Arthur A Boni

An Integrated Model of University Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Education

We examine the challenges of commercialization of university-developed technology and the synergistic relationship of the universitys technology transfer office with business-school-based entrepreneurship education programs. We postulate that business schools can effectively augment the university technology transfer office in developing and growing successful startups, through catalyzing the process of startup creation and by actively assisting in the formation of multi-disciplinary leadership teams for spinout companies. The assistance of the business schools alumni and entrepreneur networks can also be leveraged for both mentoring and investment. The challenges of an effective program include securing early marketing input, building effective leadership teams, negotiating the terms of technology licenses, and developing the enthusiasm and cooperation of faculty researchers. At Carnegie Mellon, we have developed an integrated entrepreneurship education program focused on opportunity recognition and strategy development, team building and leadership development, and resource acquisition and allocation. Our program actively assists in launching and supporting the resulting spinout companies by connecting entrepreneurs with value-added investors, support networks, and partners. In addition, we monitor and mentor the spinout companies through their startup and growth stages. Our program includes an aggressive cross-campus initiative in which we teach entrepreneurship courses in the science, engineering, and computer science schools (in addition to the business school) and conduct seminar series to reach faculty and graduate students within those areas of the university. We are aided in the program by the enlightened technology transfer policies that Carnegie Mellon adopted in 2001. The rationale and objectives of those policies are explained in a lengthy appendix. We illustrate the effectiveness of the model through discussion of three recent spinout companies. We conclude that university entrepreneurship education programs can significantly enhance the effectiveness of university technology transfer programs. To optimize that result, the entrepreneurship education program should extend beyond the walls of the business school and should actively assist in the creation of well thought-out business plans and the formation of well-balanced leadership teams actively monitored and mentored by the business school and its alumni and entrepreneur networks. Additionally, it is necessary to tailor the program to the specific character and needs of the region.

The Business of Commercialization and Innovation

We focus on the processes and strategies utilized by entrepreneurs to commercialize new technologies, thereby creating significant change and value in new, or existing markets, i.e. innovation. A cross-industry approach utilizes available theories and strategies applicable to commercialization and innovation. Our contribution is to leverage these theories, but augment their application by informed use of design thinking, and lean entrepreneurial principles to create and apply an iterative and unified framework for innovation. The coupling of strategy with informed execution is intended to provide the entrepreneur (or innovator) with an early and evolving understanding of unmet customer and user need, and how to address that need thru offerings from market entry through growth. We also utilize the “jobs to be done” framework to identify opportunity to create value for the customer/user, and for the entire ecosystem in multi-sided, networked markets. Section One covers our methodology, surveys the extant theories, and provides a framework that is applicable to commercialization and innovation in any industry. Also, we describe in Section One the innovation culture that is needed to drive and support innovation. We present our extension of the Balanced Scorecard – the Innovation Strategy Dashboard - as an appropriate methodology to measure innovation in any organization. Section Two is dedicated to applications of these principles and models to emerging opportunities in Biopharma, MedTech and Digital Medicine. Section Two includes a general healthcare industry overview highlighting its evolution and current challenges. We also include contributed articles pertinent to the production side of the healthcare industry, e. g. marketing and product positioning for biopharma, and further extend the role of design thinking to service design in healthcare. These are followed by several mini-case studies applicable to biopharma, MedTech, and digital medicine.

Innovation and Commercialization Strategies for Three-Dimensional- Bioprinting Technology: a Lean Business Model Perspective

We examine and analyze the elements important for developing a commercialization strategy for an emerging technology of great relevance to biopharma: three-dimensional bio-printing (3DBP). We begin with a technology overview, identification of multiple, potential end-user market segments, then examine the key forces driving the competitive landscape of the emerging industry. The ability to print engineered 3D tissues advances innovations for human health and 3DBP is a transformative and disruptive technological breakthrough with high commercial potential for both short-term and long-term market applications. The near-term research markets include drug discovery research and development and the long-term markets focused on printing of organs and organoids for regenerative medicine. We include a mini-case study on the emergence of one potential innovation, the FRE SH printing technology being developed at Carnegie Mellon University. The case study includes extensive market research made possible by published data, and our customer surveys. The commercialization pathway to innovation is framed in terms of combining two popular innovation frameworks: The Disruptive Innovation and the Blue Ocean strategic frameworks for market entry, growth, and expansion spanning from early adopters to mainstream market segments. We also advocate open innovation as an approach to building the “lean” business model and collaborative ecosystems through strategic alliances with noncompeting firms having overlapping interests in 3DBP. This collaboration in parallel enables faster and more capital efficient validation of the process: product development, market development, validation of product/market fit, and market /customer development across the product life cycle spanning short, medium, and long-term visions for the technology. A platform strategy is framed to maximize the power of the technology and development of a sustained competitive advantage through complementary products, services, and partners in the emerging ecosystem.

Bridging Theory and Practice for Commercialization and Innovation – a Market-Centered Perspective for Cross- Industry Applications

Growth thru innovation is a stated goal of organizations ranging from startups to growth companies and to mature, well-established Fortune 500 companies. Different forms of innovation may be pursued depending on the strategic goals of the organization. Smaller entrepreneurial companies, typically startups or “skunk works operations” are well suited to pursue disruptive innovation, or alternatively to create new “blue ocean” markets by exploiting the uncontested space while not unconstrained by an existing (and perhaps profitable) business model that is not well suited to the new markets – Christensen’s Innovators Dilemma. Conversely, incumbents often dominate sustained or incremental innovation for growth of existing markets or customer bases. We highlight below that need- seeking/ customer-driven innovation is predominant in the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem. Given this success, why is a broader segment of the US economy not following this model?

Building, Managing, and Motivating Great Teams

While technology and market traction are essential to any successful biotechnology organization, the importance of the team cannot be overemphasized. Without an effective team, most companies will not achieve their potential, or will fail. The entrepreneurial leadership team needs to have an understanding that building and sustaining an entrepreneurial culture is what differentiates and sustains successful organizations. The leadership must also be sure to recognize and reward team (and partner) contributions to company value creation, and to incorporate mechanisms and processes to encourage employees to “own” and identify with their organization. Employee ownership includes both equity participation and psychological ownership and identification with the enterprise. Emerging collaborative-networked partnerships in the biopharmaceutical industry incorporate teams that must be constructed and managed to perform effectively across the entire biotechnology value chain including geographically dispersed team members and partners. These new organizations are presented with challenges regarding team development, management, and performance. This chapter covers the topic of building and growing collaborative, interdisciplinary teams that identify and commercialize promising biotechnology innovations, and grow successful companies.

Book Review: Science lessons: What biotech taught me about management

Science lessons: What biotech taught me about management Gordon Binder and Philip Bashe Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2008, hardback, 288pp. ISBN: 978-1591398615