Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship

Brent Townshend1Monday, July 2, 12

My first job

“Skills-Driven” Entrepreneurship

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0 1 2 3

Rev

enue

Employees0 1 2 3

Rev

enue

Employees0 1 2 3

Rev

enue

Employees

My first job

0 1 2 3

Rev

enue

Employees

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Bell Labs Corporate Innovation

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“Feel the Need”

AND, Users often missdisruptive

change opportunities

Personal Need

Imagining what others need

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Bootstrap Financing Cycle

Presales

Breakeven

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Ordinate - Language Testing

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Flavors of Innovation

Internal

Externally Visible

USE IT SELL IT

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0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Gro

ss M

argi

n

Innovation

Innovation vs Operations

TraditionalInnovative ProcessesUnique Prod/ServicePure invention

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Michael Porter, 1985

Value Chain

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Michael Porter, 1985

Value Chain

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✦ No product/No service

✦ Pure innovation/invention

✦ Leverage IP maximally

56k Modem

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56k Modem

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Scales of Innovation✦ Innovate in HOW (internal methods)

✦ Innovate in WHAT (product includes innovation)

✦ Ordinate test

✦ PROVIDE the innovation (others incorporate the innovation)

✦ 56k Modem

✦ New DOMAINS of innovation (entire field is new)

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A New Frontier:Synthetic Biology

✦ New field = new problems/solutions

✦ opportunity: first to innovate/invent

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Genetic Switches

✦ Programmed completely by sequence of DNA

✦ Analysis/characterization using next generation sequencing

✦ Large data/analysis requirements

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Lessons Learned

1 10 100 1000

Ret

urn/

Em

ploy

ee

Employees

Innovation

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Bigger Lesson

BIG CHANGEis easier

than people realize

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Hvala!

Questions?

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