We work in a highly regulated industry where getting to commercialization is a lengthy and expensive proposition. Decisions you make along the way can get you closer to goal or make you run out of funding.

You Are At The Idea Stage

This can be a very exciting and daunting time, at the same time! There’s a world of opportunities and directions to go, and it can feel a little overwhelming about what to do first. Most inventors and entrepreneurs start looking for funding.

However, at this stage, I’d propose vetting out your idea and invention a little further. Market research may sound boring and time-consuming, and you may be thinking, why bother, the diabetes market is huge, and my idea would address a big need, for example… But trust me, it’s not as easy or obvious.

Before you start seeking grants and investments, take some time to truly understand the market opportunity. We can work together to figure out what questions to ask and who to ask and get this done in an efficient way. This will be time well-spent that will also strengthen your investor pitch or grant proposal.

You Have Core Technology But No Products Yet

Many of the startups I work with have a great technology that they’re looking to productize. All too often though they rush into product development and don’t take the time to nail who is going to want their product and why. And then they wonder why the revenue floodgates have not opened.

New product development is expensive and takes a long time, especially if your product requires regulatory approval or clearance. So let’s take the time to understand the problem you’re trying to solve, size of the business opportunity, specific requirements for the product design, validation and testing of product performance, and development partners who can help. You may have great engineering resources in-house or want to outsource product development, but either way, working with somebody who has a holistic view of new product development from concept to commercialization can help you get there faster and avoid costly detours.

You Have Products That Are Missing The Mark

If you’ve launched a new product or have had products on the market that are underperforming, we’ll work together to investigate the root cause. An unbiased, external viewpoint from an experienced professional in the industry is critical here.

Common issues include:
Low awareness about your company and products within your target market.
The problems the product solves are not being clearly communicated.
The pricing strategy is off. The product is either priced too low or too high.
The sales channels are not right for the target market.
The product does not solve a significant enough problem.
The product is not designed or performing as it should to solve the customer’s problems.
Competitive products are already solving the target problem.
There is no clear differentiation and advantage over competitive products.

Once we identify the top challenges, we’ll work on addressing them. Some are straightforward and have easy to implement solutions while others may take us back to the drawing board. Working with somebody experienced in addressing these challenges, you can turn things around and get your business growing again.

Remember that products have a life cycle. Product extensions and product improvements are also part of the life cycle.

If you don’t have a product manager on staff, we can figure out where you current products are on their life cycle and map out their trajectory. Emotional attachment to products usually works against you. We’ll focus instead of customer problems and how the product portfolio will help solve them.