Day in the Life Snapshot

October 12 2015

Let’s take a look at the day in the life at TCO- Friday, October 9th.

9am, morning, the onslaught of emails, and i prepare the list. I told my mom the other day i can’t use notebooks or paper with lines. I’m a rampant list maker and I love the blank page. I mostly use copier paper, legal size, landscape, and work out all my notes and lists for projects on them. I then add postit notes to the mix for added clarity and goodness. Friday is the day I summarize the week, make a list of top priorities for next week and so on. Lists include things like: deals (all the deals currently in motion and what they need at the moment), events (any and all events in motion, planning etc), doing (instead of to do I always headline them as doing cause they will be done!, this are top priority across all the other lists), SHOP (everything related to the software prototyping side of my job, the prototypes in play etc), VAULT (everything related to the buckeyevault project), intake (everything coming in, meetings to have, followups etc).

10am, meeting with a professor and research assistant out of the College of Education. They’re working on a grant / research project for young kids who have hard time with reading, pronouncing, letters. The grant they are pursuing has a technology related outcome, or use of. They’d like to know what technology could be applicable to the grant and they think building an app could be it. We talk their idea, methodology, approach to the grand, the app that could be made, how could it be made, what resources on campus, what to do if you have budget or none, and who can assist them etc. At best I am a liaison, helping them guide the requirements gathering to understand what to make and then guide them through who to go to or what to do to make the app. We then discuss outcomes- i always push for the ideal- what do you want to see, what outcome do you want to have and then map it back to where we are, what assumptions have to be tested, proved etc.

I provide them with what tools I have, my paper prototyping kit, my kinda high level outline of how I’d approach the project while keeping in mind they are the subject matter experts in what they do, i am the enabling, lets make an app guy if they want that. Then the app itself, how it works, how to talk to a developer about it, getting as many unknowns “known” to save costs, reduce wonderment and enable SPEED. Then the discussion of what this costs them, my engagement, involvement, and i say—-> nothing.

Thats it, I am a service to you. Good meeting. Now there are always questions like “should they make an app” or “isn’t it likely theres an app like what they want to make already” and my answer to that is yes, maybe and don’t care. Plus it doesn’t matter. Because the drive here isn’t the app, its the research up and into the app, and the testing of their approach with an app, the data outcomes to that app they’ve designed and the impact they see using the tool they’ve produced. Commercialization wise, its iffy to unknown, as with most software and especially apps- but the mission is important, the enablement is hugely key, because when people aspire to make, they create alot of collateral intellectual property in the process, what goes to market out of this could be app, but more so its likely to be a leveraged position on the experience gained, and the wake of the project itself. For now we stay tuned on this. 🙂

Lunch, discussion on the usual AI and how its coming for us all. (not really)

1pm: SampleScan prototype demo for a student working in our CAST program. CAST is Customer Aligned Startup Training. Its a program TCO created a few years ago that allows students, who volunteer their time to work with TCO and mentors to essentially do market analysis for a technology at Ohio State. They are assigned the technology, work with TCO staff and meet with inventors, understand the project, go through a guided analysis process, do market research, come up with their analysis on the tech to market likelyhood and why etc. Its a good program. Students range from business students to specific field students, like biochem to heavy engineering etc. SampleScan is a software app and platform for a dermatology faculty member in the hospital, the software system helps dermatologists with inventory management of product samples for creams, lotions etc, samples given to patients. The problem is current tools and methods are not computerized (only that the huge huge level) and don’t comply with pharma board regulations. This project was a great example of where the SHOP and TCO essentially created the IP for the faculty member. We took a problem expressed, explored it, storyboarded the ideal, and then built it in our software prototyping center. Alex, through the CAST program, came in to get a demo of it, how does it work, we went through the roles of user scenarios involved, demo’d the app, and showed off the website interface for dermatologists covering patients, inventory, reporting, compliance, notifications, and even pharma brand interaction elements. Its a good product with a real trajectory of potential.

2pm: Meet with my interns, what projects we’re tackling in the SHOP- we’re building a cancer screening application for faculty member in the James, an insect capture and annotation app for ag bio sciences, leveraging some super computer power for image recognition project, working on a 2d to 3d building information modeling product demo for Capital Planning dept, working on product demos of some bio chem analysis software, hackathon prep, vault tweaks and new product addons, samplescan changes and improvements and more.

