It seems that everyone is in search of the “next great idea”.  But ideas are just the starting point for new products or services.  Implementing an idea often proves to be the hard part.

In his book Open Business Models, Henry Chesbrough gives the example of Qualcomm.  The company succeeded in licensing its CDMA technology.  It tried to repeat that success by licensing a technology to deliver movies to theaters over the internet.  It failed at the latter.  The difference was that Qualcomm went through the pains of implementation before licensing CDMA.  With the movie technology, it came up with the idea but left the implementation to licensees. 

That’s one reason Fluid Innovation focuses on commercializing software technologies originally developed by companies for their own internal use.  These are not merely ideas; they have been acted upon.  The software is usually developed and battle tested inside the company that created it. 

Compare this to the typical patent, which is just an idea that has been explained in a legal filing.  Finding someone to make the idea become reality is the hardest part.  Why not search for ideas that have already made it over the implementation hurdle?

It’s that time of year again, DEMO 08 kicks off this coming Monday1/28… As DEMOfall 07 Alumnae, DEMO will always hold a special place in my heart. For those of you that don’t know, Fluid Innovation had the distinct honor to be selected from among the hundreds of applicants to launch Virtual Ventures, our online intellectual property marketplace (thanks to all our family, friends, clients and supporters that made our launch such a huge success!). There are only 70 demonstrators selected to launch so it really is a major accomplishment.

What a fabulous experience! First of all, it was held in San Diego at the Marina Sheraton – what a beautiful city, it doesn’t get much better. The atmosphere was so exciting — nervous energy filled the air — but it was good energy. In every corner you could see demonstrators rehearsing their presentations; some nervously pacing, others brimming with confidence and excitement. We were all so proud just to be there!

Let me provide some background re DEMO for those that are new to the start-up world. Here’s a quote from their site, “Every success story has a starting point…for 2,460 technologies, that place was DEMO.”

That about sums it up. DEMO has long running been the premier launch pad for emerging technologies. What’s hip, what’s wow, what’s now, and what’s hot…That’s what you’ll find at a DEMO conference. As the name implies, each company is provided with an opportunity to demo their product live on-stage to a very influential audience. You may have never heard of the majority of invitees selected to launch – yet some go on to become household names. For example, Skype, SquareTrade, ETrade, the Palm Pilot, TiVo - and VMWare’s been invited twice to show off their virtual machines! (major kudos!) and the list goes on… Big guys like Yahoo and AOL have also launched products there, but I’m not as impressed when giant corporations with mega R&D funding create something innovative. It’s a great accomplishment and I’m all for innovation, but there is just nothing as inspiring as to see a little self-funded guy/ gal with a great idea make it big – it’s so the American dream!

Speaking of funding, another key element is the DEMO Audience, made up largely of VC’s/ investors with a sprinkling of media for good measure. Now, if that doesn’t make a start-up company all warm and tingly, nothing will. Funding opportunities and free press, what’s not to like? But, I can’t forget the demonstrators. The exhibit hall was almost better than the actual demos (which were awesome). What a great group of people, so much genius and talent in one room - and really nice, too. Everyone was really friendly and the DEMO staff couldn’t have been more helpful.

As for the demonstrators, I mentioned above that we were “selected” to launch. No amount of money can get you a slot in this show. You have to prove your worthiness. The process?Go to the site, register, fill out an application, and cross your fingers while Executive producer, Chris Shipley and her team of technology experts rigorously scrutinize every application and hand-pick the 70 best and brightest new tech ideas. If you are selected, you will receive an invitation to attend. Needless to say, this is what makes DEMO such a privileged opportunity. 

Once you’ve been accepted there are a few rules. To launch at DEMO means just that. You unveil your product to the public and launch live at the show. It’s all very clandestine. You have been given this great opportunity and you can’t tell anyone. We could conduct business, but absolutely no talking to the press, and no telling anyone you’ve been invited. This is serious. If you violate this agreement you are out. But, this is also what creates such anticipation and interest for the investors and media.

