How to commercialize technologies… and what about the social return?

Click to watch the video
Click to watch the video

Last Wednesday, members of the CIBC Presents Entrepreneurship 101 audience had the pleasure of hearing from Raphael Ronen, Commercialization Manager at The Innovations Group at the University of Toronto.

Despite his cold, Raphael was thorough and eloquent as he talked about how to evaluate new technologies. Factors such as intellectual property, technology, market, team and impact are all important. Using various technologies as examples, it became clear how important this framework is to the technology commercialization process.

Raphel closed with a great overview of the license vs. spin-off options and some of the financing options available. Overall, we left the room having a great picture of the overall technology process.

While many questions arose during the question and answer session, I was struck by one singular question – how do we as individuals involved in commercialization ensure that the next generation of technology will not only provide financial returns but also provide social returns? I am eager to hear your perspectives!

Downloads and Resources

Weren’t able to attend the class? Need some notes or want to look something up? Click below for all of the goodies from the lecture. Watch the video and the slide presentation below.

CIBC presents Entrepreneurship 101 2009/10 – Week 4 – Intro to Tech Companies & Business Creation from MaRS Discovery District on Vimeo.
Intro to Tech Companies & Business Creation
View more documents from Cathy Bogaart.