3pm: catch up on deals with coworkers, latest status, projects we’re working with rev1 on, getting FDA compliance docs for one project, getting better presentation material for another project

330pm: meet with alumni who has a product idea and curious on university engagement. Its not in my title really nor anyone else’s at TCO but we’re an open office for the most part, meaning if you’re part of Ohio State from employee, to faculty to student or alumni you can interface with us. Alumni often engage with the TCO office, they are curious about ongoing research programs, IP to market opportunities, or in this case their own idea they’d like advice on. I meet with these folks, notably the ones that know me, or somehow find out about me- they call, or stop by and we set up a meeting to discuss how the university can help them. In this case, Kat has a patent for a medical product, she’d like to explore alignment with the university.

that about sums up a day in the life for me at TCO…

Let’s talk about fear…

October 1 2015October 2, 2015

Yesterday I gave a guest lecture to a product design class for entrepreneur minors about well.. fear, specifically in regards to startups, and the fears that consume the people that dare to create them.

I exposed 5 primal fears that I feel occur in startup entrepreneurs. They are: desire, doubt, debate, destroy, and dread. So why talk about fear? Because its an underlying thread that is ever present, attacks, consumes and often destroys entrepreneurs. Yet its a rarely discussed or covered topic really- we’re all so happy about starting, luckily we’re still frighteningly human, and oh so fragile.

Desire is the first fear that entrepreneurs feel. Its that undeniable urge, that all consuming aspect that you are right. You want this thing so bad, you see it, you longingly want this reality to be here, now, true. Our desire in creating next is ultra powerful and massively destructive. Desire fuels light and the dark on both your shoulders- the angel and the devil, and well your big idea in the mix. Its a foundational fear, special and primal to you, to your mission, to your quest. To mitigate this fear is to listen to data, listen to reason, to observe the pattern outside yourself. Desire can be timely or deadly.

Is the idea right? Is the product correct? Is the prototype good enough? Are my customers right? Do i have the proper product fit? Am I in the right city? Right region? Right partner, investor, should I be listening to dan ramble? Is this idea gonna fly? Should I be working instead? Doubt is the second sort of primal foundational fear, its the little person inside freaking out, all the time. While Desire drags you into the bar, Doubt is freaking out over the bar tab. Mitigating doubt takes practice, and a building of ones confidence through practice and learned experience. The more you do, the more you practice, the less doubt impacts you in my opinion. Conviction is the spear of destiny to doubt, you can slice through doubt in a second, you believe, nothing else matters- you could say thats desire talking but, not always true. Doubt is very much, in you.

Debate is likely the most destructive of the five fears i’m listing. Debate is often the source of new data, new learnings, or pokes and prods to try something new, but more so debate is everyone and everything coming down on you. Its external forces causing your desire to go on the offensive and ramps up your doubt engine like mad. Debate is largely untimely, meaning 9 out of 10 debates do you no good. Humans are hard wired to debate, to critique, we are walking streams of opinions. Debate is a foundation for garbage in garbage out meaning if you start the debate on less than favorable footing, you’re likely to get a less than favorable output, which feeds into your doubt and can alter company, product, personal product or direction. Columbus loves to debate. Everyone in Columbus is an armchair quarterback and as much as we don’t want it, we do, because we want connection, we need conversation, we can’t do this grand thing in a vacuum, at least not all the ideas.

To destroy is to start to turn on each other, early on, often before the biz is real, before a prototype exists, etc. The destruction of those around you, partners, friends, family, you will do it. You will choose, you will destroy. I found it oddly whimsical that just 1hr after my talk I caught up a past attendee of Startup Weekend, who was feeling the destroy aspects of a startup team imploding before investment, before product, before real adoption. Destroy is the gateway drug or possibly the side effect of micromanagement. Desire fights for your position, while doubt builds the case and ultimately green lights destruction.

I always recall my early days at TCO where I would meet with many local entrepreneurs, and recall one of them telling me “i got 8 months.. and then i’m dead.” The sense of dread was completely transparent to me. He knew it, he saw the fate that was to be. When startups run out of cash, they often, if not always, die. He had 8 months of cash and then, dead. Taking cash often creates dread. There’s alot of romancing the stone happening in the startup scene, the thrill of manifesting an idea out of thin air is a rush, then building a proto, then playing the part all the way up to the guy or gal that is willing to give you coin at the altar, and of course thats your moment, your window, your party, and many feel the dread as soon as they take it, as if everything before that was fun, but now, its serious, you owe. Dread manifests itself in other ways as well, product iterations aren’t always fun, interacting with others, isn’t always fun, raising money- talk to 10 entrepreneurs and get taste for what its like to split yourself in half, spending 8 hour days on building a product, managing people, getting customers, and then another 8 hours a day raising money, getting rejected or jumping through a few dozen hoops. This is the world.

