How to build a better hammer And how to get in the hardware store Commercializing your technology

1. accelerator How to build a better hammer And how to get in the hardware store Commercializing your technology Sarah Warren, Institute for Systems Biology and Accelerator Corp. Why would you want to commercialize your idea? When does a technology have commercial potential? There are many reasons why you would want to commercialize your idea. One of the best reasons is that it gives you a chance to develop your idea further than you would be able to alone. Science is expensive. Commercialization can give you the opportunity to find funding from other sources, including SBRI grant, venture capital money, and individual investors. Science is time consuming. Commercialization can allow you to hire a team of people to develop your idea. Science is hard. Commercialization can give you access to experts who you might not otherwise interact with. Companies set up scientific advisory boards, made of expert in the field who can give advice and provide insight and experience. A great technology is one that addresses a need. If there is a problem with a current technique, or scientific questions that cannot be answered with the available technology, that is an opportunity for commercialization. It should be something that other people will want to use. Hammer made of marshmallows – Poor potential Hammer with a wrist strap – Good potential What are the characteristics of a great idea? • A great idea is one that meets a commercial need and is something you can build value around. Value typically means developing intellectual property – getting patents around your idea or maintaining trade secrets. Intellectual property is important because it is what gives you time to develop the idea without worrying about whether your competitors will beat you to the market. • What are the keys to patentability? • Novelty – some aspect has to be new • Non-obviousness – there must be some insight, if an ordinary person can come up with the idea, it’s not good enough • Utility – it’s got to have a purpose. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. What should you do if I have a great idea? Talk to people. Talk to people that love your idea and figure out what is good. Talk to people that hate your idea and figure out what is bad. Talk to people who have started businesses and learn from their experience. Talk to agencies that encourage business development. Talk to all the people who are involved with the project and see if they want it to be commercialized. Most importantly, talk to people who would use your product and see what they would want it to do. Talk to Accelerator. We’ve got a lot of insight and are happy to help. .