What’s Coming  Today  Group market research presentations (45’)  Work Session with advisors- market research refinement (30’)  Commercialization options and approach (40’) Assignment: Schedule first meeting with inventor and collect questions for them. Meet with your group to collect information, questions, and ideas for mentor work session  Wednesday (1/28)  Work session with mentors (60’) Assignment: Develop and refine commercialization plan. Prepare an (ungraded) presentation on your progress for Monday

Commercialization Options- ► Your challenge- extract the commercial value from your invention! ► As you develop your commercialization strategy, you will need to consider four related decisions:  Form of your offering- product, service, “razor blade” model,  Commercialization approach- spinoff vs licensing  Position in the Value chain- where are there profitable openings?  Risk vs benefit- harvest the “low-hanging fruit” or plant and cultivate the tree? ► Decisions for each will depend upon  The nature and state of development of your intellectual property  Effective market research- KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER, MARKET, AND COMPETITION!

Form of Commercial Offering ► Be creative in defining your market entry! ► There are many ways to extract value from intellectual property  Consumer product  Consumer service  B2B product or service  Host unit and replacement model  Etc ► This is where you can add the greatest value!  You have a very different perspective than the inventors  Consult with your mentors on this- they have experience with all of these models

Commercialization Approach ► All IP under consideration is either  “owned” by OSU, which as a public entity cannot run a for-profit enterprise  Developed by HP, but does not fit with their strategic product portfolio (but still has value!!) ► Fundamental possibilities are  Spin-off: Start a new company from the ground, transfer rights to the new company to market products or services based on IP  License: Identify an established company which could benefit from use of IP to improve its product, reduce costs, etc. Sell a license to use IP.

Start-up, License, or somewhere between Spin-off Firm License to Established Firm RadicalIncremental TacitCodified Early Stage Late Stage General Purpose Specific Purpose Significant Customer Value Moderate Customer Value Major Technical Advance Minor technical advance Strong IP Protection Weak IP Protection ???

Commercialization Continuum Additional IP needed- Cross license, acquire, etc Development needed before licensing to enhance IP value Start-up License- ready The grey zone -Strategic alliances -NRE funding for custom engineering -Plan to be acquired Risk Potential Value Potential Value

Positioning in the Value Chain Value chain: “The activities that one undertakes to deliver a product or service” Value chain: “The activities that one undertakes to deliver a product or service” Identify the best entry points into the value chain that offered by your IP which * Have a low barrier to entry * Can be protected with existing IP or available IP, combined with publicly available information * Have perceived value to customers (this can be the consumer or other businesses- B2B) * Are most profitable! * Are most profitable!

Risk vs Benefit ► Know the risks in your commercialization plan, and be intentional about balancing risk and benefit. The balance point should be agreed upon by the entrepreneur and investors. ► Be up-front about the risks and have a plan to address them! ► Types of risk: People, funding, infrastructure, technology, market acceptance, regulatory issues, schedule… ► Risk is not always bad!  Avoid risk without a corresponding benefit  Is there a less risky way to achieve the same benefit ?  Know the “break points” in risk (or effort) versus benefit

Technology Development “Break-points” Value Idea Proof of Concept Prototype Customer feedback Manufacturing ready Time, Effort, or Investment Risk

Tasks for this week: Inventor/Mentor Conversations ► With Inventor ► Confirm your understanding of technology and capabilities ► Understand the maturity of technology (idea, prototype, etc and next steps) ► With Mentor- prepare for a discussion on  Form of your offering- product, service, “razor blade” model,  Commercialization approach- spinoff, licensing, or hybrid  Position in the Value chain- where are there profitable openings?  Risk vs benefit- harvest the “low-hanging fruit” or plant and cultivate the tree a bit Hint: More research will be needed!

Let’s get started!!!