Commercialization: Is It Feasible?
If you want to learn how to move your technology or research from the lab to the world of business, this program is the place to start.
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Whether you're an inventor in a lab, a researcher at an institution, a product team developing a new idea, or an entrepreneur in your basement, developing clear and compelling answers to these questions is what transforms a good idea into an idea with great potential for commercialization. And, it's the ideas with great potential that get business backers saying, "YES."*
KEY QUESTIONS FOR COMMERCIALIZATION:
- What will you sell?
- Who will buy from you?
- Why will they buy from you?
- Where’s the money?
If you're like most of us, you have at some point experienced a "polite nod," what people do when they don't understand what you're talking about and they don't want to admit it. To avoid looking foolish or getting into a conversation "over their heads," they will simply nod politely. This often misleads you to believe people are engaged with you in conversation, but that is not the case.*
What problem does your innovation solve?
Inventors are often so passionate about their discovery, idea, or invention that they want to talk in detail about the techincal aspects of the innovation. But for most people who are not working in the inventor's field, including potential investors and partners, there is a huge disconnect because they do not understand the technical language. What they want to know is how will this innovation solve a problem that they understand.*
Engaging the investment/partner community
The challenge for an inventor, researcher or technology entrepreneur is how to get an audience to engage with you in conversation. The sign of an interested, engaged audience is this: they are asking you questions and even debating certain points you raise. If you want to turn your idea into a commercial opportunity, you need that kind of interest. This will only happen if you speak the right language and tell a story of opportunity, not technical descriptions.*
Making the business proposition
While you may typically jump into an enthusiastic discussion of the idea, how it's built, and the detailed description of how it works, that's not what investors and other business backers want to hear. Instead, they are looking for specific answers about the business value proposition for your idea. This is a different language than most inventors and tech entrepreneurs speak. It’s called “the language of business.” Working through this course will teach you to use this language and will show you how to answer the key questions that all types of investors want addressed.*
* Paragraph is an excerpt from the book, So what? who cares? why you? by Wendy Kennedy
This special program includes:
So what? who cares? why you?® is a commercialization methodology developed by Wendy Kennedy. We’ve combined this reference resource some great guest speakers to bring you a unique commercialization program to help increase the odds of your success.
Guest speakers including: a WARF representative on intellectual property and licensing, a successful UW-Madison faculty entrepreneur and an SBIR grant expert.
All this for the special price of $195 or $100 for UW graduate students!
The fee includes a text worth $70 (So what? who cares? why you?® by Wendy Kennedy) plus additional materials!
Space is limited so register now!
This program is partially funded with a grant from the Kauffman Foundation.
Instructor
Jack Reiners is Business Counselor at the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helping small businesses understand how to solve specific business problems and capitalize on business opportunities. At the SBDC, he taught "Developing Your Business Plan" five times a year to budding entrepreneurs and to owners/managers trying to move their business beyond the start-up phase into the growth phase. He teaches “Business Planning for Scientists and Engineers” for the Technology Business Development Institute. He conducts in-house programs for business, organizations and non-profits on planning, finance and organizational structure. Jack was instrumental in the development and implementation of the nationally acclaimed Masters of Science in Biotechnology program at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jack holds an MBA in finance from Northwestern University, a bachelor's degree in economics from Knox College and is a graduate of The Graduate School of Banking at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. He utilizes his more than 45 years of experience in management, sales and finance as a management consultant to small business and is a frequent speaker at business conferences, seminars and conventions.
Jack P. Reiners, Director of Counseling, Technology Business Development Institute, UW-Madison, 608-265-3051, email: jreiners@wisc.edu
