If you are an entrepreneur, a mentor or an angel investor looking to enhance the success of an early-stage venture, read this book.
The book is designed to provide inspiration, ideas and knowledge to those who care about the early-stage venture environment. It will provide invaluable insight into what it takes to develop and commercialise innovative ideas.
Many people involved in supporting entrepreneurs believe that it is important to spend time learning about the commercialisation process. Books on entrepreneurial activities abound and many target the entrepreneur in an attempt to make them leaders. Many entrepreneurs can, indeed, become great leaders; however, many are ill equipped to take on all the aspects of their future business. They may be better served by providing focus on their specific expertise.
If a clever employee at Sony came up with a new product, it’s not likely that that person would automatically become the entrepreneur who drives the subsequent development and commercialisation process. It’s more likely that after rewarding the individual, including some negotiation of involvement in the project, the company would develop a focused team of experts to move the idea forward.
Good ideas need great people. A team approach is needed to adequately address the multitude of issues that surround any commercialisation project. The development of this team is the single biggest challenge facing entrepreneurs, mentors and investors alike.
This book looks into the important elements of commercialisation with a focus on supporting all members of a team. It takes the perspective of the investor, understanding that the investor, mentor and entrepreneur are all investors and that all members of the team seek to maximise the return on their investment of time and money.
Investors, mentors and entrepreneurs have a common goal to make their venture a great success. All three need to progress the company through three phases:
1. Make the company attractive for investment
2. Commercialise the product
3. Generate a successful exit.
If you can’t prove to an investor that you have a significant opportunity to reach the third goal, you will not and should not secure the interest for investment.
The relationship between investors, mentors and entrepreneurs is extremely important. An entrepreneur or mentor will increase their chances of raising the much needed capital for a venture if they understand why and when an investor invests. Getting the investor, mentor and entrepreneur to understand that they are all on the same team and are all investing time or money is not impossible and doing so will increase the chances of success for the venture.
Developing an honest, collaborative approach encouraging transparency will assist in this process.
This book is specifically written for the team to take a venture forward through the process of commercialisation for their venture.
It aims to provide information to create wise mentors and clever investors even better. The book provides a number of templates that make the process easier and more predictable.