Inventing Entrepreneurs: Technology Innovators and Their Entrepreneurial Journey Book

Preface     xi
About the Authors     xv
Inventing Entrepreneurs     1
Overview     1
Entrepreneurs as Agents of Change     3
Scientific Innovation and Entrepreneurship     4
Defining the Inventing Entrepreneur     5
Preconditions     6
Organization of This Book     7
Endnotes     9
Discovering Entrepreneurial Options     11
Entrepreneurial Purpose     13
Overview     13
The Decision to Propagate Innovation     13
Introduction to the Commercial Venture Process     14
Foundations of Entrepreneurial Purpose     18
Visualizing the Ultimate Goal     20
Grasping the Significance of the Technology     22
Understanding the Inventor's Affinity Threshold for the Technology     24
Estimating the Benefits Associated with Commercializing a Technology     25
Setting Boundaries for the Need to Control the Technology     26
Conclusions and Summary     29
Endnotes     29
Inventing Entrepreneurial Options     31
Overview     31
Entrepreneurial Intent, Capacity, and Value Creation     31
The"File Drawer Idea" (Low Market Potential, Low Entrepreneurial Capacity)     34
The Reluctant Entrepreneur (High Market Potential, Low Entrepreneurial Capacity)     35
The Lifestyle Entrepreneur (Low Market Potential, High Entrepreneurial Capacity)     35
The Inventing Entrepreneur (High Market Potential, High Entrepreneurial Capacity)     36
The Inherent Value of Intellectual Property     39
Conclusions and Summary     40
Endnotes     40
Technology Licensing     43
Overview     43
The Technology Transfer Process     45
WARF: A Technology Transfer Office Example     48
Licensing: The TTO Perspective     49
When and Why to License a Technology     51
Conclusions and Summary     53
Endnotes     54
Recommended Readings     55
Lifestyle Businesses     57
Overview     57
The Start-Up Option     57
What Is a Lifestyle Business?     60
The TTO and Lifestyle Businesses     62
Considerations for a Lifestyle Business     63
Entrepreneurial Options     65
Conclusions and Summary     66
Endnotes     67
Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Identity     69
The Entrepreneurial Academic     71
Overview     71
Who Are Academic Entrepreneurs?     72
The Intellectual Challenge of Entrepreneurship     73
Business Challenges     74
Access to Mentorship     75
Access to Basic Business Knowledge     76
Personal Challenges     76
Prioritizing Goals     76
Repercussions Within the Academic Environment-Conflict of Interest     77
Conclusions and Summary     79
Endnotes     80
Entrepreneurial Journey Model     81
Overview     81
Entrepreneurial Identities     82
The Entrepreneurial Journey Model     85
Case Study: TomoTherapy     88
Application of the Journey Model     90
Conclusions and Summary     93
Exercise     94
Endnotes     94
Sample Journeys     95
Overview     95
The Research Transfer Entrepreneur     96
The Sabbatical Entrepreneur     97
The Research-Driven Inventing Entrepreneur     99
The Dual-Role Inventing Entrepreneur     101
The Corporate Entrepreneur     105
The Business-Focused Inventing Entrepreneur     108
Lessons from the Journey Model     109
The Venture Path Is Not the Same As the Entrepreneur's Journey     110
Every Journey Is Unique and Personal     110
Is There an Optimal Path?     111
Capital Intensity and the Viability of Adopting Multiple Role Identities     112
The Journey Transforms the Inventor     113
Conclusions and Summary     114
Exercise     114
Endnotes     115
Assembling the Entrepreneurial Tool Kit     117
Understanding Industry Context     119
Overview     119
Industries and Markets     120
Industry Attractiveness and the Value Chain     122
Disruptive Technologies     131
Start-Up Location Choices and Their Implications     132
Cost and Differentiation Strategies     134
The New Business Road Test     137
Checking the Basic Premise     138
Conclusions and Summary     141
Endnotes     141
Recommended Readings     143
Accumulating Business Skills and Knowledge     145
Overview     145
Forming the Business     146
Timing: When Do You Form a Start-Up?     146
Choice of Legal Entity     147
Allocation of Ownership     150
Selecting Officers and Directors     151
Service Providers     152
Writing and Using the Business Plan     155
Purpose of the Business Plan     156
Preparing to Write the Full Business Plan     156
The Nuts and Bolts of Business Plans     158
Exit Events     166
Getting Help     168
Appendices, Documentation, and Other Issues     168
Realistic Analyses     169
Realistic Customer Analysis     172
Realistic Market Analysis     173
Realistic Competitor Analysis     174
Realistic Budgeting     175
Realistic Revenue Projections     176
Introduction to Start-Up Financing     177
Conclusions and Summary     180
Endnotes     181
Recommended Readings     183
Primer on Financing the Technology-Based Growth Company     185
Overview     185
Growth Financing     186
Layers of Funding     190
Milestone-Based Financing      192
Obtaining Private Financing     193
Beyond Seed-Stage Financing     199
Conclusions and Summary     201
Endnotes     202
Recommended Reading     203
Visualizing the Road Ahead     205
The Managerial Challenge     207
Overview     207
Why Management Is Important     208
Vision and Implementation     211
Management Characteristics and External Perception     212
Risk Reduction     213
Management Models     214
Interacting with Professional Management     216
Natural Conflicts between Founders and Professional Management     216
Creating Mutual Incentives for Success     218
Separating Personal Issues from Business Issues     219
The Inventor as Manager     220
Conflict of Interest     220
Augmenting the Managerial Skill Set     221
Prioritization and Time Constraints     222
Conclusions and Summary     226
Endnotes     227
Preparing for Growth     229
Overview     229
Understanding the Growth Strategy or Growth Type of the Business     230
Transitioning from Project Management to Business Administration     234
Crossing Moore's Chasm     238
The Changing Role of the Inventing Entrepreneur/Founder     240
Conclusions and Summary     241
Endnotes     242
Exit     243
Overview     243
What Is an "Exit"?     245
Types of Exits     246
Financial Exits     246
Participatory Exits     247
Ownership/Control Exits     249
Less Than Perfect Exits     250
A Simplified Negative Exit Example     250
Control of the Organization at Failure     252
Control of the Intellectual Property at Failure     253
Long-Term Outcomes for Inventing Entrepreneurs     254
What Will I Do After the Exit?     255
Conclusions and Summary     257
Endnotes     257
Preserving Identity     261
Identity, Growth, and Learning on the Journey     263
Overview     263
Scientific Identity: Back to the Basics     264
The Underlying Characteristics of Inventing Entrepreneurs     270
Common Experiences of Inventing Entrepreneurs     272
The Importance of Luck      272
The Importance of the Team     273
The Search for Challenge and Growth     274
Conclusions and Summary     275
Endnote     275
Name Index     277
Subject Index     281