From Research to Innovation: The experience of SEV

1. From Research to Innovation:
The experience of SEV
CostasTroulos
Project Manager
Hellenic Federation of Enterprises

2. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
• 20 years experience in research,
innovation and the ICT industry
• Owner of broadbandprime.com
• Passionate about research
infrastructures, innovation
management and an all inclusive
information society
• Have coached and supervised 35
scientific teams
• Head of ΜΑΖΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΚΚΙΝΗΣΗ at
Demokritos Campus
ktroulos@sev.org.gr -$ whoami

3. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Agenda and context
About Ekinisi Lab
Observations
Challenges
Conclusions

4. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Business pre-acceleration and
acceleration - technology transfer
Brings entrepreneurship closer to
the scientific community
Have supported more than 70
business teams and startups
Established in 2013, a ΣΕΒ initiative
Has currently 4 offices
Athens (2), Volos (1), Crete (1)
About Ekinisi Lab

5. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Observation 1: Entrepreneurial Profiles
ResearchersStudents Professionals
Technology innovator
Age: 30-40 years
Product innovator
Age: 20-30 years
Organization innovator
Age: 40-50 years
Advantages:
• Technical expertise
Disadvantages:
• Inexperienced
Advantages:
• Enthusiasm
Disadvantages:
• Inexperienced
Advantages:
• Market experience
Disadvantages:
• “knows the risks”

6. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Observation 2: The Greek Research - Industry Gap
Significant body of research -
publications, scientific papers,
participation in EU funded
projects
Few exploitation plans, fewer
patents, even fewer startups
Researchers do not solve the real
problems of the industry and the
market
Industry imports technology and
innovation

7. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Observation 3: Innovation is a tough nut to crack
Innovation can be viewed as the application of better solutions that
meet new requirements, inarticulated needs, or existing market needs.
The term innovation can be defined as something original and, as a
consequence, new, that "breaks into" the market or society.
Wikipedia
Innovation is seeing what everyone else has seen and
thinking what no one else has thought
Albert Szent-Gyorgi, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine
Source: TEDX talks - Ernesto Sirolli Case Study: The Isolator

8. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Challenge 1: Define your product and service well
Source: Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs by Larry Keeley
Customer Profiles
Features
Service Delivery
Research &
Development
Production
Technical Support
Business
Case
Make the product simple and intuitive
Ensure that the product addresses well defined market needs
Be ahead of your time but not too much
Work the numbers
Money Technology Market Product

9. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Challenge 2: Protect your intellectual rights
Patents, trademarks and copyright
Patents are not scientific papers – they are expensive
– You need to have an exploitation plan before you apply for a patent
– Think about the timing of the patent: It is a critical element for the
ultimate success
You can’t talk money with someone if you don’t have a patent
for something patentable
Mask out critical information when talking to outsiders

10. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Challenge 3: Visualize information
Take the data out, leave information in
Make your message stand out
Use visual tools (don’t overdo it)
– graphs, diagrams, 2D, 3D representations – avoid tables and too much
text – make it simple
Tell a story – you can’t win your audience if you talk like a text
book

11. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
There’s an arrow missing! Involve the most important ideas
Visualize information: Be simple, be clear

12. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Before
In relation to the latter, the over of a
decennial scientific involvement and
international recognition of the work
of XXXXXXXXX and his team,
significantly increases the chances of
success and rapid market
penetration for XXXXXXX. One of the
major competitive advantages of the
company is the patent of its research
results with a series of patents both
in Greece and abroad.
After
The management team will
contribute significantly to the
realization of these goals as it brings
into the mix:
– Patented research results and
methodologies, internationally
– Long-time partnerships and
relationships with key service
providers in Greece and abroad
– Top scientific results - the work
of XXXXXXXXXXX and his team,
enjoys international recognition
Visualize information: Get the message out, fast

13. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Challenge 4: Motivate the team
Assign roles (aka responsibility and recognition)
– Roles motivate people
However, work together, collaborate, brainstorm
Manage change, uncertainty, risk AND failure
Find new ways to motivate yourself and the team
Just set the bar lower and start winning points.
Winning points motivates and lifts the bar at the
same time. YA
What if I had not quit. SF
I usually try to start something unknown to me, in
any field not just work, that makes me feel like a
beginner and a fool again. AA
I think about my daughter. LA
I sit down and think of how far
have I come till now. NB
I just remind myself why I started in
the first place. VM
I find one small next step that I can
take immediately to put me closer
to my goal. SS
Source: Faceboook, Quora

14. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Conclusions
Policy makers should bring closer the worlds of industry and the academia
– Technology driven research + Market driven applications = Innovation
Innovators should maintain proximity between the two worlds (industry and
academia)
– Blend the best from the two worlds
Before trying to do breakthrough innovation start with the basics first
– Align your innovation with your business strategy
Investors and industrial partners are searching for people not products or
knowledge alone
– Knowledge is a sacred cow but milk it simply and efficiently
Venturing researchers have the courage; they only need to find the strength

15. Bridging Energy Research and Innovation in the EUROMED area5 December 2014
Questions and Answers
Costas Troulos, Project Manager
Entrepreneurship Unit, Hellenic Federation of Enterprises
ktroulos@sev.org.gr
211 500 61 34
210 650 32 87