So the first half of the talk was fears, and then I broke into 2 concepts I feel help address, tackle and defeat or disarm those fears- intrinsic momentum and hustle. To me intrinsic momentum a natural rolling state of believability. Its already apparent, obvious. I feel most great opportunities are simply leveraging the obvious, cashing in on the intrinsic momentum already in play.

Twitch is an example of intrinsic momentum to me. Gamers shared their games on youtube long before twitch came along. In the observation of this, justintv pivoted to cater to this already evolving, present, and growing audience. The product was straightforward, obvious, the customers were already there. They simply made it better.

Finding ideas that roll, they stick, they are obvious, perhaps not tech enabled yet, but obvious. Guiding user behavior not changing it, huge win material. Especially for a non-resilient first time entrepreneur. Sure once your conviction engine is online 24/7, go for that ground breaking total behavior change idea, you’ll need the energy and the money to do it. Intrinsic momentum ideas and concepts often harbor super fans, twitch is another great example of finding and leveraging super fans. Super fans, super users, like employees whom you never pay – are the gods of your service, they are more powerful than any ad campaign. Momentum gives you a vehicle for noise, and noise and can be leveraged by hustle.

I ended the talk on hustle, the definitive metric that separates entrepreneurs. A bad idea with hustle can increase the opportunities to be great, while a great idea with lack of hustle can equally miss or even erode opportunities and fail.

Following the talk I received alot of questions, how to raise money, what does Columbus offer young entrepreneurs, the allure and pull of the valley, and more.

Its always fun to talk to students, next week I have the privilege to speak to a Buckeye Leadership class on pitching a concept. I’m in the height of lecture madness, one talk a week from now till mid November. Good times! You can find my FEAR talk, here on slideshare along with our SHOP prototype paper I use with students, faculty, and staff to ideate a concept.

2015 predictions thus far…

August 30 2015

So how am I doing thus far on my 2015 predictions? Am I close? Way off? 2015 feels pretty much done for me. Fall is here and then winter and then like hello 2016.

So lets look at what I said and where we are now…

We Believe.
There is a aura of belief unfolding on campus today. Its safe to say that commercialization has taken root in the university. More people believe in the potential of what they’re working on. We’ll seen even more positive energy toward “we can do it” in terms of ideas to market hustle. Its across the board from the highest pillars of senior leadership to the deans, chairs and faculty and staff. And of course the students, always the first to believe I think, they will continue to impress.

As of August 30th? – I think this is fairly on target. I’ve noticed alot more press on campus on innovation to market aspects. The fact that colleges are thinking in startup weekend and hackathon like events at the leadership level is a big sign. Also the community is on board. Plus the university added some nice measures to fuel the fire, Accelerator Awards, etc, all helping.
Medical / IT led innovation will continue to dominate.
Startup health is just getting up to speed. 2014 was a big year for mindfulness, wearables, software, data analytics, and more when it comes to health care. 2015 will continue to be very loud on the innovation around health. Between the new Neuromodulation Center to the new James cancer center spinning up, a sea of innovation, opened doors and possibility will follow. Plus digital health is beginning to cross the threshold in adoption in both practice and common placement with medical centers and in administrative and doc acceptance. Add the applicability in terms of next generation compliance/adherence and you find a sea of opportunities. Note many solutions will be more “risk mitigation” orientated.

As of August 30th? – Portfolio, plus what press around campus is covering, this is still very much true. Startups and overall “deals” we’re working on at TCO easily slide over 60% focused on health care technologies and concepts. This isn’t to say its the total pipeline of ideas in from the colleges/centers etc, its more that the buyers, intersection of interest tends to be leaning in this direction. And theres multiple initiatives across the state and the region to support this push. Disrupting health is still and continue to be game on.
In the Groove on Process.
2014 was an epic year for commercialization and startup process. The team jelled under new leadership and really pressed into often difficult territory and laid down many processes and norms and procedures on how to do things, how to make things GO. 2015 will see these efforts streamline and get in the groove. Process is a big part of success when it comes to starting, when it comes to doing, when it comes to alignment and more. I see us all in the groove for next, let’s do this! The new Acceleration Award will help many fill in the gap from clinical trials to prototyping, this will compliment general areas of hustle across campus to make, validate, realize and net traction.

