Innovation is these days often presented as a solution to the growth problems of western economies. I have been following a couple of small university start-ups lately and I have an impression it is not innovation we are missing.
Is the technology they have innovative? Yes, indeed. Is it of high quality and internationally competitive? Yes, that too. Are they ready to sell and grow, employ and pay taxes? Well, not exactly.
After a short review of their technology I only had one major question: What are you selling?
The answers were long and multifaceted: We have a potential customer in China who is interested in our algorithms, and there is a very interesting demo about integrating the technology into a larger system, and we have venture capitalist contacts that are interested in buying the company, and we have a great SDK that other companies can use, and we could make our own mobile products, and...
Ok, that looks promising. Which alternative will you concentrate your efforts on?
It seems to be a tough question to answer. This is a typical teething issue in a small university start-up. They often have a great piece of innovation that could be applied in many ways, but very limited resources for turning it into a business. The challenge is made worse by the fact that very few venture funds invest in companies at the earliest stage of growth.
If the early work is not focused, there is a risk that the company ends up selling a little bit of whatever anybody is interested in. The limited resources are scattered on vague projects embryos that have little chance of succeeding. This is where help would be needed.
I strongly believe that many more new successful companies would emerge if public support was directed more to assisting start-ups in finding their business case when they still are true start-ups.
Often it is not even money these companies need for turning innovation into something sellable. A pair of fresh eyes and a helping hand from somebody who has been there before would do.
This is more a networking challenge than a funding problem. I call for more support systems that can link start-up companies with outside help when a little push to the right direction is needed.
We would also need more people with business development experience to be available when that push is needed. Based on my experience it can be educating and fun.
Would that be too much to ask for saving a couple of national economies? Anyone?
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