1. TechConnect Fall 2014 WELCOME
Dr. Robert McNamee
Managing Director,
Innovation & Entrepreneur Institute
Fox School of Business, Temple University
Dr. Andrew Maxwell
Director Bergeron Entrepreneurs in
Science & Technology,
Lassonde School of Engineering
© 2014 Robert McNamee & Andrew Maxwell

2. Todays Agenda Introduction: 5:30 Dinner & Final Team Formation
5:50 Welcome & Introduction to TechConnect
6:00 Overview of Technology Commercialization Process
Technology to Job Mapping Exercise:
6:10 Technology vs. Jobs
6:20 Mapping Technologies to Jobs Exercise
6:50 Needs, Alternatives, and Advantages
7:00 Mapping Needs, Alternatives, & Advantages
7:50 Group Presentations on Technology & Jobs

3. Crossing the Valley of Death
Very few technologies
(& even less research) will ever be commercialized
Accelerators
Angel Groups
Venture Capital
Crowdfunding
University
Technology
TechConnect Workshop
Tech.Comm. Certificate
Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship MS
10 years
328 emerging firms
$250 million growth capital
Series-A Financing
[Post proof-of-concept;
signs of market adoption; sometimes post revenue]
Make this about funding not just MADV.
Highlight both our internal motivation as well as the societal / regional etc…
Might need to move TechConnect purpose.
Some early successes so far…
$50k NSF I-Teams Grant
2013 BYOBB Two Finalists
2014 $60k Pharma Germinator Award
FMC ($53M in early stage funding)

4. TechConnect Goals Create a novel commercialization support process
Rigorous process based on scientific evidence
Achieve scale in translational grant proposals
Transform participants thinking
Influences technological trajectories
Teach participants skills relevant to commercializing technology
Transform Temple’s culture to be more entrepreneurial
Builds relationships and community
Between science & business (technologists & entrepreneurs)
Between academia, government, & corporate (tri-sector)
Between Temple & external partners
Drive regional wealth creation
Launch more high-growth, technology-based companies

5. Development Routes Technology Push Competency Trap
Invention is pushed from R&D onto the market w/o proper consideration to satisfying a user need
There is no debate, this is highly unsuccessful
Big reason that university technology is rarely commercialized
Competency Trap
Competencies (and past successes) frequently limit exploration
Systematically exploring adjacencies and willingness to disrupt yourself are both critical

6. Development Routes Market Pull Design Thinking [Design Inquiry]
Recognition of a market need w/ consequent R&D to deliver
However, customers frequently don’t know what they want
Design Thinking [Design Inquiry]
Approach to identify unstated / unrecognized customer needs
Frequently via direct observation of behaviors
‘Good-pain’ & ‘The branded pleasure of Paris’
Customer-centric Innovation is not a panacea
Leads to homogeneity, lack of competitive advantage, etc…
Leading firms (e.g., GE) shifting to build off of core capabilities
Use this to bring in 3 or 4 academic / research / evidence that informed how we developed TechConnect
Blended approach that builds on protected & unique technologies but brings in an deep understanding of market needs (developed via design thinking) as well as an understanding of business models and adoption patterns.
Customer centrism does not ask if you are in the position to solve that problem – our approach lets us look creatively for real needs and problems and then looking for those that we are good at solving.
Why blended approach is powerful
Pushing scientists outside their comfort zones into adjacencies
In order to create a scalable differentiated business it requires the reliance on core competencies, knowledge, or technologies in which you are a leader. << also about ability to secure funding.

7. What is TechConnect? What TechConnect is NOT?
Not openly exploring customer needs
Not a free-for-all search for opportunities
Not planning go-to-market strategies for products / services or writing a business model or business plan
Need to talk about why there are dead ends and why we need to kill technologies, technology-job combinations, etc…
Play with visualization – journey is technology >> Jobs >> Applications / Value Propositions >> etc… basically many job boxes some of which are dead ends, then each has applications / value propositions, etc…
Not product centric, technology centric.
Not writing a business plan…

8. What is TechConnect?
Applies a design thinking [inquiry] approach to iterate from technologies and competencies to recognize (diverge) and prioritize (converge) applicable customer jobs/needs as well as viable go-to-market paths and strategies
Need to talk about why there are dead ends and why we need to kill technologies, technology-job combinations, etc…
Play with visualization – journey is technology >> Jobs >> Applications / Value Propositions >> etc… basically many job boxes some of which are dead ends, then each has applications / value propositions, etc…
Not product centric, technology centric.
Not writing a business plan…

9. Tech. Comm. Ecosystem
Use this to bring in 3 or 4 academic / research / evidence that informed how we developed TechConnect
Blended approach that builds on protected & unique technologies but brings in an deep understanding of market needs (developed via design thinking) as well as an understanding of business models and adoption patterns.
Customer centrism does not ask if you are in the position to solve that problem – our approach lets us look creatively for real needs and problems and then looking for those that we are good at solving.
Why blended approach is powerful
Pushing scientists outside their comfort zones into adjacencies
In order to create a scalable differentiated business it requires the reliance on core competencies, knowledge, or technologies in which you are a leader. << also about ability to secure funding.

10. Thank you to our partners