Innovation & Incubation of “New Age” Technologies

As the past 70-80 year global economic and business cycle wanes, the dawn of “New Age” technologies is taking a foothold amongst various industries, sectors and market segments. These include, but not limited to, clean-tech, bio-tech, clean energy, life sciences, interactive & digital media, and other related areas which will directly impact the next generation of “cutting-edge” products and/or services for both wholesale and retail consumers.

Accordingly, the traditional technology value chain starting with Research Design & Development (RD&D); Advanced Applications; Mass Commercialization; Production; Marketing & Sales; Distribution and; Customer Relationship Management (CRM) may also undergo major transformation. This dynamic shift, in turn, will require enhancement of skillsets, higher educational standards, advanced courses, results-oriented learning methods, effective manpower training, re-tooling as well as improvements to continuing education.

There will be a critical need to better leverage the time-tested and proven model of “Government-Corporate-Academia” as well as “Private-Public-Partnerships” with respect to innovation and incubating “New Age” technologies. Today’s leading academic institutions of higher learning will play a pivotal role, as dynamic centers of excellence, during the critical phases of the transformation well beyond the conventional and established platform for fundamental and advanced research. As the primary focal point, these academic institutions will require the maximum thrust, emphasis, support, investment, encouragement, and tangible resources from policymakers, stakeholders as well as cross-section of society at-large. Thus, policymakers must have definitive political-socio-economic willpower coupled with goal-oriented enactment of comprehensive legislation and enabling regulatory framework fostering innovation and incubation of “New Age” technologies.

The past sources of capital including, but not limited to, seed & angel investors, non-profit funding, venture capital, private equity, commercial banks will start to rethink their investment and financing strategies based on both prevailing and likely forecast market conditions. Gone are the days of “unsecured” capital. Structured finance based on non-recourse (strength of contracts among credit-worthy parties), limited recourse (asset collateralization) and total recourse (balance sheet exposure) are taking deeper roots throughout the global capital landscape. The entrepreneurs of “New Age” technologies will need to continually address dynamic commercial market fundamentals (supply-demand, unmet gap, elasticity of demand, infrastructure, manpower, competing & alternative technologies, regulatory & policy framework etc.), sound business fundamentals (balance sheet, P&L, and cashflow) and viable business-revenue models (IPR, manufacturing, services, licensing, merchandising, franchising etc.)

In summary, a results-oriented and “laser focus” based methodology and approach is mandatorily required in order to revitalize and reinvigorate the basic creative, innovative and inventive skills, attributes, time, resources and efforts for incubating “New Age” technologies.