This is the 20th article in a continuing series that examines the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Throughout this series, we have often referenced startup accelerators and the important role they play in the commercialization ecosystem, as well as where government support fits into the equation. So we thought it was time to take a closer look at these entities by profiling three different ones from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
We caught up recently with Jon Bradford, the man behind The Difference Engine and Springboard, two U.K.-based startup accelerators that took their inspiration from TechStars and Y Combinator in the U.S. The Difference Engine was an initiative supported by public funds that launched in the north east of England two years ago. The goal was to address the lack of quality VC deal flow for startup technology companies and prove, as TechStars had in Boulder, CO, that an accelerator didn’t have to be based in a high-tech hotspot such as Silicon Valley, or even a major city.
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By Linda Forrest
Steve Jobs. Mark Zuckerberg. Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. Larry Ellison.
I probably don’t need to tell you with what companies these executives are affiliated because they’re such well recognized ambassadors for their respective brands.
Some of these execs, as you likely also know, have had their share of bad press thanks to their behaviour either on or off the record. The media’s fascination with the online indiscretions of an unfortunately named U.S. congressman has reminded all public figures that their activities in the age of social media are never truly private. Leaders’ personas and personalities, good or bad, are tied to their organizations’ reputations in the marketplace.
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, we asked veteran technology executive and angel investor Ron Weissman to share his thoughts on how startups can overcome the challenges of securing early-stage financing. This is the first of his commentaries and we welcome your comments.
By Ron Weissman
Why do some first-time CEOs find it hard to get to first base with investors? The product story that CEOs want to tell has often little to do with the business story that investors need to hear before they will invest. Product- or engineering-driven CEOs new to the VC world beg, “Please let me demo my product! It will change the world. For $500,000 you will own a piece of the next Facebook.”
But the story that investors need to hear is different. “How does your business work? How will you scale to become a profitable market leader? Is this the kind of business that meets my investors’ financial objectives?”
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By Linda Forrest
Since my blog post last week, I’ve seen a lot of coverage regarding the issue of women in technology.
A Rabble.ca article shared the following:
During a town Hall meeting this April attended by President Obama, it was announced that women make up only 25 per cent of the technology workforce, and only 18 per cent of those taking computer science courses.
The numbers are even smaller when it comes to startups. Women head up only 10 per cent of startups in the U.S., despite the fact that 40 per cent of all businesses are 50 per cent or more owned by women.
The good news is that there are a number of accelerators working to boost those numbers.
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, David French, a senior Canadian patent attorney with 35 years of experience, now provides the fourth of his commentaries on the importance to a company of protecting its intellectual property.
By David French
In a previous post, I talked about the importance of having an IP Coordinator on the team and how this role fits into an organization. Part of the responsibilities of such an individual is to ensure that a company is obtaining value when it pays to patent its inventions. I identified the three principles that apply if the objective is to obtain meaningful patents:
- Right invention
- Right circumstances
- Right procedures
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By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
