HELP - Innovation Needed

One of the big discussion points running around my brain, and those of us in commercialization at TechColumbus, is innovation. I have been thinking about innovation and how it relates, but is different from, creativity quite a bit. I often say that I see a lot of creativity in this line of work, but unfortunately little innovation. Then, many of us attended the Dave Berkus presentation last week and his primary message was one of INNOVATION! How timely!

You can find his presentation at our website, http://www.techcolumbus.org/en/cev/297. However, you won't get his fantastic delivery!

Mr. Berkus echoed the sentiment that innovation is game, or life, changing. Creativity, on the other hand, can be a novel use of current technology, or a mix or other things that exist in a unique way. Mr. Berkus listed his top 10 dominant trends that will shape 2008 and beyond. In short (and without his great anecdotal comments and delivery), here they are. Some of the sub-bullets are from his presentation and some are from my experience.

1. The growing scope of the Internet
12 million new people join the Internet each week! This seems like a great customer base that is longing for innovative products and services.
2. The paradise of choice
I enjoyed his assertion that time and place shifting is becoming more the norm. We want what we want when and where WE want it. How can we create something new that caters to this desire?
3. The audience is the network
Anyone can create things, sell things, publish things, and help others find things! Buyers are sellers and vice versa, making us all more discerning. Innovation hits a home run here.
4. Increasing computer power drives changes in human behavior.
Cloud computing and software as a service (SAAS) are the norm. The other end (how we receive the product) is no longer a limiting factor in electronic products - take advantage of that!
5. Mobile computing changes our lives - I am the office!
I am seeing more and more startups that are taking advantage of the simple fact that most of us have a very smart phone with us all the time. We need to think about this device and how important it is to the consumers and deliver innovative and useful content to them.
6. Consumer electronics spending is growing and converging, dominated by HDTV
Computer games and simulations are growing rapidly. New technology is enabling consumer electronics to do more. This seems like a great distribution channel for innovative, or creative, content and creates a new industry of related devices.
7. Web 2.0 enters the mainstream
This is what I see a lot of these days. There are many creative uses and companies out there for this new social networking trend. This is driving more young people onto the web for longer periods of time and opens up a huge market! However, there is too much focus on just doing different things with the same old technology or web 2.0 business models. A new social network website with an advertising, or "freemium" model is not innovative. It might be creative and people might pay for it, but it is not innovation.
8. Web 3.0 and 4. 0 are coming - way beyond search
www.powerset.com was given as an example of the new semantic web search. I can see opportunities for innovation here as this is new ground.
9. Everything turns green
We know we are using more of our resources than we should and the green movement is moving. How can we produce innovative products or services that do good and take advantage of the natural movement toward this type of product??
10. The CIO becomes a business strategist
The CIO or technology person will continue to become more and more important to the overall strategy of the business. That means they will have more power to make decisions and spend money on your innovative products or services!

We have so many innovative companies and institutions here in Columbus. I am hopeful that we can start to get some of that innovation out of the research institutions and universities and create sustainable companies. I made a statement on Twitter the other day that if you create some innovative piece of technology but you don't commercialize it, you might as well teach! That was not meant as a disparaging remark to teachers, professors, or researchers. I teach and thoroughly enjoy it. The idea is that if this innovation is so great and so valuable that we can get people to buy it, and use it, we will create sustainable companies, create high paying jobs for our community, and ultimately change the view of Columbus! This is not still a cow town and there is no need to add ", Ohio" any time a national writer writes about Columbus.

So, come on Central Ohio! Bring me innovative technology ideas and let us help to commercialize them!

Thanks, Kevin...

TechCrunch50 Wraps Up

TechCrunch50 has just concluded in San Francisco. This event had over 50 new IT startups present their unique products and services for the first time to a huge audience of VC's and other influential people in the tech entrepreneur world. Coincidentally, we were holding our own smaller version of this as we held our TechGenesis presentation event here at TechColumbus. Companies presenting at TechCrunch50 are very, very similar to what we are seeing here in Central Ohio and many are not nearly as beneficial, unique, or cool. Eventually, we will have competitors from here in this event and we will continue to get mentioned and respect from folks like this, as long as we keep doing what we are doing in Central Ohio and at TechColumbus.

Take a moment and check out the list of winners from this event at http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/10/yammer-takes-techcrunch50s-top-prize/.

This page will show you the full list of competing companies as well as the list of partners who were at the event: http://www.techcrunch50.com/2008/conference/.

This is one of the premier examples of this type of event and gathering of tech entrepreneurs in the country.

Enjoy and let's keep doing what we are doing! There are other people in other places that are trying to do great things, too. We can show them that Central Ohio is truly the best place to start a technology company and TechColumbus is leading that charge!

Thanks, Kevin...

Monday IT Startup Report

It has been a big Monday here at TechColumbus. First, we held our 7th round of competition for a grant we manage called TechGenesis. Also, we found out that one of our recent graduates, Call Copy, was quoted in an InfoWorld article on tech startups.

TechGenesis is a grant that we manage as part of the TechColumbus TechStart program. Tech-based companies that win this competition are awarded a grant of up to $50,000 to begin the commercialization process of a new idea. This has to be a very early stage idea and many of the presenters are still working at other companies. Almost all are pre-revenue.

The process occurs 4 times per year and usually we have 6 companies that enter into each round. Typically, 3 companies are funded in this process. The companies are sponsored into the competition by someone here on the commercialization staff. My role is to find and help the IT companies and I usually work with another sponsor on our team, such as Chris Anderson who is a real up and coming "Rock Star" for finding and helping tech startups.

Companies submit a 3 page executive summary to the Deal Flow Assessment Committee and each gives a 10 minute presentation to the DFAC.

The companies that we saw today were Spotwurk, Accelerated Data Concepts, EXCMR, Epiglare, and Thermo Buffer. One company fell out at the last minute, leaving us only 5 to review. All of the presentations were very good and the ideas are unique. We will know tomorrow who was selected.

Also, check out this link: http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/08/37FE-startup-tech-how-to_1.html?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/08/37FE-startup-tech-how-to_1.html. A recent graduate of the TechColumbus Incubator, Call Copy, is featured in this article. It is a great article related to technology startups!

That's all for today!

Thanks, Kevin...

Welcome!

Welcome to yet another blog about the Columbus tech community! My focus is on the IT startups in the area because that is my passion, and my job. I have been involved personally in starting several IT businesses in central Ohio, and I am sure I will be back out there in the trenches at some point in the future. Also, as the Director of IT Commercialization for TechColumbus, my job is to find, fund, coach, and help the IT startups in central Ohio. I get the pleasure and honor of using my experience, skills, network, and the resources of TechColumbus to grow great IT companies right here in central Ohio!

So, I will bring some perspective to things we are doing at TechColumbus. I will work to encourage budding tech entrepreneurs. I will do what I can to provide useful information and useful connections to keep central Ohio's IT startups going and growing.

To do my job with excellence, I need help. We need to keep blogging, and meeting, and connecting, and thinking, and trying, and failing, and getting back up, and celebrating our local successes.

So, I join my voice, my energy, and my blog, to the other passionate people in this community that want to see us known as a successful high tech town where ideas flow and businesses grow.

Thanks, Kevin...