Paths to Market
Let’s assume that you’ve developed some piece of interesting new technology. That’s great. You’re now one of the world’s leading experts around this technology. Your Principal Investigator (PI) will also be deeply knowledgeable about this work.
Let’s further suppose that you’re excited about the commercial applications of what you’ve done. You want to start a company and build it around your technology. There are different paths—different strategies—that can allow you to get to market.
By “get to market,” I mean being in a position to sell your technology and receive payment for it from multiple buyers.
It may be necessary to take the long road to reach your goal—and this road may take so long that you decide it’s not worth it. Deciding to do something else may make perfect sense: you have a family to support, you like but don’t love your technology, or you can’t see a way to make money from it. It’s your choice.
If you do decide to pursue commercializing your work, consider the steps involved. You will need to:
Perfect your technology
Study potential markets
Conduct customer discovery
Think about (and test) product–market fit
Turn your technology into a device or product that can be produced at reasonable cost
Ensure it works in customer settings
Figure out how it fits into customer workflows
Determine what training or data conversion may be needed
Test and revise based on customer feedback
Studies of technology adoption indicate that it can take a dozen years or more to get new technology widely adopted. Daunting.
You may find ways to make the journey to market shorter or less costly. Which of these will work depends on your technology—but here are a few possibilities.
1. Consulting
Since you’re an expert, there may be consulting opportunities that help you find shortcuts to market.
The fact that you know your technology doesn’t mean you know the best markets for it. Consulting—especially across several companies—can help you discover commercial possibilities and build connections in the industries that care.
Be careful about giving up your intellectual property when consulting. Always have your attorney review contracts before you sign them.
2. Strategic Partnerships
You might find a partner organization—through consulting, publishing, or outreach. With the right strategic fit (meaning your work helps them generate real revenue), you can reach the market faster.
3. Combinatorial Innovation
This means combining existing technologies in new ways to solve meaningful problems.
Examples:
Jobs and Wozniak building the Apple computer using the 6502 chip
Tim Berners-Lee combining hypertext with TCP/IP and DNS to create the World Wide Web
The iPhone
Is your technology the missing piece that—when combined with others—could create a new market? It’s rare, but when it happens, the payoff can be enormous.
The Takeaway
Bringing new technology to market takes time—often, a lot of it.
But through consulting, partnerships, or combinatorial innovation, you may find a way to shorten the path or make the journey more rewarding.