Technology Entrepreneurship: Lab to Market

Universities, government labs, and private companies invest billions of dollars in the research and development of breakthrough technologies that have the potential to transform industries and lives — but very few of these technologies ever leave the lab. Those that do often fail to find compelling market applications. So what determines success? How does an invention become an enduring innovation?

In this introductory course, developed in collaboration with the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard and the University of California San Diego, you’ll explore how entrepreneurs match promising technology with customer needs to launch successful new businesses. Using real-world examples, you’ll apply critical thinking to commercialize technologies, and you’ll learn about the venture creation process from founders, funders, and industry experts.

Join us to learn a systematic process for technology commercialization to bring cutting-edge innovations out of the lab and into the world.

The total learning hours for this Module amount to 50. These are distributed across the following categories:

Total Contact Hours: 20
Self-Study Hours: 5
Supervised Placement and Practice Hours: 0
Assessment Hours: 25

This Module carries a value of 2 ECTS.

Module-Specific Learner Skills:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will be able to

Integrate theory, research findings and practice for real-world problem solving.

A systematic approach to technology entrepreneurship
How to generate new use scenarios by matching customer needs with promising technology seeds
How to align business and operating models
How to evaluate a technology for readiness and market fit
How to position opportunities to secure funding

Competences:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the responsibility and autonomy to:

Manages people and projects and demonstrates the ability to respond to the fast-changing business environment.

Act responsibly in pitching and fundraising activities.
Use crowdsourcing to generate and/or select ideas.
Supervise alignment of business architecture with the market.

Demonstrates autonomy in the direction of learning and a high level of understanding of learning processes.

Demonstrate accountability for creating and validating business models.
Responsible for generating business models (value creation and value capture).
Responsible for generating operating models (structure, capabilities, and assets).

Has the learning skills to allow continuation to study in a manner that may be largely self-directed or autonomous.

Exhibit autonomy in product development and innovation.

Knowledge:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have been exposed to the following:

Integrate forward-thinking concepts, standards, and managerial decision-making tools in the functional areas of management.

Differentiate Business from Operating Models.
Differentiate between innovation and invention.
Evaluate various approaches to innovation, including outcomes-driven and linkages-driven methods.
Apply general frameworks for problem-solving and synthesize use scenarios using multiple perspectives and heuristics.
Examine need-based and seed-based innovation approaches, assessing the significance of both methods.
Systematically evaluate readiness using various methods and frameworks to enhance decision-making.
Utilize prototyping and customer feedback to assess market fit.
Analyze different types of capital and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.
Assess how different types of capital correspond to various financing stages, such as pre-seed and seed rounds.

Relate business goals and strategy to appropriate financing options to ensure sustainable growth.

Skills:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the following skills:

Develop entrepreneurial mindset and skills.
Explore business model creation and validation.
Cultivate product development and innovation skills.
Analyze technologies, evaluate market opportunities, and assess how an invention can be transformed into an innovation.
Develop critical thinking to identify viable solutions, mitigate risks, and make informed decisions in complex scenarios.
Evaluate the commercial viability of a technology and decide the best approach to bring it to market.
Explore innovative approaches to match customer needs with cutting-edge technologies, looking beyond the obvious to uncover new opportunities.
Cultivate empathy to align technology solutions with customer pain points and needs.
Hone emotional intelligence to effectively manage team dynamics, build investor relationships, and connect with stakeholders.
Explore pitching and fundraising strategies.

Module 1

Problem Solving and Systematic Innovation

What is Innovation?
The difference between innovation and invention.
Approaches to innovation, specifically outcomes-driven and linkages-driven.
A general framework for problem-solving and generating use scenarios using perspectives and heuristics.
Analyze an example of successful or unsuccessful innovation.

Module 2

Matching Needs and Seeds

How to identify need and seed-based innovation approaches and the importance of employing both methods.
How to generate use scenarios using functional analysis (functional thinking).
How to use crowdsourcing to generate and/or select ideas.
Generate two use scenarios for a technology using functional analysis (functional thinking).

Module 3

Generating Business and Operating Models

How to generate business models (value creation and value capture).
How to generate operating models (structure, capabilities, and assets).
How to align your business architecture with the market.
Generate business models for a sample technology.
Generate operating models for a sample technology.

Module 4

Determining Readiness and Market Fit

Determining Readiness.
Determining Readiness Case Study: Qualcomm.
Determining Market Fit Through Systematic Feedback.
How to think about readiness systematically using various methods and frameworks.
How to utilize prototyping and customer feedback to determine market fit.
Evaluate a sample technology for readiness using the Cloverleaf Model.

Module 5

Financing your Venture

Types of Capital.
Strengths and weaknesses of each type.
How these types relate to common financing stages or rounds, such as a pre-seed or seed round.
How to align your goals and strategy with financing options.
How to communicate your ideas using common formats.
Develop your ideas and the lessons you've learned so far into a draft commercialization plan.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Courses are generally made up of weekly modules with pre-recorded videos that you can watch on a schedule or at your own pace. There are supplemental readings and student discussion forums, as well as homework assignments.