INSPIRE project in Ireland.
INSPIRE Steering Committee
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Laurence Holt – Chair of the INSPIRE Steering Committee and co-founder of the management consultancy Lightwork. Declan Doyle – Head of Development, Institute of Technology Carlow. Brian Fives – Regional Development Officer, Enterprise Ireland. Cllr Keith Lewis – Cabinet Member Pembrokeshire County Council with responsibility for Economy (Autumn 2014).
Paul Lloyd – Managing Director of Pembrokeshire Business Initiative. Cllr David Pugh – Cabinet Member Pembrokeshire County Council with responsibility for Regeneration and Economy (2012-Autumn 2014). Tony Streatfield – Enterprise and Innovation Manager, Pembrokeshire County Council (Spring 2012-Spring 2014). The INSPIRE Best Practice Guide is dedicated to the memory of Jim McEntee, an innovator, leader and mentor whose inspiration and direction contributed greatly to this project.
INSPIRE Specialists Brian Andrews has experience managing multinational based projects and liaising and managing teams globally in service, construction and IT sectors. He has worked in new product development and as a business advisor, focusing on innovative artisan start-ups. Alex Bird has many years management experience in Commercial Business, Social Enterprise and Public and Voluntary Sectors. He is a mentor and Associate Trainer for Regen School Wales, a Visiting Lecturer on the Social Economy at Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University and an Associate Business Adviser and Trainer for the Wales Co op Centre. Alan Carey is a well-established Strategy Consultant working with Blue Chip clients and Enterprise Development organisations to develop successful and winning strategies and business models. Alan specialises in developing and evaluating Business Plans in innovative and investment led businesses. Grainne Cleare is an experienced business analyst who has consulted on technological projects in Ireland, the UK, US, Germany, France and Switzerland. She has developed and delivered training programmes and worked with start-up companies and SMEs in developing new business models and carrying out focus groups for market research. Arthur Griffin has started and developed a number of successful businesses which subsequently went on to trade internationally. His current firm, Midas, focuses on strategic management and business development. Lyndon Jones is a Pembrokeshire-based business and management consultant. He has experience in high technology R&D, Product Management and Marketing Management. He has also worked with more than 80 pre-start businesses via Welsh government programmes.
Aidan Kenny is an international specialist in service strategy development and management with many years’ experience on both sides of the customersupplier interface. As founder of Servitize, Aidan has established a leading service strategy and design business working with the private and public sectors in Ireland and abroad. Brian O’Kane is an award-winning and best-selling small business writer, editor, publisher and trainer. As the founder and managing director of Oak Tree Press, Brian has written (or co-written) over 20 books and edited two of the world’s largest circulation accounting magazines. He writes and speaks regularly on small business planning and strategy and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin. Dr Martin Price is Director of Martin Price Associates since 1996. He is an experienced consultant who has had a number of senior management roles in Wales. For ten years, he was non-executive Chair of the largest social firm in Wales, Pack-IT Ltd in Cardiff Bay, which employs people with a learning disability. Dr Jill Venus is a Senior Lecturer in Trinity St David’s University. She has research interests in the areas of small business development, rural regeneration, project evaluation and women and entrepreneurship. Jill has provided workshops and consultancy to various Welsh and international organisations including community organisations, business groups and public bodies. Ken Walters is a professional Business Adviser and Management Consultant focusing on the social enterprise, not-for-profit recycling and environmental sectors. He runs his own Business and Consultancy company with specific experience in raising Grants, ‘Soft’ Loans and Equity finance.
INSPIRE Project Partners Wales Pembrokeshire County Council Bridge Innovation Centre Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire SA72 6UN, Wales
Ireland Institute of Technology Carlow Kilkenny Road, Carlow Ireland Contact: Mr Brian Ogilvie
Contact: Mr David Thomas
EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
Copyright Š2015 INSPIRE (Initiating Pathways for Innovators, Researchers and Entrepreneurs) The INSPIRE project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Ireland Wales Programme (INTERREG 4A).