BA468X Technology Commercialization

BA 468X: Technology Commercialization (4 credits)

Winter Term 2008

PREREQ: BA 260, BA 460, with exceptions at instructor discretion

John E. Turner, PhD Office Hrs:

Weatherford Hall, EG07 Mon 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Phone: 713-8044 Wed 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

john.turner@bus.oregonstate.edu (and by appointment)

Suggested Reading:

R.C. Dorf and T.H. Byers, Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise with Student DVD, 2nd edition, McGraw Hill.

S. Shane, Academic Entrepreneurship: University Spinoffs and Wealth Creation, Edward Elgar Publishing (2004).

R.C. Megantz, Technology Management: Developing and Implementing Effective Licensing Programs, John Wiley and Sons (2002).

Course Objectives:

Technology commercialization is the process of bringing technical innovation to the marketplace. Each year more than 150,000 patents are granted in the United States; yet only a fraction of these patents will appear in the market or generate revenue. The success of any commercialization effort depends on numerous factors. These include market positioning, competitive offerings, manufacturability, cost considerations, market maturity, pre-existing intellectual property, and many other aspects equally important as the quality of the technical concept.

Depending on these factors, different approaches may be taken to extract value from technical innovation. In some cases, a classic start-up company may be the best vehicle. In other situations, royalties from licensing may offer the lowest risk and highest payback. A detailed knowledge of the market, intellectual property landscape, and financial considerations are essential to make the best choice among these options.

This course will offer a process and tools to assess the business viability of a technical idea, and to develop the best business approach for commercialization. This will be a “hands on” class in which students will exercise commercialization concepts on patents from Oregon State University researchers and other sources. Three to five member entrepreneurial teams will be formed with students considering the financial, business, legal and technical aspects of their selected patent. Technical representatives may be engineering or science students taking class for credit, or they may be assigned by the inventor to be available for consultation as needed. Mentors from the business community will also be provided to each team as a resource to advise them in formulating and developing the commercialization approach.

Early phases of the class will address the screening process to identify the most promising technical concepts for commercialization. This process will be practiced in class using case studies. The individual entrepreneurial teams will then use these screening tools in the selection of a patent from the OSU portfolio or other provided patents.

Subsequent aspects of the course will provide tools to develop a robust commercialization plan. This will include performing market studies, preparing the “pitch”, intellectual property management, project management basics, identifying critical elements, risk management, financial plan development, and a full commercialization proposal. The individual teams will demonstrate use of these tools and recommend a commercialization plan for their selected patent.

The class will also include invited speakers on various topics- inventors to talk about their patents, local entrepreneurs who have commercialized a new technology, and representatives from local high tech companies to discuss their internal technology commercialization process.

This class will be a balance of presented material, active practice of concepts on case studies and selected patents, and in-class presentations of interim results by the individual entrepreneurial teams. As such, active student participation in the teams and class discussions is essential. As described below, grades for the class will be based on class participation, successful team dynamics, and the quality and completeness of the commercialization plans.

At the end of the class, commercialization plans developed by entrepreneurial teams will be judged by the Portland Business Roundtable (comprised of Portland area business leaders) and the Corvallis SWOT team (comprised of local entrepreneurs and investors). Specific feedback will be provided by these panels on the proposed commercialization approach. Winning teams will also have the opportunity to pitch their completed commercialization plans at the annual “Angel Oregon” entrepreneurial event.

Specific course learning outcomes:

1. Understand the use of screening tools to identify attributes of a marketable technical concept.

2. Understand steps in a technology commercialization process to develop a viable commercialization proposal.

3. Understand the elements of a successful business proposal and presentation for commercializing a technical concept.

4. Be able to skillfully use screening tools and the technology commercialization process to develop a business proposal for a selected OSU patent.

5. Be able to make an effective presentation of a business proposal for your selected OSU patent

6. Be able to work effectively in multidisciplinary team to develop and present your commercialization plan.

7. Be able to listen to the ideas of others and appropriately incorporate them into your thinking.

Class Schedule

Mon, 1/7 Course Introduction- Overview & Expectations

Wed, 1/9 Types of Intellectual Property & Opportunity Assessment

Mon, 1/14 Presentations and Discussions on Patents Portfolio I

Guest Speakers: Inventors describe their patents and critical elements for implementation

Wed, 1/16 Presentations and Discussions on Patents Portfolio II

Guest Speakers: Inventors describe their patents and critical elements for implementation

Business Research Tools

Guest Speaker: Prof Laurie Bridges- invited speaker

Assignment: Individual students complete screening, rank patents in portfolio for commercialization potential (*)

Mon, 1/21 No Class

Wed, 1/23 Performing a Market Assessment

Guest Speaker: Curtis Wright

Team Formation & Patent Selection

Assignment: Teams prepare a market assessment on their selected patent for 1/28 class presentation, including sector growth rate, target customers, competitors, etc.

Mon, 1/28 Team Presentations: Market Assessment (*)

Review of Commercialization Options

Assignment: Teams identify possible commercialization approaches for their selected patents.

Wed, 1/30 Team Work Session with Mentors

Assignment: Teams perform additional market research and develop potential approaches for commercialization.

