4.

Roll Out

Organization: Simple

Management: Entrepreneurial

Technology: Launch

Financing: Early Stage

- limited product revenue, proven technology being applied to the market

pp

Problem

(Why worry?)

Solution

(What to do?)

Action

(How to do?)

4.1

Growth risk

·         Moving from an incubation phase into the real world environment

·         Need to meet laws and regulations

·         Thorough business planning

·         Comply with applicable laws and regulations

·         Prepare different types of business plans:

Ø       Technology roll-out BP

Ø       Market positioning BP

Ø       Sales oriented BP

Ø       Manufacturing based BP

Ø       Acquisition oriented BP

Ø       Issue or problem-solving BP

·         Study laws and regulations (WTO requirements (TRIPS, TRIMS, etc.), trade, exchange, taxation, legal, environmental protection, standards, etc.) and do necessary jobs to meet them

4.2

Technology risk

·         Upscaling of production facilities

Prepare and launch full-scale production unit

·         Learn from experiences of other companies

·         Make careful business planning

·         Use external expert advice

·         Design and establish production facilities

4.3

Financial risk

·         Trial marketing of the product prototype reduces financial risk

·         High investment in full-scale production unit is required

Raise venture capital to initiate commercial-scale manufacturing and sales

To raise venture capital you need:

·         Product launch business plan

·         Marketing plan

·         Cash flow forecast

·         Preliminary orders from future customers who tested your prototype (optional but very helpful)

4.4

Marketability risk

·         Real life product marketing is quite different from test marketing of few prototypes

·         You can't know in advance where the right fit will be

Plan and run your marketing, advertising and selling processes to find situations where your product "fits" with specific real customer prospects in your targeted market

·         Launch marketing campaign

·         Expand your contact in the marketplace

·         Develop sales network

·         Approach as many prospective customers as possible and learn from them (the more negative answers you get initially the faster and better you learn and enhance your marketing skills, and finally, start selling)

4.5

Team & Management risk

Turbulence due to transition to full-scale business activities

·         Lead the team, create 'roadmap'

·         Help team manage the plan

·         Assess strengths and weaknesses

·         Identify gaps of expertise/experience

·         Be an organization builder

·         Establish professional management team

·         Devise effective reward system

5.

Organization: Decentralizing

Management: Professional

Technology: Diversification

Financing: 2^nd, 3^rd, Bridge

- company has product revenues, expands its production and diversify into new areas

pp

Problem

(Why worry?)

Solution

(What to do?)

Action

(How to do?)

5.1

Growth risk

·         Turbulence due to venturing into new areas

·         Resistance to change at both individual and organizational level

·         Changes in the organizational structure and management

·         Innovative climate

·         Human resources development

·         Develop control and monitoring schemes

·         Organize staff education programs

·         Maintain good communication at every level of the org. structure

·         Ensure staff participation in decision making

·         Introduce effective incentive schemes

5.2

Technology risk

New technology integration into established process

·         Develop in-house innovation capabilities

·         Technology acquisition

·         Develop innovative business strategy; define and plan your projects and products

·         Formulate technology strategy, select the best projects and make go/kill decisions

·         Optimize and implement new product development processes

·         Motivate staff creativity in new product development

·         Conduct joint research with partners

·         Sub-contract research out to R&D laboratories

·         Acquire new technologies (search for technology opportunities, assessment and selection of technologies, contract negotiation, legal and IPR aspects, after-sales cooperation)

5.3

Financial risk

·         Increased cash flow and requirements

·         Need to generate additional capital

Using your enhanced borrowing capability to tap new financial sources

·         Develop new financial sources:

Ø       Cost sharing with other companies/institutions

Ø       Venture capital

Ø       IPO

Ø       Mergers, acquisitions

Ø       Debt

5.4

Marketability risk

Introduction of new and improved products requires additional marketing expenses

Expand and re-target your marketing campaign

·         Watch the markets and adjust your marketing activities according to the needs of your customers

·         Develop effective selling presentations

·         Expand your marketing team and train them

5.5

Team & Management risk

·         New opportunities require changes

·         Turbulence due to expansion and diversification of the activities

·         New staff recruiting

·         Retaining key staff

·         New organizational structure

·         Project leadership and team building

·         Be an organization builder

·         Hire and leverage awesome people

·         Develop your leadership skills

·         Delegate responsibilities

·         Find, develop and manage high-level partnerships

6.

Maturity

Organization: Decentralized

Management: Professional

Technology: Innovating

Financing: Stocks, Debt

-          company established on the market but has to innovate and introduce new technologies and products continuously to stay competitive

pp

Problem

(Why worry?)

Solution

(What to do?)

Action

(How to do?)

6.1

Growth risk

·         Resistance to change at both individual and organizational level

·         Detailed long term planning is difficult due to volatility of the market situation

Establish flexible company structure capable to react fast to changing market situation

·         Define strategic focus of the company and do strategic planning

·         Treat your business plan as a work in progress

·         Define duties and responsibilities according to current and future organizational needs

·         Focus on strategy - not operations

6.2

Technology risk

·         Shortening life cycle of technologies and products

·         It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict the next major trend in any industry

·         Establish continuous innovation system

·         Manage you portfolio and prioritize between projects

·         Develop ability to adapt quickly to changes in the marketplace

·         Acquire new technologies

·         Collect market and technology information for new projects

·         Establish technology forecasting system

·         Conduct both short-focused and strategic R&D; for each technology, decide whether to develop it internally or resort to external R&D resources

·         Conduct regular technology audits

·         Develop a business strategy supporting continuous innovation

·         Formulate a technology strategy

·         Introduce modern techniques (equity participation, etc.) to motivate your staff be innovative on a continuous basis

·         Establish partnerships to share the cost of short-focused research and innovations

·         Establish strategic alliances to conduct together and share the cost of strategic research

6.3

Financial risk

Financial stability, but strategic research and venturing into new areas involves financial risk

·         Shift from venture capital towards asset based financing

·         Share cost of strategic research with alliances

·         Treat your financial plans and forecasts as a work in progress

·         Strengthen and continuously innovate management of your financial sources:

Ø       Cost sharing with other companies

Ø       Venture capital

Ø       Mergers, acquisitions

Ø       Debt

6.4

Marketability risk

Hot markets don't last long

·         Market watch

·         Climate for continuous innovation

·         Sell your technology to access new markets

·         Establish in-house technology and market watch and information system

·         Carry out continuous market research and analysis

·         Export your technology to access new markets (market research, search for buyers, technology pricing, contract negotiation, after-sales support and cooperation)

6.5

Team & Management risk

·         Turbulence due to expansion of the managerial team, production staff, and activities

·         Changing focus

·         Enhance communication within the company

·         Be prepared to re-deploy management talent, reinvent and re-organize on a regular basis

·         Practice management by objectives

·         Never stop learning, look for trends and opportunities

·         Devise catalytic mechanisms and lead cycles of reinvention

·         Be proactive

·         Seek timely feedback

·         Lead others to discover, vision, re-plan, act and measure results

·         Share strategic leadership with the team