As of August 30th? – Yes but always need more. Commercialization is more and more like playing a game of “Civilization”, meaning its not enough just to intake IP, evaluate IP, and stage IP for consumption, you also have to show how that consumption could work, then guide those new to consumption what consumption and or the opportunity in that consumption is or could be. You can’t be a vending machine, it doesn’t work. The region needs more players and you have to help create and educate the players and the could be players at the table to take advantage of the now, the moment, the next. Thats alot of work. Thats well beyond the initial charter of the TCO office. Yet we’re seemingly responsible for the total outcome of success often projected from a range of sources, though its not like we all have exterior commentors. However, do not be dismayed, this the job you signed up for- and we wouldn’t want it any less. Being at the cross roads of invention and opportunity is one of the greastest places on campus to be. Its yours to crave into next.
Collaboration Frontier.
Bigger and better collaborations are afoot. Thats not always a good thing as they tend to be well, involved… but I see more incubators, more collaborative partners, more groups unifying for what could be, more and more thinking, more people coming to the table, especially as more believe in the effort, and the end game.

As of August 30th? – Subtle moves and kinda goes back to #3. Hasn’t happened on a large level yet.
New IP Frontiers.
I believe Athletics, Sports Medicine and Arts & Sciences will be new pools of IP frontier. Not to say its where the big deals will be but these areas will not be “unknown” any more in terms of IP. Data Analytics will continue to be in the crosshairs as well but it needs time to nurture. While the demand for Internet of Things is apparently everywhere, I think that area will unfold slowly as well. Some of the best IP opportunities I see are based around areas the university has extensive “frequency”, by flow, opportunity, context, expertise. Also what the market thinks is hot NOW tends to be “oh yeah that, we did that like 5 years ago…” meaning the academics and research folks are further in future than you realize. Like NEXT on campus is likely more Quantum Computing than say IOT, or VR, etc. Not to say its not there, but the fringe of next isn’t mainstream- IOT is going mainstream, in labs, dude we’re working on warp drive (ok maybe not but some amazing stuff, definitely!).

As of August 30th? – We’ve barely scratched the surface of athletics IP, and really TCO can’t do everything, we need leadership from that side of the campus to connect and help us rock it, cause there are a few billion ideas in there. IOT, internet of things did and is taking off at TCO, we often don’t classify the IP like that though I’d say theres 7-12 techs that are solidly in the IOT space, and they all have deals on traction so yeah, thats good. Nada on quantum computing, thats probably stuck in the research/new frontier, we dont recognize what we’ve done as IP yet. Same with VR, see little on that front, anything that does pop gets sucked into the open source void, which isn’t to say it has no opportunity but more to say the perception is that is should be free- people forget that many of the valleys greatest startups are built on free models. Analytics connected to health continues but its mixed- its about the questions and problems and insight you want from that space. We need more that just tools that are fast, we need stakeholders that have questions, or more so we need pattern sensing AI thats connected to pending regulation, opportunity, or infrastrcture changes coming.

Five, 2015 Predictions for the Central Ohio Startup Scene

Traction and Exits.
Central Ohio startups formed 3-5 years ago will be more notable, recognizable and piling on the traction front. Some will be exiting. Of course we rarely hear about the startups that tried and died. But I see more talk of traction, more tale of how, the people of Columbus will rally to support and exits, mergers and acquisitions will be afoot. Some of these starts are down right tactical meaning their time for epic glory is coming, provided their ramen will last.

As of August 30th? – Exits haven’t occurred at least to my knowledge, there has been bit ones that I know of but not the ummph or booms we’d like to see and hear about. Traction is happening for those startups that have received significant funding. Its been a pretty “steady as she goes” year for Columbus startups.
City of Design.
Columbus is booming with agencies. Columbus has always been a “design” town but it will be more known and notable in 2015 as the many more agencies spin up, mid sized ones expand into larger agencies, and the pool of talent coming out of the schools kicks of more doers, believers, thinkers and so on. Columbus is becoming a magnet for hip, interesting, arts, maker, doable, hustle. The frame of “design” is changing as well as it bleeds into any and all biz related the space- software, PR, creative, maker, experience, research, you name it! How this factors into the startup scene? Well more shops crafting and coding meaning more code made here for here. Plus the talent pools and spill overs forming new groups will be continual.

