Scientific discovery is responsible for so many of the devices that make our lives more efficient, safer, and more enjoyable. These objects that we often don’t even think about are science based products – they started as a scientific discovery. From medicine to transportation to entertainment, so many of the key products that shape the world started as a science project. We tend to celebrate those Eureka! moments and the intelligence, tenacity, and inspiration that lead to disruptive and transformative discovery. However, we would never talk about those moments if something else didn’t happen after – the transformation of scientific discovery into a product that someone will pay money for.
In the first part of this post, we will talk about the journey from discovery to product. The second section will explore the challenges most science or technology-grounded founders run into and how to overcome them. And finally, the third portion will explore some suggested next steps to help ease your journey.
Part 1: 5 Steps in the Science Based Product Journey
Over the years, through product development project we have done here at PADT, support we have given PADT’s Ansys customers, and mentoring I have done with starts, a pattern has evolved within companies that have successfully made the journey from the lab bench to the (virtual) store shelf. And that process can be broken down into five steps that focus on successfully transitioning to market.
The 5 Steps of the Science Based Product Journey
1: Discovery
It all starts with a discovery. A breakthrough that is the start of the whole journey. How, where, or why the discovery occurs doesn’t matter. You now have some understanding of physics, chemistry, information, data, math, or biology that you or others may be able to turn into a tool.
Many people who discover something new and novel start writing their Nobel Prize acceptance speech. And they also start dreaming about the business empire they will build. But hold on. A discovery is just a discovery of a new chunk of knowledge.
- Your breakthrough does not equal:
- There is demand
- It is a practical product
- You are a CEO
- You deserve majority ownership in a new company
2: Science Project
Now that the discovery is made, the real hard work begins. Your research turns into a science project where you need to:
- Prove your hypothesis about your discovery and show that it is repeatable
- Answers questions you and other have about your discovery, including what is the mechanism and what are the consequences of the discovery.
- Experiment to see what problems the discovery solves
- Explore what technologies will come out of the discovery
At this point, you are still learning, you are still getting your head around the behavior you discovered and understanding as much as you can about it. the idea is to build a science project to fully understand what the discovery is and how it might be applied.
3: Technology
The reality is that customers pay for technology, not science. if science is knowledge, technology is how to apply that knowledge to do something. At this point, you need to move beyond experimenting and start documenting what you have. The end result should processes, algorithms, or physical behavior that is:
- Well defined
- Pretectable (patentable)
- Repeatable
- Scalable
- Does something useful
4: Product
A product is something people will pay for. A successful product is something people will pay more for than it costs to make and distribute. Many science based products never make it to the product phase because no one converts the technology into something that can be sold.
A product is something that:
- Can be replicated
- Fits into a real or figurative “box”
- has a perceived value that is greater than its cost
- Someone has paid money for
5: Successful Company
The most difficult part of turning a discovery into a business is building the company that will make it all happen. You can hide in your lab in your garage, basement, or university up through the science project phase. But at some point, you have to build a company that has resources. You need things like:
- HR, IT, Accounting, Legal, etc…: people or service providers that create and maintain the infrastructure you need to run a business.
- Supply Chain: Someone needs to make, store, and distribute your product, and yes, software has a supply chain.
- Customer Support & Maintenance: Once you get a product out there, you have to support it or fix it.
- Sales & Marketing: If you build it, they will not come, so you need a strong and well-funded sales and marketing team with a good plan.
It’s About Creating Value and Executing Well
Building a successful company around a science based product certainly starts with a scientific discovery. But first, success is based on your ability to create sufficient value so people will pay money for it. And second, you need to execute in a way that gets the product made, sold, and supported. Too many technically or scientifically minded founders focus too much on the idea, the discovery, and not enough on value and execution.
Two of the most famous founders known for trying to turn scientific discovery into products were Tesla and Edison. The fact of the matter is that Tesla failed at it because he never figured out the value and execution parts. Edison and his teams were very good at those two things. You can admire Tesla’s inspiration and mind-boggling discoveries, but remember he ended up talking to a pidgeon. Edison created GE.
