This is the ninth 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
There is a German proverb that states, “An old error is always more popular than a new truth.”
This is often evident in the business of getting technology to market, particularly among nascent entrepreneurs and startup management teams who are coming into the process of commercialization well-versed in the engineering of a product but not so much in the fundamentals of business planning, customer engagement and market development.
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This is the next contribution to this blog by Associate Bob Bailly, a Calgary-based neuro-marketing practitioner.
By Bob Bailly
Rather than working earlier this week, I was looking over pictures of my last month down south in Argentina. As I was smiling over a photo of a Buenos Aires dog walker – who are well represented in that great city, can be seen everywhere and are not always so good about cleaning up after their care – I was reminded of some research I recently uncovered. It’s about dogs too. But more specifically, it’s about the potential business implications of our relationship with “man’s best friend.”
Have you ever had a dog as a pet? Did or do you consider it part of the family? If you answered yes, or even if you’ve never personally been involved with a dog, it’s not hard to see that humans and dogs have formed a symbiotic relationship that is beneficial to both species. In Argentina, proof is on the streets in the form of hoards of professional dog walkers and the need to watch your step.
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, we asked David French, a senior Canadian patent attorney with 35 years of experience, to discuss the importance to a company of protecting its IP and how creating the position of “IP Coordinator” can facilitate the process. This is the second of David’s commentaries and we welcome your comments.
By David French
In my previous post, I addressed the importance of a company’s intellectual property and how it can contribute to the bottom line, negatively or positively. In this post, I address the issue of how intellectual property is being managed within your organization.
Who in your organization knows or is able to understand all of the issues and requirements in order to ensure that you have good IP hygiene? Frankly, many companies just assume their lawyer is going to look after these issues. Well, your lawyer may provide advice in the boardroom, or possibly even in a reporting letter, as to many of the things you should do in order to keep your intellectual property regime in order. But who will remember all of this?
This is where the concept of an Intellectual Property Coordinator becomes important.
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This is the eighth 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
“A startup is ultimately … not just about whether an idea or a product works, it is about whether or not you can create a business around it. Whether or not the ecosystem will support it, the customers will buy it, if the channels will support it, and if the manufacturers will actually create it. And because of that, we need to be able to test all these different facets of our business model, and do so quickly.”
This comes from someone Forbes calls “the most powerful woman in startups,” Ann Miura-Ko, co-founding partner with FLOODGATE. In October, she gave a lecture at Stanford University titled “Funding Thunder Lizard Entrepreneurs,” which is filled with so much insight we were tempted to just transcribe the whole damned thing and offer it up as a blog post of its own. However, her talk is available as a conveniently indexed webcast.
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By Alexandra Reid
As a community manager, I admit I am rather biased when it comes to explaining the value of online communities, so I promise to do my best to be both balanced and accurate as I weigh their merits and demerits. If you’re reading this post, you’ve likely already heard the hoopla about how bustling and engaged online communities can be valuable for businesses. What you may not know is how they can be specifically beneficial to you, the entrepreneur in the ever-crucial stages of developing a startup when budgets are low and time is precious.
A common misconception that many people have about social media is that it is free. Sure, the platforms on their own don’t cost a nickel. But if the intention is to use them for business, they require a considerable level of resources, especially human resources required to develop a strategy and then to carry out online activities. You need to have a crystal-clear understanding of your goals and the processes through which you will achieve those goals for your investment in social media to be worthwhile. Trust me, social media is no light undertaking to be considered in passing. Do not idly throw this position on someone who already has 10 other responsibilities just because he or she has a Twitter account. Someone with a firm grasp on how to plan social media activities to achieve business goals should be in charge of building online communities to ensure you do not waste your valuable time, energy, money and reputation on a trial-and-error approach.
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By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
