Short presentation given at Cybera Summit November 2013

1. IT TAKES 3,000 RAW
IDEAS = 1
COMMERCIAL
SUCCESS
HOW TO FIND SUCCESS
Lynn Sutherland
November 2013

2. FORMULA 1
3000 Raw Ideas
Stage 1
-> 300 Ideas where some action is taken
-> 125 Small Projects
Stage 2
Stage 3
-> 9 Significant Developments
Stage 4
-> 4 Major Developments
Stage 5
-> 1.7 Launches
-> 1 Success
Stage 6
Stage 7
0.03% success rate from initial concept, based on evidence from many sectors
From: 3,000 Raw Ideas = 1 Commercial Success! Greg A. Stevens and James Burley;
Industrial Research Institute Inc. 1997.

3. FORMULA 2
Success requires
(Leader + Market + Team + Finance + Product or Service)
×
(Timing + Execution)

4. MY RESULTS
• Many successful projects
• Moved from Stage 2 to 3 or from Stage 3 to 4
• Felt successful as they move ideas further along
• But did not lead to big commercial wins
• Two failed startups
• Both went from Stage 1 through to Stage 7
• 1 had a limited market, 1 was not able to attract growth financing
• Painful hard lessons because you give your life over to these for a few years
• Part of a couple of big successes
• Product commercialization success (major growth in sales) leading to company acquisition
• International recognition

5. SO
• Generate lots of ideas
• Use good filters
• Look for the right conditions
• Build the right team
• Work smart and hard
• Move things along to next stage, evaluate
• Keep trying
• Fail fast if you’re not sure
• Keep going and re-adjust if you are sure and have the stamina
• It may take (much) longer than you think
• Create your own luck by putting yourself in the right place at the right time