Part 2: Obstacles in Bringing Science Based Products to Market and How to Overcome Them
Every journey is different. But over time, I realized I heard the same basic comments over and over again from scientific or technical founders. To help others avoid or overcome these obstacles, here are five quotes, the obstacle they represent, the missing value they uncover, the lesson they teach, and the solutions you should explore.
“But it works on the bench…”
Obstacle:
Scaling
Missing Value:
Robustness + Delivery
Lesson:
“A bench or a mouse is not a shelf or a human”
Solutions:
Raise enough money to get to a production prototype
Hire experts to do the work
Consider licensing
“Customers don’t get it…”
Obstacle:
No value recognition
Missing Value:
Solves a problem
Lesson:
“People don’t want a better mousetrap; they want to get rid of mice”
Solutions:
Understand real pain
Make sure the solution is real
Make sure the solution is better
“I just need to fix one more thing…”
Obstacle:
Aiming for an ideal product
Missing Value:
Something to sell
Lesson:
“Perfect is the enemy of good” -Voltaire
Solutions:
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Remove the inventor from the process
Avoid fear-based decision making
“It’s my idea, my company…”
Obstacle:
Inventor not letting go
Missing Value:
Execution
Lesson:
“Inspiration requires knowledge and creativity, running a business requires neither”
Solutions:
Learn to be a businessperson
Hire a CEO and give them power over you
Embrace the role of CTO
“We should have more sales…“
Obstacle:
Value is not known
Missing Value:
Customer awareness of value
Lesson:
“If you build it, they will [not] come”
Solutions:
Marketing
Sales
Marketing
Sales
Marketing
Part 3: Suggested Next Steps For Bringing Science Based Products to Market
So far, we have discussed the innovator’s journey from discovery to product. Then we went over some common obstacles to success. In this last part of this article, we will take a look at four suggestions that share actions we have seen scientific founders take that have contributed to their success.
Embrace Persistence
Almost every problem you will encounter is solvable. You need to either change direction, develop a solution, or simply try again. It is very easy to creep towards giving up. That is the only option that ends in failure. This is not easy, and those who succeed push through to the end.
Accept Help
Too many people believe that asking for or receiving help is a sign of weakness. This is simply not true. A common trait for technical and scientific founders is that they are very good at their area of interest or specialization, but they are horribly ignorant of so many things outside of that area. So they should be proactive about seeking help by:
- Using resources from their institution
- Build and use an advisory board
- Find, ask questions of, and listen to mentors
- Fill capability holes in your staff
- Seek out advice and recommendations from the people you raise money from
Change Your Frame of Reference
You are in business now. You are doing engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and support. You can no longer use the scientific frame of reference. To help with that transformation, use these dimensions for your new frame of reference:
X = Cashflow
Y = Growth
Z = Return on Investment
T = Time to Market
Encourage Brutal Honesty
The reality of the innovation world is that people try to be encouraging, and sometimes they do founders a disserves by not being brutally honest. Be vocal about the need to commercialize successfully, let the people know around you that you want to do the hard work. Then, be proactive about giving people permission to give you honest feedback. When they tell you things you don’t want to hear, don’t let it get to you or make you defensive. Never argue back with them, or they will stop giving you feedback. And lastly, recognize that you don’t have to react to every piece of advice. But you should listen to it.
You Can Change the World and Create New Businesses Starting With Science
Science based products have the potential to have the largest impact on people or the environment because they are based on some disruptive discovery. But if you, as a scientist or engineer, can’t get out of your own way and also commit to doing the hard work that needs to get done, you will fail. Remember, the discovery is just the start of the journey. But if you stick with it, find the right people, do the right things, and adapt along the way, you can truly change the world and make it a better place.
At PADT, our slogan is “We Make Innovation Work” and we have been helping take discoveries in the lab to technology and then productization. We use world-class simulation, experienced product designers, disciplined project managers, and proven processes to work with our customers, from large corporations to brand new startups, to turn their discoveries into innovation and then products. If you would like to learn more, reach out to consulting@padtinc.com. We enjoy hearing about new discoveries and offering advice or services to get from the bench to the shelf.
You must be logged in to post a comment.