Mon, 2/4 Commercialization Approaches & SWOT Analysis

Team Work Session

Assignment: Teams complete a SWOT analysis of possible commercialization possibilities, and prepare presentation for 2/6 class

Wed, 2/6 Team Presentations: SWOT Analysis (*)

Assignment: Schedule mentor meeting, schedule inventor meeting

Mon, 2/11 Elements of the Elevator Pitch & Team Presentations (*)

Corporate Technology Commercialization

Guest Speaker: Tim Weber, HP

Assignment: Meet with mentors and inventors to discuss progress

Wed, 2/13 Developing a Commercialization Timeline, Resources, and Milestones

Team Work Session

Assignment: Complete preliminary schedule for commercialization plan

Mon, 2/18 Developing a Financial Plan

Team Work Session

Assignment: Complete preliminary financial plan

Wed, 2/20 Team Presentations: Commercialization Project and Financial Plans (*)

Commercialization Plan Checklist

Assignments: Schedule and complete 1 hour team meeting with instructor, prepare for team meeting with Paul Gulick

Mon, 2/25 Entrepreneur Perspective: Lessons Learned

Team Meetings with Entrepreneur

Guest Speaker: Paul Gulick, serial hi-tech entrepreneur

Wed, 2/27 Funding Options

Team Work Session- Prepare Commercialization Plan

Assignment: Prepare for team meeting with Bill Newman, schedule meetings with inventors and mentors

Mon, 3/3 Investor Perspective: VC Funding of Start-Ups

Team Meetings with Venture Capitalist

Guest Speaker: Bill Newman, NW Tech Ventures

Assignment: Commercialization teams complete first draft of a comprehensive commercialization

plan on selected patent for 3/5 class presentation.

Wed, 3/5 Team Presentations: Complete Commercialization Plan

Assignment: Teams refine plan and prepare formal presentation for3/12 judged event. Meet with mentors and inventors to review plan.

Mon, 3/10 Team Work Session

Assignment: Teams refine plan and prepare formal presentation for3/12 judged event.

Wed, 3/12 Commercialization Plan Competition (*)

Judges: Portland Business Roundtable

Assignment: Teams complete a written summary of the commercialization plan (*)

Note: Assignments or presentations followed by (*) are graded

Grading:

A. Class Participation, Team Dynamics, and Balanced Team Contribution: 30% of grade

Much of the learning in this course will come from in-class discussion of the presented concepts, and from providing feedback to your peers as they develop their technology commercialization ideas. As such, I encourage everyone to actively contribute by asking questions about the course material, of invited speakers, and by providing constructive feedback to the technology commercialization teams during presentations. In order to create an environment conducive to good discussion, I strongly encourage you to come to class on time and prepared. You will be graded both on the quantity and quality of your contributions for each class. About half way through the course I will give you some feedback on how I see your participation grade up to that point

The best commercialization plans will arise from the diverse opinions and backgrounds of the members of each team. For this reason, we encourage that teams should be formed of members with complementary skills and differing backgrounds. Early in the class, it will be important for the members of each team to discuss respective roles, responsibilities and expectations. The best teams will have clearly defined roles and balanced contributions from each member. During the course of the class, conflicts and disagreements among team members may naturally arise. Active discussion and consideration of different approaches will be essential to develop the best commercialization plans. The ability of a team to work constructively through any differences will also be a factor in grading. I will provide feedback to each group about midway through the course on my observations of the balance of contribution and team dynamics.

B. In Class Presentations on Interim Results: 30% of grade

As a part of the course content, tools and processes are provided for commercializing a technical idea. These tools will be used by the teams to screen patents, identify whether licensing or a spin-off company is most appropriate, generate a timeline, resource and staffing needs, financial projections, market surveys, and other aspects of the commercialization plan. Five interim results, designated above with (*) will comprise a total of 30% of the class grade. The quality of these results and appropriate use of tools and processes will be a factor in grading. Feedback on the interim results will be provided to each team within one week of each presentation.

C. Technology Commercialization Presentation and Final Written Report: 40% of grade

The quality of the final commercialization proposals will be determined by the panel reviews held the last week of class. The proposals will be judged by the instructor and panel members on a) completeness and self consistency of the commercialization plan, b) use of appropriate business, financial, and technical principles, c) evidence of supporting background information and research, and d) quality of the presentation.

The presentation comprises 20% of the class grade. In addition, a written summary of the commercialization plan will be completed by the teams and will comprise an additional 20% of the grade.

Please let me know if you need any particular accommodations during the course. The following statement is from the university web site regarding accommodations for students with disabilities: "Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098."

Any case of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of F for the course. This action is allowed by Academic Regulations and Procedures as described in the Schedule of Classes. All students should know and understand these policies and regulations. If there is any doubt about their meaning and interpretation, ask for an explanation. Details of the university’s policies on academic dishonesty can be found at http://oregonstate.edu/ap/curriculum/policies/S_syllabus.html

Mentors and Technical Resources:

Each team will be provided with one or more mentors to advise them as they develop their business approach. These will be experts in business, financial, and technology commercialization processes to provide additional suggestions and perspectives as needed. Teams will be responsible for contacting their respective mentors and arranging times to meet for questions or review their progress.

As teams examine various options for commercializing their selected patent, we also recognize they will need access to technical experts with detailed knowledge of the patent and related technology. If possible, we plan to have at least one technical member per team to fill this role, or request that the inventor provide a graduate student liaison to answer questions and participate as needed.

Class Lecture Notes: