Gestation Stage

Inventor has a technological idea with a good market potential,
but has no or limited business expertise and resources
to commercialize it

Organization: Virtual

Management:  → Entrepreneurial

Technology: Idea

Funding Stage: Pre-seed

Manage the Five Risks:

growth risk

technology & production risk

marketability & competing risk

financial risk

team & management risk

Problem

Solution

Action

Growth Risks

Every good business begins with a great idea, but not every great idea makes a good business

Clarify your entrepreneurial vision

Define what type of an entrepreneur you want to be:

a classic entrepreneur;
an internet entrepreneur;
a solo entrepreneur;
a solo interpreneur;
an infopreneur

→ Discover opportunities

Develop your  
→ entrepreneurial and
business skills

Study twelve key reasons why companies fail, how to succeed in business, 3 crucial entrepreneurial tips, and seven steps to small business success

Analyze your → entrepreneurial drivers and capabilities

Play the Innovation Football game to make your business model and entrepreneurial strategies much stronger

Answer the questions of the venture planning checklist before starting your venture

Develop your → revenue model; for ICT-powered entrepreneurship, study online revenue models and how / how much you can earn from contextual ads, if applicable

Make a reality check

Make a Strength – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats (SWOT) analysis

Make the first steps in the right direction; screen all your ideas and narrow to selected few

Compare various → business models and select the best one

Prepare a milestone chart

Explore opportunities for starting up your business in an enabling environment such as a technology business incubator or S&T park

Buy professional advisory services that would keep you out of trouble later on

Problem

Solution

Action

Technology & Production Risks

Technology idea may be unrealistic, not unique, or infringed

Checking uniqueness for the technology idea in order to avoid possible → problems in future

9 Great Ways to Know If a Technology Business Idea Will Work

Developing of effective intellectual property strategies

Turning your inventions into profit-making assets

Study the 10 easy steps to turning your ideas / inventions into cash

Consider alternative ways for technology commercialization

Identify your intellectual property (IP) strategy and technology for commercialization

Search for patent information

Understand the technology commercialization processes

Select the form for protection of your intellectual property rights and take the necessary steps to either protect it legally or to keep it as a trade secret

Watch permanently technological developments by your competitors

Problem

Solution

Action

Marketability & Competing Risks

Misjudging the size or growth of the overall market

Identify the market niche ‒ what makes a venture succeed is the ability to identify emerging attractive markets and to seize on unmet, unserved customer needs

Develop a business concept targeting this market niche

Conduct preliminary market research to discover customer needs and understand what makes people buy

Search for new market opportunities

Shortlist possible products

Make customer assessment

Define your → differentiation and positioning strategy

Plan for considerable marketing and advertising expenses up front, i.e. prior to realization of sales

Select a business name and a trademark for your company

Problem

Solution

Action

Financial Risks

Underestimating start-up costs for operations and capital expenditure

High-risk pre-seed capital for design and development of a working prototype is hard to get.

Good understanding of the venture financing process

Identification of possible sources of pre-seed capital: founders, friends, family, business angels, development funds

Good understanding of of the investment opportunity selection criteria of different types of investors

Introducing project to prospective investors

Study the start-up capital formation process, the venture planning chart, → venture financing funnel, and venture capital basics

Try to personally finance and bootstrap your firm as long as possible, until the need for external growth finance becomes evident and unavoidable.

Identify sources of financing for early-stage technology development; study their investment opportunity evaluation criteria and procedures

Define how your investors could realize financial returns on their investment

Prepare → key documents required by investors and an impressive venture presentation

Problem

Solution

Action

Team & Management Risks

Lack of business skills

Lack of relevant sectoral and cross-sectoral experience

Understanding of the need to share company ownership and management with professionals

Study the principles of venture management

Play entrepreneurial simulation games such as Innovation Football to make your team much stronger

To be a successful entrepreneur, learn how to manage and lead people

Analyze various options of company ownership and management; select the one that suits you best and start making preparations