As of August 30th? – We’ll Columbus is awash of new dev firms, that is true. But this was more a notion I had when i saw the rise of ad firms and folks like wondersauce coming to town and what not. I think its not so well baked on my part.
Power Struggle in the Tower of Influence.
As more people believe there are more to be told the message. Of course the message varies and we’ll see that unfold in 2015 as the game of influence. There are new players in town. Even more to come. The battle of influence from everything to how to start to why to start is underway, its been brewing for awhile but the game is getting thicker. We’ll see more events, more conferences, more blogs, more chatter, more well, everything. Its not just for VC tho, from casual players to private equity, just about everyone is eyeing on what they see as next in Columbus Ohio. The long game is definitely apparent. The prize is what’s ahead in 10 years. 2015 will be a good year for opinion and voices on the subject, as the hustler audience doubles so does the demand for worthy content and commentary. So influence will be unfolding on multiple tiers, incubator, state level, life style, funding, making, retail, you name it, there is room for curation, authority and influence.

As of August 30th? – Hasn’t happened, most cause there are few challengers to the norm.
CASH continues to be tight.
The golden goose of every would be startup is CASH, who can provide it? Well in 2015, cash will be present but it will still be tight. Just because Forbes writes an article on Columbus every other month doesn’t mean the midwest just gave us all a blank amex card. New currency will be passed around from mentorship to space to networking power but CASH will still serve the golden key of survival for many. Which will make our scene hard to grow within, meaning we’ll be talking out our related states and valley partners to help bridge the valley of death every new business must cross- onward to traction! The ideas built on transactions today will SKYROCKET in Columbus and serve as early leaders of the space. The State of Ohio will continue to fuel and encourage the scene as well, and I suspect it will double down in some ways providing more CASH for solid people with ideas that can prove the rainbow of cash on the other side. More people will turn to crowd funding, angels and more cash enabling ideas to get their start as well. The big question is whether or not Columbus finds a way to help the big disrupters cross the gap without big cash- which could happen.. if we reduce the impact of where cash goes. For example the pending tax free zone coming for startups, combined with affordable talent and great ideas and long term players betting on 2025, maybe we can grow that base for the big disrupters.

As of August 30th? – True. Cash continues to be tight for startups. People continue to tell me this isn’t true, and thats from folks that have money and or wish to communicate that all is well. Reality is, money is still tight. The requirements for money are increasing tight if not overly laborious, course its not like i’m giving out funds. But I see plenty of startups struggle and thats basically the model really, unless you convince others, or do the obstacle course or give away a big chunk of what you’re doing. Its not just that there’s few cash outlets, there’s few cash prospects on the horizon too. Everyone credits DRIVE Capital with signaling the new era of VC vesting in columbus but thats pretty much a myth.

DRIVE is good for the region but it wants overwhelmingly good/obvious/already have traction plays to invest in. Traction like customers. DRIVE is growth cash, double down on customer acquisition cash, sizable opportunity with a ball rolling down hill at mach 11 cash. If you’re starting, you’re on your own in columbus, unless you play startup columbus, and take your lumps like everyone else and or work the system, and or be insanely inventive, or pick a model that doesn’t rely on cash from others.
Foundational Testing.
With CASH continuing to be challenged and or tight, there will be more foundation testing happening- what the heck is that? Its basically a means to piece together the fate of a tech/startup without vesting in it. We’ll see alot of this happening with new incubators spinning up. It follows along with more people believing as well. While CASH is tight, hope is boundless and there will be more support (with the hope of influence) to direct the herd of “potentials” into rivers of foundational testing. This will lead to mixed results. Testing is good, but so is leaping off the cliff and doing. Columbus will split between a sea of doers, often insanely crazy or delusional, and later reflected upon as brilliant, to safety net of validation, which can yield good safe results but at what costs? There is middle ground and we’ll see that play out but get ready for the ride!

As of August 30th? – True. Concept Academy is positioned as Rev1’s gate on this notion of foundational testing. You favor well in CA and money as a conversation is considered. I’m continually motivated by the right model for doing a startup, the two sided market is daunting if not impossible in Columbus, the aggerated/organized thing that is yours to organize and improve, i like, the b2b because they better or gov will penalize them, i like as well, the b2c cause like you can and its timely fad, iffy, the b2c because we’re all mobile now, iffy, the b2c cause c wanted b, better. Finding the model for this town is key to getting funding in this town. I think MVPs still rule, you gotta show more than a notion of a biz model, you need to show more than a notion for a solid team, you gotta show more than a notion of a concept, you gotta make it. YOU have to scale it back tho, feel like andre the giant inside but you appear as mouse for the moment.

Overall, I feel like I’m mixed on predictions. Most are on target while others are meh.

