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Driving Jobs through Innovation:

Fostering Science Entrepreneurship

February 3, 2012 The Pre-Seed Workshop is a product of Neworks, LLC

www.neworks.biz

“Priming Scientists into Entrepreneurs”

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What Do Scientists Do?

Research & Development

Universities, Academic Institutions

Small to Large Corporations

Reference: NSF Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges 2007 - 2010

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Federal Laboratories

~ $40B

~ $100B expended annually

~ $60B

N e w I n v e n t i o n s

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R&D Expenditures by State $ Billions

Universities and Federal Laboratories

Legislation allows technologies to be transferred OUT, and INTO corporations OR start-up companies;

Start-ups, based on these technologies, can create jobs !

Reference: NSF Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, 2007 - 2010

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R&D and Then What!?

R&D

Jobs! Economic Growth! Innovation-Based

Economy!

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High-tech Start-up Companies!

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Complicating Factors

• For high-tech start-ups, scientists must be involved

• Scientists became scientists because they liked science

• Not trained as entrepreneurs; business is foreign

• The fact that they ended up with commercializable invention, in most cases, was secondary

“Now what do I do? Am I supposed to take this to market?”

• Academics have a full teaching load, grad students, post-docs, grant proposals, publications, tenure concerns, etc.

• “Going to market” is not necessarily a priority or area of interest or expertise

• Historically, not incented to start companies

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Ideas get “Stuck” in the Lab! After Patent Filed on

High-Tech Invention

Licensing Opportunity OR

Start-Up Company

Many Business Questions !!

Scientists

Big VCs, Strategic Investors

Angel Investors, Seed Fund Managers,

Early Stage VCs

Incubators, “EiRs”

Business Coaches,

Consultants, Attorneys

Tech Transfer Officers ?

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Seven years ago …

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Our Solution: Pre-Seed Workshop

Bring experienced community-based professionals together with scientists from local universities and labs and ask everyone to volunteer/commit their time for 2 ½ days to help:

1) investigate the commercial potential of new technologies

2) transform the more promising technologies into pre-seed stage companies

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6-8 Teams per Workshop Talent is carefully balanced:

Technical (inventors) Legal

Business Finance

Tech Transfer Industry & Regulatory

Seasoned Entrepreneurs (coach) Collective Intelligence “magic”!

40-60 High-Level Professionals Value of Pro-Bono Support ~ $100K per Workshop

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1. The Technology: Do you have a proprietary product? 2. Technology to Market Map: To whom will you sell? 3. Market Need: Where is the pain? 4. Competition: Why will you win? 5. Value Propositions: Who cares? 6. Business Model: How will you operate? 7. Revenue Potential: How big is this opportunity? 8. Management Team: You and what army? 9. Technology Status: What does the roadmap look like?

Over 2 ½ days, teams address 20 key questions and create “first-cut” commercialization plan for start-up company; and make a decision on whether or not to execute on those plans

Nine Idea Analysis Sessions Hands-On Work as a team !!

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Seven Year Metrics:

• Estimate $70M in follow-on funding has been raised by “alumni” • And ~ 400 jobs created, with the potential for many more • Of the 130 companies, most now being led by business

professionals as CEOs, while scientists serve as CSOs or CTOs 10

Success-to-Date

Measures of Success Results (2004-2011) Workshops Held 46 Host City Locations 10 Inventions Analyzed 274 Number of Participants 1774 Companies Formed 130 +

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Scientists into Entrepreneurs?

A few things to keep in mind: 1. Scientists don’t have to be CEO; they can be CSO, CTO, on the BOD or Scientific Advisory Board 2. Layered under the senior researcher or university professor are

junior researchers, post-docs, grad students and undergrads

• New generation of scientists see entrepreneurship as a viable career choice, alternative to traditional career paths

3. In discussing “high-tech”, must differentiate between some IT

opportunities and “hard sciences” because $100B is funding:

• Life, physical, environmental, computer sciences, and energy, engineering, etc

• High potential, harder, higher risk, more capital intensive

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Conclusion

R&D

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then future policies must focus on transition stage, If $100B

here,

Remove some legal and administrative barriers to tech transfer • Support translational programs that “prime scientists” • Increase availability of pre-seed, seed, early stage capital • Accommodate the time horizon for job creation; not shovel-ready but

essential for long-term economic growth and global competitiveness

to achieve an Innovation

Based Economy