John Seiffer will provide burning insights to the commercialization process and why that line about a better mousetrap is completely wrong. He¹ll describe why some ideas make it out of the lab and some don't. He'll cover the different parts of a business model and how to use that information in your work.
Bio:
John Seiffer currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence for CT Next. He has been an entrepreneur since 1979, and a consultant helping growing companies since 1994. He¹s also an angel investor. In 1998 he was president of the International Coach Federation and in 2012 became President of the Angel Investor Forum. His blog is at www.CEOBootCamp.com.
The myth of the mousetrap perpetuates the idea that business is primarily about the product. Invention may be but not business.
Business, Commercializing your idea, is about SELLING, commerce.
Obviously you have to sell a product, and maybe less obviously you have to sell it to someone. That’s why …
Here’s a “traditional” timeline for most companies
Let’s look at someone who followed this pattern.
What do we mean by a customer?
What do we mean by a customer?
Where do each of you fit on this graph?
If you face both risks, don’t focus on technology first!
Most Startups fail – they run out of money at this point
Enter Peter Drucker
Jos A Banks
Costco
WalMart
Dollar Store
Backscratcher
Pains Gains Jobs
Pains Gains Customer Jobs
Growth
Investing money to get more capacity
More Customers etc.
Growth
Investing money to get more capacity
More Customers etc.