This is the 17th 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
Over the past couple of weeks, we have explored where and how government can facilitate the process of commercialization to help technology entrepreneurs get their products to market. Throughout this series, we have talked about the entrepreneurial right stuff and the value of those soft skills collectively referred to as emotional intelligence.
But where does good old-fashioned formal education fit into all of this? What role does, and should, a person’s alma mater play in the formation of the next generation of entrepreneurs?
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By Leo Valiquette
It has been a thirty-year journey for Ottawa’s QNX Software Systems, largely under what has jokingly been referred to as “stealth mode.” Last year, the company saw its brand boosted through its acquisition by Research in Motion as the mobile device maker sought out QNX’s expertise in realtime operating systems (RTOS) to help make its Playbook a reality.
But though it remained relatively unknown in its own backyard, QNX had already cemented its market position before RIM came knocking thanks to its own unique customer-centric approach and the support of its previous owner, Harman International. Derek Kuhn, vice-president of sales and marketing, and Sebastien Marineau-Mes, vice-president of engineering, spoke this morning at OCRI’s execTALKS breakfast about how their company has evolved over the years.
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This post is by Associate Peter Hanschke, an Ottawa-based product management specialist. Peter’s post is part of our continuing series about the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market. We welcome your comments.
By Peter Hanschke
Up until now I’ve talked about getting to your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and creating your Market Validation Plan. To re-cap, MVP is your product with the minimum set of features and capabilities to satisfy the needs of your early customers. The key is to make sure that the features and capabilities are connected to provide use cases that address the needs of your target market. In other words, your MVP cannot be a disjointed set of features.
The Market Validation Plan is needed to provide a framework to get validation from the various markets you are targeting. Make sure that you include potential customers, analysts and experts related to your target markets and also others who sell non-competing products and services to your target markets. Asking “would you buy this” and “how much would you pay” are essential questions to have answered. (BTW – don’t be shy about asking for an order … you may end up with your first!)
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As part of our ongoing series examining the ecosystem necessary to bring technology to market, we asked Andrew Fisher, executive vice-president at Wesley Clover, to share his insights on public policy issues and the culture of entrepreneurship. This is the second of his commentaries and we welcome your feedback.
By Andrew Fisher
As someone who engages with entrepreneurs, investors, bureaucrats and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, it is clear to me that we don’t stimulate and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in Canada and the U.K.
In my previous post, I questioned whether Canada’s rich buffet of government subsidies for technology companies, subsidies that focus far more on research than they do on commercialization, in fact weaken the entire eco-system. We need to support and encourage commercialization, an essential part of innovation, with tweaks to our current models that will also weed out those companies that use government subsidies as a crutch rather than doing what it takes to become a viable going concern.
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By Linda Forrest
Over the past few weeks, news stories about PR have reinforced what constitutes good reasons to hire a PR agency, as well as bad ones. Why should you, or should you not, engage with a PR agency?
Good reasons to hire a PR agency
1. PR agencies are the first resource journalists turn to when researching a story.
In its post, “Survey says … PR firms (still) the No. 1 source for journalists,” Ragan’s PR Daily blogs about the results of a recent journalist survey conducted by Oriella PR Network:
The No. 1 resource that journalists in this study are using for sourcing was PR agencies, with a whopping 62 percent.
As for the first port of call when researching a news or feature story? PR again! Nearly 22 percent of respondents say their initial stop is a press release.
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Social Media Breakfast Ottawa: Designing for Humans
May 19, 2011 by Alexandra Reid
Martin Gomez spoke yesterday at Social Media Breakfast Ottawa on the principles behind the design and development process and how they could be applied to web design to boost online presence […]
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Government: The road to hell is paved with …
May 18, 2011 by Francis Moran
As we stated in last week’s post, government’s role in the commercialization eco-system should be to create that “supportive and normative framework.” The common sentiment among the various VCs, angel investors, accelerator and incubator executives, entrepreneurs and others we have interviewed is that government should stay out of the way as much as possible […]
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How to track social media efforts and reach your benchmarks on a startup budget
May 17, 2011 by Alexandra Reid
As in all marketing efforts, establishing benchmarks and measuring metrics in social media is fundamental to determining success.
Benchmarks are the standards against which all measurements and metrics are measured […]
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Government: Tech companies need a hand up, not a hand out
May 16, 2011 by Andrew Fisher
Businesses in Canada have a lot going for them. From the SR&ED program, to other services provided by Export Development Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada and DFAIT, Canadian technology companies are certainly not starved for choice compared to most other jurisdictions.
Still, there are tweaks that could be made to improve the system and enable those areas that offer the greatest potential gain for the country as a whole […]
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April Roundup: What does it take to get technology to market?
May 13, 2011 by Alexandra Reid
Thank you for being with us for the third month of our new blog. Although a bit late, here is a recap of our posts from April in case you missed them, beginning with, in chronological order, the latest installments in our ongoing series on getting technology to market […]
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Marketing vs. public relations: Clarification for the confused
May 13, 2011 by Alexandra Reid
I see, time and time again, in professional articles and blog posts and hear in every day conversations the misuse of the terms marketing and public relations, and it annoys me […]
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What an IP coordinator should know
May 12, 2011 by David French
In a previous blog posting, we talked about the importance of having an IP coordinator on the team and how this role fits into an organization. Returning to more micro details, what sort of knowledge should an IP coordinator possess? We will start this review from the viewpoint of understanding patents […]
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What does an acquisition mean for the reputation of the buyer? The seller?
May 11, 2011 by Linda Forrest
When Microsoft announced that it had acquired Skype for the tidy sum of $8.5B US, the tech world positively buzzed with questions.
What would this acquisition mean from a functionality perspective? Was Microsoft, as ZDNet suggested, just trying to head off prospective buyers Google and Facebook? […]
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By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
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The Future of A&R – Walabe : [...] http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/top-10-questions-every-strategic-communicator-should-ask... [...]
Traditional Marketing is Dead – Long Live Bikini Waxer Marketing | Scalexl : [...] pointed out by Alexandra Reid on the Francis Moran website content marketing is becoming more and more like journalism. So, it is not just about the content, [...]
It’s Summertime…and the Networking is Easy? | THE MERRAINE BRAIN : [...] In fact, summer is perhaps one of the times least used to network, yet at the same time has shown to be the most productive time to network. People tend to be in a brighter mood compared to during the gloomy winters-especially where I am from in England! Networking needs to be fun and not approached as another chore, like mowing the lawn. (http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/social-media-strategy-why-meeting-in-the-real-world-matt...) [...]