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Today’s Challenge of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Today’s Challenge of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. WPI” Fifth US-Africa Business Conference Jerry Schaufeld WPI Department of Management. A perspective . JJS… vantage Professional and academic (“Improving the probability of success…”) WPI Vantage

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Today’s Challenge of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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  1. Today’s Challenge of Innovation and Entrepreneurship WPI” Fifth US-Africa Business Conference Jerry Schaufeld WPI Department of Management WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  2. A perspective • JJS… vantage • Professional and academic (“Improving the probability of success…”) • WPI Vantage • Legacy of Innovation and entrepreneurship • Current environment • Academic offerings • CEI and student based Genius • Research in Innovation and Entrepreneurship WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  3. Commercialization Cycle… • LBO • M & A • Turnaround • Other… $ • R & D • Invention • Mkt. Oppty. • Idea Money/ Cash flow ($) Subsequent Rounds Sources Time Decision to commercialize (Today) Angel “FFF” Series “A” event (Venture, Institutional Capital, JV, etc.) ? (Traditional) Professional (other peoples money) funding Visionary Funding WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  4. Implications by function… WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  5. The Challenges….. • Confronted by a new world characterized by a conceptual framework of a “Flat World” coined by Tom Freidman. The issues are global. • Challenges include environmental, energy, health care, food and economic growth to start. WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  6. We are we Doing…..? • In the US we had the advantages of “endless” resources and a seemingly endless ability to consume…. • Today we have reached limits in …. • Ability to compete in production of goods • Limits to our resources • The beginning of understanding the environmental penalty of all the above. • Producing the engineering talent we need. WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  7. And Yet……. • We put a man on the moon, invented the microcircuit, Post Its and the I-Pod. • Looking forward we are betting on the strength of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. • Innovation deals with the process from idea recognition to empowerment and commercialization. • Entrepreneurship deals with the area of risk mitigation through understanding business fundamentals as applied to opportunities. WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

  8. WPI specifics…. • Examples at WPI include: • Kern foundation –Embedding Innovation in the Engineering Curriculum for all students • NCIIA proposal to develop a feasibility discipline early in the design of the social use of robotics • WPI’s legacy of project orientation (IQP, MQP) • Student initiated activity (i.e. Genius) • It’s only the beginning….. WPI’s Fifth US Africa Business Conference June 2008

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