The format of the presentation itself is very innovative. You get SIX minutes to present your product to a room full of highly sought-after media and investors. So not only is this a rare opportunity, but you only have six minutes to make an impression on a most important audience. They are really strict about the time as well – if you go over the limit you lose points and the chance to be a DEMO God! This is the coveted award of distinction presented to the most elite demonstrators that rise above the fray and make the most compelling and entertaining use of their six minutes. Although all the DEMO God recipients did an outstanding job, my personal favorite has to be LongJump. Pankaj and Derek were hilarious and Pankaj, what an amazing ball of energy! 

Needless to say, it was a fantastic opportunity for our company. As a result, we have really grown and fine-tuned our concept. Check back for DEMO Part Two where I’ll dish on life after DEMO!

Welcome to the Fluid Innovation blog.  We hope to share with you a variety of perspectives on Open Innovation, technology, commercialization, intellectual property and probably some random thoughts and ideas that pique our interest.

So who is Fluid Innovation and what is Open Innovation all about?   The term was coined by Dr. Chesbrough at UC Berkley, he has written two books (Open Innovation and Open Business Models).  The term Open Innovation has taken on a life of its own and now encompasses a wider net of topics that may lead to some confusion since it touches on open source projects, intellectual property, collaborative R&D and technology commercialization.  We will focus on the traditional definition that supports the transfer of technology from and to the firm best positioned to execute successfully in the marketplace.  In general it is a fairly simple idea BUT it leads to significant shifts in thinking and strategy.   The premise is that good ideas and inventions can (and should) come from anyone, anywhere.  It highlights the fact that the people or companies that create a novel new product or process are not always in the best position to implement and execute successfully in the marketplace.  If we can all agree that this is true then we should be willing as a company or an individual to be more “open” about sharing opportunities but also be more “open” to evaluating opportunities from outsiders.

Simply put, firms should look outside of their traditional sources of growth (internal development and acquisition) to create systems and processes to quickly evaluate external ideas and efficiently acquire and integrate outside innovation.  There are a couple key points to highlight:

• This strategy often delivers new products and services at lower cost, less risk, shorter time to market and often include ROI models, reference customers and sales leads. 
• Leading organizations of the future will be the ones that are able to make the shift from “not invented here” while creating the systems and culture to execute on their Open Innovation strategy. 

The final key idea behind Open Innovation is that it works both ways.  Firms should not only be open to identifying and bringing in new growth opportunities but they will also need to (a) be honest in evaluating their ability to execute in the market and (b) be prudent to their shareholders by capturing and evaluating all of the firms investments in intangible assets and then actively seek to transfer/out-license/sell opportunities that the firm is not in the best position to implement in the market.

So you may be curious what firms are embracing Open Innovation today, here are a few of the early adopters and some related content:

• Proctor & Gamble
• IBM
• Philips

And now, who and what is Fluid Innovation?  Well we have been working in the technology commercialization and intellectual property landscape for years and our goal is to create the marketplace, the tools and processes and the community of buyers and sellers that lead to the execution and visibility of real transactions.  We are about creating value through transactions, it is about reducing the transactions and communications costs that exist in the market for good ideas.  We are not talking about a craigslist for patents/IP or an expensive consulting organization or a collegial open innovation community.  Although we will include similar elements in our solutions, at our core we are about matching market opportunities with growth oriented firms that are best positioned to execute in the market.  So stay tuned and check in on us as we evolve and progress toward our goal of ”Making Open Innovation Easy.”

 And in true Open Innovation fashion, please feel free to comment or contact us with your thoughts and ideas.  Who knows where it may lead.  Welcome!

Welcome to the Fluid Innovation blog. 

Fluid Innovation was founded in 2005.  We help commercialize technologies built by Fortune 500 companies, typically for their own internal use.  Our customers include Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, and a half dozen other large firms.

On this blog we’ll write about current trends in intellectual property, intellectual asset management, mass collaboration, and technology commercialization.