Repo and the Store

August 7 2015

Hello u.osu.edu fans. How’ve ya been? How’ve I been- busy! Its been nuts as usual in the land of commercialization and the fall storm is headed our way. This means students, events, techs, startups, deals oh my. And lots of things are going on. All of which is mostly good.

I figure I should note something on here’s the state of the pipeline for Dan, as of 8/6/2015? Well the pipeline is still about 60% healthcare related. Lotta potential and more players on the medical side of the IP dance. But the other side, everything non-medical is forming up as well.

We in a time where companies we helped kick out 1-2 years ago are going thru their valley of death as well. They’re being tested beyond the MVP, they’ve netted some capital, and rolling into momentum, getting customers, hearing customers and pivoting via customers wants and needs. This is life for a startup, you live and die by customer/market adoption. These companies are especially in tune for the moment, they are max warp!!

On my wall is the board. My board dictates- deals (things to be), shaping (things that need to tell their story better), parked (things that are stuck for one reason or another), proto (things being made), playground (things that are bonus to other things but notable efforts), people (people in play or in union with me), vault (things that can go into the vault).

What is the software vault anyways?

When I arrived at Ohio State in 2011, the university didn’t do so much with software. It was largely kinda ignored or well complicated to view from an IP perspective. Its not typically patented, so it has that notion of no value, though as a software person, I believe otherwise. Luckily the university leadership felt the same way and was open to software IP minded thinking. As such we pondered up some big ideas to help our software IP strategy at Ohio State. Two main ideas surfaced- 1, storage/accounting of software IP, 2, a store to sell it.

The Repo

The first project was to build our own university GitHub, a place where programmers keep their code. Its important for the university to have its own repository for what it creates. This was initially a bit of daunting project, but we at TCO we’re alone- other departments on campus also had eyes on this idea as well. A central repo for all faculty and staff at the university could address alot of issues- organization, collaboration, IP protection, and more. One of the key things I kept seeing was that at many times (and likely still true today) there are 4 or more different parties on campus all building the same wheel at the same time with no idea either person exists. You could say, so what. But from an efficiency stand point, thats kind crazy. Imagine how much money we could save if we used the first wheel someone made, tweaked it of course vs $$$ for another wheel that is the same wheel. The repo addresses this idea. It also is FREE for faculty, staff, departments. It gives us visibility, on who’s making what, and we can see more . It took about 9 months or more to realize but its there and its growth and adoption rate is increasing every day. code.osu.edu go check it out!

The Store

With the repo in place the next effort TCO took on was the the store, we call it the Buckeye Software Vault. Early on in 2011-2012 we really dug deep into what software we had at the university in terms of IP. Software believe it or not, is everywhere. And from an intellectual property point of view its really everywhere. Take u.osu.edu for example, that was created by employees of the university, in a sense it is university IP. Now it doesn’t mean we can sell it right away nor does it mean it should be sold, but if we said is u.osu.edu a thing, we’d all agree it is, if we said, does it have merit or matter, again we’d agree, if we said does it have value for users, we’d agree there, if we said was it designed, architected with a direction or focus in mind, again, agree. Now it does sit on open source however and a wordpress framework but I would bet you without a doubt that another university would likely find it useful to leverage in their own institution,and as such that itself is licensing and hence commercialization. We often view commercialization with an intent to profit, and yes thats ideal but not always the case. Free academic use licensing happens all the time- by design really. You want to share the things you’ve made, especially with your colleagues and academic peers. But you also want clarity in that sharing- meaning they too will uphold your vision of what that is, TCO helps you convey that vision via terms and makes them essentially part of the deal.

Ok so back to the store. Again there is alot of software things at the university that fall in between being something that can stand on its own and deliver licensing value and or does not equate the effort of a full on startup wrapped around it. Normally this kind of IP is not even recognized as IP- which to me is a mistake. Code is not always pretty either, it doesn’t always have an interface, it doesn’t always tell you a story of what it is, but an algorithm to show you how safely land on Mars to the interface of an APP to the workflow that saves you 40 hours of labor doing something manually, all has value. The question is more so do you believe it has value and are you willing to ask to the sale? What if there was another way? What if we had a vending machine of stuff people could view and buy or take for free- the store is that front. Its a market place of software, content related IP the university has made.

Its really about empowerment as well. We empower the university to monetize what it thinks may or may not be monetizable. This is the heart of chance and the web 2.0 approach to the internet today. You have to try. And creating software is happening everywhere. A few years ago the OCIO did a survey and found some 660 programmers on campus across the 15 colleges, departments, units etc. That number didn’t include grad students i figure. We’re likely up to some 1500+ people that every day make something in code.

