Courses

 

Realizing value from innovation:
successful business models for new technologies

 

Course description

The purpose of innovation is value creation. For companies in software, electronics, communications, cleantech, medical devices, scientific instrumentation and other technology-based industries, translating innovation into value requires both great technology and a great business model. However, while many companies have wonderful technologies, relatively few have good business models. As a result, many new technologies fail to create value for their stakeholders.

This course is an intensive two-day program that provides a comprehensive guide to designing a successful business model for a new technology, product or venture. Drawing on hands-on experience with over one hundred technology companies and the core insights of many key thought leaders, this powerful program will give you a complete roadmap for translating innovation into business success.

Who should attend

Executives, entrepreneurs, technologists, board members and investors interested in maximizing innovation value.

What you will learn

This course will give you with a complete framework and a comprehensive set of tools for developing a successful business model for innovation. For an overview of the framework, see Innovation business model, and to learn how it was developed, see What is a business model? A new approach.

As you work through the course, you will immediately apply each concept learned, so that by the end of the course you will actually have created a preliminary business model for your innovation. The course includes:

Section 1 – Introduction

What is a business model? An overview of the five critical components of a business model: markets, products, processes, people and economics. Learn where most business models break down, and why a successful business model is so important for innovation.

Section 2 – Understanding the components of a business model

The first major part of the course is devoted to exploring each of the five components of a business model, and how each needs to be optimized in order to maximize overall value. This section begins by developing a clear understanding of your economic model, and then explores how each of the other four components drives your economic model.

• Economics: at the core of a business model is an economic model – how the business makes money. Learn each of the elements of your economic model - revenue, cost, profit, investment, funding, cashflow and business valuation – and how they each interact in an integrated system. Understand how key market and operational drivers determine your revenue, costs, and other elements of your economic model. Learn what needs to happen to your economic model to maximize the value of your innovation.
• Markets: the first major driver of innovation value is the market you address. What makes an attractive market opportunity? Learn why market selection is so critical as a foundation for success. That being so, how do you decide which markets and customers to serve? What are the critical things you need to know about your target market in order to design a good business model, and how do you gain that understanding? Learn how to identify the right market opportunity for your innovation.
• Products: the second major driver of innovation value is your product offering. How do you translate your innovation into a product offering that customers want and will buy? Learn each of the elements that make up a product offering – product features, customer experience, pricing, and more - and how to ensure your offering meets customer needs better than all other options. Once you do so - how do you mitigate competitive reactions and value erosion? Learn how to develop a winning product offering that rapidly gains market traction and generates profitable revenue growth.
• Processes: the third primary driver of value is your core processes – how your business develops, markets and delivers your product to your target market. Learn the five core processes at the heart of any business model: research and development, sales and marketing, operations, management, and support functions. How can you implement processes that are value creating rather than value destroying? Understand the critical activities in each core process, the options to consider for each, and how they impact your economic model. Learn how to build efficient and highly effective core capabilities to maximize the value of your innovation.
• People: the final major driver of value is your stakeholders – your employees, investors, partners and others. Learn why the choice of stakeholders – the key people in the business - is so critical to your success. How can you can identify and attract the right stakeholders for your business? Understand the contract – what is given and what is received - that is at the heart of the relationship between each stakeholder and the business. Learn how to develop an attractive value proposition for each stakeholder - and how to build the right team to maximize the probability of success.

Section 3 - Designing and implementing a business model

The second major part of the course builds on the detailed understanding of a business model developed thus far, and explores how to design and implement a business model for your new technology, product or venture.

• Business model options: The last few years have seen many business model innovations, such as the Google advertising model, the iPod / iTunes “razor / razor blade” model, software –as-a-service, and Qualcomm’s licensing model. What are your broad business model options? How do the five business model components vary under each option? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? How do you decide which option makes best sense for your innovation? How can you combine two or more business models to create something uniquely valuable for your business?
• Business model design: How do you go about actually designing a business model for a new technology or product idea? At what stage in the innovation / product development lifecycle should you start thinking about your business model? Once you have developed an initial business model, to what extent should you change it over time? How do you maximize the value of your business at each stage of the innovation / product lifecycle?
• Implementation: How can you translate the knowledge gained in this course into reality? For those leading product and venture teams, learn how to apply the knowledge you have gained to begin driving results within days. For those interested in building corporate innovation capabilities, learn how to share the knowledge and skills you have learned across your organization.

Section 4 – Summary and next steps

The course concludes with a summary of the key concepts covered, a review of the business models you have created during the course, and the development of an action plan to take back with you to the office.

Outcomes

Once you complete this course, you will have:

• A sound understanding of what a business model is, and how to design a successful business model for technology innovation.
• A preliminary business model design for your new technology or product innovation that you can immediately begin validating and testing.
• A practical action plan, based on your business model, to reduce capital needs, secure funding more easily, accelerate customer acquisition and growth, increase profitability and cashflow, and maximize the value potential of your new technology.
• A comprehensive set of course materials and an extensive list of resources for further learning.