I want to share my forty years experience as technology developer, business developer and evaluator of many projects for the European Commission…all characterized by one word: innovation
I'll concentrate on innovations in quantitative fields, where computational models are a dominant part.
Able to create the classics of the future?
When an innovator invites me for an introductory meeting, I ask her to tell me the story of her innovation. I listen. I ask for technologies. A presentation. Business plans.
First I'm not applying any mesh. I'm trying to understand the river of the innovation...where it comes from and, more important, where it shall go to. Will it work? Will it sell? Will it even be able to create a classics for the future?
When I like it, I offer something that might not be common in innovation advisory:
Will it most probably work and sell?
I'll invest a day or two to run the information through an analysis as deeply as required to roughly identify the opportunities, barriers and even dangers and understand whether there's a chance to optimize the market risk.
Usually, I do not charge for this phase.
If the innovator and myself agree to continue, I'll run the information through a deep analysis.
Things that matter for those who care?
Over forty years in innovation I've used various methodologies and tools to assess projects.
The Innovation Mesh, inspired by Shawn Coyne's great blog, is a culmination...assessing whether an innovation based on quantitative programming (writing computational stuff) will work and sell. I understand "hard work" as doing things that matter and "sell" fort those, who care.
The Innovation Mesh adds more emotional criteria than other methodologies and tools I ever have used before. It's built to assess and fix problems taking the view of the actors, clients, market segments...
It probably cannot inspire an original creation but help overcoming the eager seller - stony buyer principle, understand how to simplify, focus and impute and how to fix a methodological or technological problem. And, how to find the right pricing and licensing scheme.
I call The Innovation Mesh a tool. It's a technique that I use. I'll refine it and hope being able describing it in a way that it can be re-used.
What follows in the next time is a description of it enabling you to apply it. But I'll also be pleased to share my experience in a project. Remember, My trick is to represent the project.