The store front is to showcase those creations in one unified front. And its purpose is to simple gather, and show- not all of it is for sale at a price, much of it is free. The store has an added bonus in that its also a test area. We can see what the traction is for something and then if it goes well thats a solid indicator that the university should really think about doubling down on that idea and doing more, stretching the potential return back to the creators, department and or college unit.

Now it is growing, we shooting for 5-15 new things in the store every quarter and I hope for that to occur even faster. It should really given that software is everywhere here. U.OSU.EDU should be “package” on there as well really, it should state the intent of what this site is all about, and of course be sold for X determined by the department that created if they so choose, or be free and provide other universities our IP/design shared.

Like many university efforts, the store is an “effort” it will change in time but its premise remains the same, there is IP all around us. IP is a door to sponsored research, its a means of communicating value, creating alignment, championing ideas and celebrating our creations. Free or for sale, thats the particulars we ramble into every day. Licensed to a big company, or the basis of a future company to be- all possible, even your own company the university helps you make- yep even that too. A huge range of possibility is before us all. Of course with limitations but doable.

I’m proud of the Repo and the Store efforts. Two big projects that many felt we’re impossible, but the university is a canvas of opportunity. Big ideas can happen when people rally around them and make them real. Its one of the things that attracts me most to the university- its appetite for possibility is endless. Major props to all those at Arts & Sciences Tech, OCIO, ODEE, B&F, Communications and all the supportive units that chimed in on these “dude yer crazy” ideas and helped them be realized. And mad props to the core TCO team that enabled the breathing room to go for it. Time will tell along with anything but so far so good.

And the Beat Goes On

April 2 2015April 2, 2015

Every spring I deal with the fact that many of the students I’ve had the privilege to work on software prototypes for faculty/staff projects or on events such as hackathons and startup weekend, or on marketing tools for technologies- LEAVE me. Yep, they graduate and I salute them as they sail off into the career-o-space of it all.

Alot if not all of the students I work with end up going to high technology, decent paying, gigs on the west coast. California’s lure of Silicon Valley and everything NOW, everything DISRUPT, is just as powerful as ever. Some do stay in Columbus, many take time off, and nearly all of them think about starting up.

I dunno about you but I was pretty terrified when I was in and out of college. That sense of WTF am I doing was always with me. It wasn’t until my late 20’s did I figure out a gist, and then largely thru my persistence in taking chance experiences did things snowball to where I am today. I can’t help but feel the scene is different today. The realm of possibility for students to get close to a bankable idea and see that iterative change is much much faster than it was for me years ago. This helps create a persistent culture of “I CAN” and “I WILL” and most importantly “I AM NOT ALONE”.

Working with students is one, if not the biggest perk of working at Ohio State. I can see why my father, professor emeritus at the College of Engineering enjoyed his 40+ years at Ohio State so much. He too had to deal with this revolving door of young new minds, to “they’re ready” to into the world. My dad stays in touch with his grad students- he keeps a big email list, every year he emails them and its like the same letter from 4o years ago- do the right thing, do good work, work hard etc. I was too young to attend any of his classes back then, but my brothers and sisters tell me he was “terror” lol. The image of throwing a paper into the air saying “crap” comes to mind, as he often challenged me and my siblings to make better science fair presentations. He’s a champion of data, of experience, getting out there, talking to users, learning from users, learning, iterating. Very much the same message I try and infuse into my everyday work life.

But the beat goes on- another student waves off, going to Facebook, going to Microsoft, going to start their first business. I love the hustle. I love the drive. I love the conviction, the against all odds aspect.

Much of what TCO is all about is de-risking the real RISK in taking ideas to market. Students on the other hand thrive by taking risk. Now they don’t always know what do with the data they get, but they’re amp’d to get it. I mentally wage a war with de-risking, yes its important to a degree but taking on RISK is what this game is about, its what this university is about. Onward into the unknown with a collective that will wake up every day and get back to the grind of it all, thats family, thats making things matter.

EVERYONE benefits for whats on the other side of RISK as well. We all don’t always agree on the what we should wager for RISK however, and thats a journey, but only in RISK do we learn.

Making Stuff Matters

March 5 2015

I’ve been busy lately.

Busy closing the gap- making conversations matter, turning them into manifestations of future visions, road maps to be, while at the same time helping champion crazy ideas, skunk work projects that my gut says will be hugely fun and awesome, all the while participating with the team and making deals happen.

