A Matchmaker For Inventors

The article "A Matchmaker For Inventors" describes a company which could possibly help bring our centrifuge project into the mainstream. UTEK Corporation can commercialize the separation device used in our company's centrifuge project. UTEK would be able to pay the research labs for the licensing rights to the idea. UTEK has had more hits than misses and could pay huge benefits to our company.

UTEK, a technolgy matchmaker with an unusual business model, gives researchers an outlet for their ideas. It also provides companies with access to a database of more than 35,000 discoveries that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. When researchers at the University of North Carolina A&T discovered a way to find microscopic cracks in an airplane fuselage, they turned to UTEK due to the fact they were finding their product nearly impossible to sell. UTEK found Materials Technology Inc., which soon signed a contract to commercialize the technology.

Unlike other tech-transfer companies, UTEK will pay the research labs for licensing rights to the discovery. It then agrees to sell those rights to the client company for shares of stock, which UTEK agrees to hold for one year. It's possible that UTEK would pay around $500,000 for a discovery and receive $2.5 million worth of a company's stock.

Over the years, UTEK has had more success than failure. The company's successes involve technologies ranging from fertilzing production to pollution monitoring. UTEK, which went public in 2003, now holds equity stakes in 55 companies with a portfolio valued at over $60 million. It shows no signs of slowing down either, adding several thousand discoveries to it's database each year. UTEK would definitely help our company get the word out about our separation device. The company has a proven record and will be able to provide our technology with the light of day it needs to become successful.

There's More to Innovation Than Good Ideas

The article "There's more to Innovation Than Good Ideas", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses the Air Sandwich and the negative effect it has on an organization. The Air Sandwich occurs when leadership within an organization gives orders to employees far down the chain of command, without the benefit of feedback or questions. The author, Nilofer Merchant, first encountered the problem of the Air Sandwich while she worked for AutoDesk. The CEO at AutoDesk had a plan that would propel the company into the future. This plan included introducing six new product lines into the market within the next 18 months. Merchant had her doubts about the project, but kept her mouth shut, believing the "leaders" would make sure everything went as planned. However, things did not go smoothly as the new products didn't make it to the market for many more years. Many will blame the people within the organization for failures such as this, but there is more to be blamed than just the people. Much of the blame can be placed on the system being used. Merchant has seen the same problem many times over the years while working for several different companies. She says, "We limit participation in strategy creation based on title and rank rather than relevant insight." Merchant believes that companies need to create a shared understanding of what matters and why and also stop rewarding individual accomplishment because it is easier than rewarding co-ownership of the ultimate outcomes. In the long run, failures like this can be very helpful to a company in that it will help them understand the problems involved with their system. After the problems have been addressed, the company can move forward by understanding and correcting these problems.

US Insurers Purchase Corporate Bonds in Market 'Raining Gold'

According to the article "U.S. Insurers Purchase Corporate Bonds in Market 'Raining Gold'", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses how U.S. insurers took advantage of a market that Warren Buffet said was "raining gold". Corporate bonds were bought at an extremely fast pace, while insurers net purchases rose to $153 billion in 2009. This corporate debt rally helped companies such as Prudential and Met Life recover capital that was lost in the housing and stock market slumps of 2008 and 2009. Life insurers, which can hold policymakers premium for decades before paying claims, need to earn returns on funds to pay workers, remunerate investors and ultimately satisfy customers. This is a strong reason that many companies who were shut out of the debt markets during the credit freeze, returned to selling bonds in 2009 as demand returned.

Essay: Bloom Energy Unveils the Bloom Box

Fuel cell maker Bloom Energy aims to change the way energy is used by introducing a new modular power plant. The company recently created a buzz by holding a major conference unveiling their new invention. Although the company already has significant momentum in starting this project, many are still wary. The company's ambitions will only be met if they can sell their invention for a profit.
Bloom Energy, which was named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer in December, held a conference attended by such people as the Governor of California, Arnold Scwarzenegger and former Secretary of State Colin Powell to unveil it's new product, the Bloom Box. The product is a modular power-plant-in-a-box system giving owners the ability to generate their own electricity on site, lowering energy costs and creating less harm to the atmosphere. According to the author, it was no accident that the Governor of California was invited to the event as he believes Bloom CEO, K.R. Sridhar, hopes California government agencies and cities will start to use the energy savers.
Bloom is not short on customers, as it has gained millions of dollars from companies such as Google, Coca-Cola, eBay, WalMart, Staples, Fed Ex and many more business giants. However, some industry analysts remain skeptical of the Bloom Box and how much success it will enjoy. These same analysts point to other fuel cell start ups that have never managed to gain a profit, including Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. and Fuel Cell Energy. Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. was created in 1992 and is still not a profitable company.
Bloom Energy believes it will succeed where others have failed due to the fact that it's technology is different in a number of ways. The company claims to use lower-cost materials, making it easier to mass produce their product, which also allows for a wider potential market. Bloom also contends that their solution is more efficient at converting fuel to electricity. Company executives also forsee powering individual homes one day, as well as reducing the dependence on gasoline powered vehicles by generating electricity for hybrid or electric cars.
If Bloom Energy plans on being successful, it still has to prove it can be competitive without subsidies. With a plan in place, the company seems to be moving in the right direction. It has narrowed its market to big businesses in the United States who use their energy savers as a complement to traditional energy supplies. For now, the future looks bright.

Patent Trolls

The article, "Debunking the Patent Troll", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses non-practicing entities and the criticism they have garnered as of late. To be precise, non-practicing entities are companies that acquire patents and seek payment from companies they feel infringe upon those patents. One of the bigger problems facing many tech companies in todays' business environment is the increase in product complexity, which is forcing more and more companies to place restraints on research departments. This leaves the company looking outside for help in innovation. The article then goes on to describe how external R&D falls into two different categories, "operating companies" and the "failed entrants" group. Operating companies include competitors, suppliers, customers and other similar groups, while failed entrants are made up of inventors, startups and universities who don't dare enter the market on their own. One idea that many hope will come to fruition is the reformation of patents. This is needed because many feel NPE's create patents that are too broadly defined and should never have been granted in the first place. Another criticism involving NPE's is that they should not ask for money if they haven't produced anything. The next portion of the article separates the two main groups that NPE's, or "patent trolls" as they are often reffered to, make up. These two groups are innovators and patent investors. Many innovators are individuals or companies who have tried to bring their innovations to the market but have failed. Patent investors are usually funds or companies that seek profit from price differentials. According to the author, patents belonging to individual inventors/ failed entrants are more meaningful to the inventor than those belonging to large companies. He believes innovators should be free to benefit from their inventions without having to be experts in raising capital and running a company. The curent patent system could definitely use a tune up, as stronger patent rights are needed.

Mr. Innovator, "Tear Down These Walls"

The article, "Mr. Innovator, Tear Down These Walls", discusses how the sharing of information across different departments in organizations needs to occur more frequently. Not only would information sharing in organizations help, but the external sharing of information could also greatly further the cause of innovation. The main problem in today's world is that the information that would help combine capabilities across organizations is usually impossible to access. The author mentions an example involving the CIA and another agency within the government. The CIA recently gave valuable data to this other agency,which in turn benefited greatly. According to the author, this type of information sharing needs to happen more often in order to open up new innovation opportunities within organizations. Humans and the organizations in which they are a part of need to open up to the idea of experimentation and change to help innovation flourish.