It has come to my attention that many innovators are afraid of what success means.  Not in the sense that they don’t want money and attention for their work as much as the fear of how success impacts their lab time.  The process of innovation is such an important part of many innovators identity that there is a fear success might inhibit their ability to spend time involved in their passion. 

It is important to understand that this is probably more perception that fact. The key is to find the right commercialization partners who complement you and understand your position.  Of course this means giving up a lot of control and ownership of that current innovation but allows you to succeed with your commercialization while returning to the lab for improvements or the next project.  Having one of your technologies succeed also does not mean a granting authority will cut you off on future projects.  Commercial success is a key criteria for many grants so success commercially should only improve your ability to secure funding for future projects.

One lesson that is hardest to swallow for most inventors or technologists is that your idea is the key driver of value that everything else revolved around. 

The reality is that everything revolves around execution.

Learn this lesson early and save a lot of heartache.  Unfortunately, only a small minority of ideas ever see the light of day.  Did you know that over 95% of all patents never make a dime?  I mention this not to scare you away from pursuing the market but instead to help you get a grasp of the effort ahead.  Be prepared to work hard – very hard.  Learn how to sell yourself so you can remain on top of each negotiation and each opportunity.  Remember, if your innovation is good enough to land funding, a VC will gobble up a significant portion of your equity, so try to develop the market yourself as long as you can and build value around your idea so that you improve your leverage. 

For many creators and innovators, it is tempting to take the stance that you are “simply” a creator and best tinkering behind the scenes and finding someone to write your business plan and market your product or service.  While I strongly believe in good partners and division of labor, I do believe it is a dangerous mistake to hand over all aspects of the business to someone else. 

If you need help with a business plan, get help but be sure you are getting a good coach and writer but do the market research and bulk of the detail yourself.  Several reasons for this:

1. You will learn more about how your innovation impacts others so you can make improvements that might be crucial to success.
2. You will gain a better grasp of the realities of new venture creation.
3. You will learn more about your value and be less likely to be taken advantage of when raising capital or bringing in equity partners.

Be sure that you do your homework and ask for references.  Commercialization experience is hard to come by and you should remain engaged in all aspects of business until you are way down the road to profitability where you can then consider a return to the lab full time while the cogs in the wheel of the venture continue to work for you.