Success Formulas®

Session Four

Technical Strategy

Session Four Agenda

• Present Revised Executive Summaries• Product/Service Strategy• Offensive & Defensive Strategies• Intellectual Property• Make/Buy Decision• Group Discussion: Your Technology

Strategy

Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryIn 2-or-3 Pages, Briefly Describe the

highlights of…• Elevator Speech• Industry• Vision• Mission• Corporate Legal Description• Product/Service - What it does, how much it sells for, proprietary

position• Market - Who’s going to buy, what is the sales channel.• Operations• Management Team• Investment Required• Financial Proforma• Note: Develop each topic for five years

Technology Defined

“The Entire Body of Methods and Materials to Achieve Such

Objectives.”

- American Heritage Dictionary

Product/Service StrategyKey Questions

• Internal: What Technology Do You Need?

• External:– What Strategy Should You Choose?What Strategy Should You Choose?

– What Stage of Product Development?What Stage of Product Development?

– Should You Protect It? Can You? How?Should You Protect It? Can You? How?

– Can You Make It in Volume?Can You Make It in Volume?

Imagine...

• Your Company Has Been Very Successful.• You Make Effective Use of Technology.• You Have Been Asked to Make a Brief

Presentation to a Group of Stakeholders on The Technologies You Have Chosen.

Your Product/Service (Define)

• Who is Your Customer?• What is the Customer’s Compelling

Need?

This is an Important First Step!

Who is YOUR Customer?

• Follow the Money Trail.• Is Your Product Combined With

Another?• Who Do You Call on to Sell Your

Product?

What is YOUR Customer’s Compelling Need?

• Narrow It Down.• Often a Simple Answer.• Listen to Your Customers...

Listen to YOUR Customers...

• Focus on What Product Can Do For Them (Not What it Does)

• Involve Users and Partners• Listen to Your Customers--Even If You

Know The Answer

Why Are These Important?

Approaches to Your Strategy

• Offensive - ProactiveYou Choose What You Want To Do With

Technology

• Defensive - ReactiveYou Wait to See What the Need is As You Go

Along.

Offensive Strategies

• Research & Design• Technology Transfer Into Your Company• Obtain Exclusive Sole-Source Agreements

Research & Design

Who is Funding It?

• Self• Grant• Customer• Partner

Technology Transfer

• People Exchanges

• Data Exchanges

• Patent Exchanges (Licensing)

Sole-Source Agreements

Sell to Just One Company to Give Them an Edge Against the Competition.

Summary of Offensive Strategy

• Identify Market Early• Use Sales Engineering to Solve

Customer Problems• Revise Position Often, Based on:

– Market Feedback– Competition

Defensive Strategies

• Patents• Trade Secrets• Tool Kits (Prevent Others From Using)

• Industry Knowledge (Protect by Knowing)

• Manufacturing Infrastructure

Break

Intellectual Property

• Inventions• Literary Works• Trade Secrets• Trade Marks• Industrial Designs

How To Protect It

• Inventions - Utility Patent• Literary Works - Copyright• Trade Secrets - Keep Confidential• Trade Marks - Register• Industrial Designs - Design Patent

Get a Good Patent Attorney!

Sooner rather than later…

Beware of...Patent Timing Issues.

Again, sooner rather than later…

The Make/Buy Decision

Specify What You Will...

• Make• Buy

Lower the Risk

Discuss Each “Single-Point-of-Failure”

Focus on What You Do Best and...

Out Source Everything Else.

What Will Your Technology Strategy Be?

Homework Assignment• Update Executive Summary• Product/Service Section• Get going on 10 minute presentation• Work on Finance Charts for Session Five

– (2) Revenue Charts– (1) Cost of Goods - COGS– (1) Head Count– (1) Salaries– (1) Expenses

Preview Session Five:Financial Strategy

• Three Fundamental Approaches to Financial Strategy

• Financial Plan• Financial Assumptions• Prepare for Session Six-Presentation Tips

Success Formulas®

Session Four

Technical Strategy