Abstract

This talk explores elements of professionalizing new technology business creation. I introduce processes and components of invention, review and propose models of taking inven- tions to market and, end with an analysis of innovation; contextually responsible solutions as part of any path to any new technology business success. Invention is creating solutions to long felt unmet needs. I will give examples of how to invent. I will talk about its precursors of scenario analysis, staging, library of technologies and describe some approaches to gain momentum through iterative and parallel approaches to further evaluation, aesthetic and functional development aspects of invention. Cultures to take inventions to market exist in self-funded and venture-funded entrepreneurial organizations, in universities, and in large research labs. What are the various strengths and weaknesses of the existing models for innovation development? Startups are often hobbled by current trends in funding, limitations of team experience, technology concerns, and inadequate market information. At academic institutions, opportunities for taking innovations forward can be limited by academic stance and by project continuity. And large companies tend to be limited by the expectations of current revenue streams. In consideration of the problems of current innovation models, the presentation will offer “excubate”: a new entrepreneurial investment model which can increase innovation's chances for success. The distributed crowd sourced approach reduces pitching for money and focuses competition around refining market technology and team building successes. The talk ends with examples from my career of working to create solutions that fit into constraints of existing product opportunities.

Short CV

Ted Selker is a visiting Professor at Aarhus University and Distinguished researcher at UC Berkeley. Ted’s work strives to demonstrate considerate technology, in which people’s intentions are recognized and respected. A creator and tester of new scenarios for working with computing systems, his design practice includes consulting wherever innovation is possible. Ted spent five years as Director of Considerate Systems research at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley. He was also responsible for developing the campus’ research mission, teaching HCI, Android product design, and research in voting with disabilities. Ted spent ten years as an Associate Professor at the MIT Media Laboratory where he created the Context Aware Computing group, co-directed the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, and directed the CI/DI kitchen of the future/design of the future project. He has also served as a consulting professor at Stanford University, taught at Hampshire College, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Brown University. His successes at targeted product creation and enhancement led to his role of IBM Fellow and director of User Systems Ergonomics Research at IBM.

Host

Prof. Dr. Patrick Baudisch