I know its working because my brain has been on fire lately with ideas, strategy, prototypes and goodness.

taste? of course..

Working on..

– software store, going well, working on intake for that

– deals done recently, kinect telehealth rehab startup, foreign language assistance edu startup, mouse lab management on an ipad startup,

– deals in the making, greenhouse management software, more healthcare EMR tools, seriously kickass wound management platform, more and more software, cyber security, math education, oncology tools, UAV for AG, etc

– prototypes, a few patient experience/satisfaction apps, dermatology inventory management platform, outbreak simulation tools, patient discharge app,

– student developers are rocking along side our main dev Paul, who is leading/managing well

– new design intern is KICKING ASS and that is great!! storyboard/ideations are happening VERY fast, me like!

– special projects, best part of the job really, DREAM and help envision next

inspired by?

– lately inspired by new conversations with Pelotonia, James Cancer Center folks, healthcare is evolving at a RAPID pace, so much goodness to come!

– inspired with the level output on storyboards to prototypes, feeling good about them helping the “deal” side of things

– special projects, DAFNi in particular which I’ll ramble about some day

– events/judging/speaking, a few engagements lined up, across the board from the usual startup to wellness events, to other

– music, tunes have been in my head lately, along with rich visual dreams

– new engagements with College of Arts & Sciences, finding some great momentum there

– working up the HACK scene across campus, more on that soon

– thinking, tweeting, CREATING, and writing alot

what’s next?

– continued momentum, double downing on the SPEED of connective goodness

– special projects become more and more SWEET with every iteration of code

– sharing the kudos/inspiration with my team and SHOP devs

– ramping up the tale of success and FAILs so we can collectively learn how to rock on

– working on the intake for software ideas, sure I have “enough” to work on, but I know i don’t see 70% of whats happening on campus, you see something that you think COULD be next, tell me, we have a mission people, make this university BAD ASS!

10 Predictions for 2015

December 16 2014

Its December 15th and as we ease on into the famed xmas week of insanity and xmas shopping, hanging with family and thinking about the end of 2014 and the new year of 2015 approaching, I always scribble down my predictions for the year ahead. They’re predictions, based on notions, trends, gut thinking, essence in the air of what I’ve seen, what has come to pass and what I foresee as next. Loosely based on science, a bit based on patterns, much of it based on the sheer gut.

Last week I jolted down 10 predictions.

5 for Ohio State and the state of technology transfer scene in 2015
5 for the Central Ohio startup scene in 2015

Let’s go!

Five, 2015 Predictions for the Ohio State Technology Commercialization Scene

We Believe.
There is a aura of belief unfolding on campus today. Its safe to say that commercialization has taken root in the university. More people believe in the potential of what they’re working on. We’ll seen even more positive energy toward “we can do it” in terms of ideas to market hustle. Its across the board from the highest pillars of senior leadership to the deans, chairs and faculty and staff. And of course the students, always the first to believe I think, they will continue to impress.
Medical / IT led innovation will continue to dominate.
Startup health is just getting up to speed. 2014 was a big year for mindfulness, wearables, software, data analytics, and more when it comes to health care. 2015 will continue to be very loud on the innovation around health. Between the new Neuromodulation Center to the new James cancer center spinning up, a sea of innovation, opened doors and possibility will follow. Plus digital health is beginning to cross the threshold in adoption in both practice and common placement with medical centers and in administrative and doc acceptance. Add the applicability in terms of next generation compliance/adherence and you find a sea of opportunities. Note many solutions will be more “risk mitigation” orientated.
In the Groove on Process.
2014 was an epic year for commercialization and startup process. The team jelled under new leadership and really pressed into often difficult territory and laid down many processes and norms and procedures on how to do things, how to make things GO. 2015 will see these efforts streamline and get in the groove. Process is a big part of success when it comes to starting, when it comes to doing, when it comes to alignment and more. I see us all in the groove for next, let’s do this! The new Acceleration Award will help many fill in the gap from clinical trials to prototyping, this will compliment general areas of hustle across campus to make, validate, realize and net traction.
Collaboration Frontier.
Bigger and better collaborations are afoot. Thats not always a good thing as they tend to be well, involved… but I see more incubators, more collaborative partners, more groups unifying for what could be, more and more thinking, more people coming to the table, especially as more believe in the effort, and the end game.
New IP Frontiers.
I believe Athletics, Sports Medicine and Arts & Sciences will be new pools of IP frontier. Not to say its where the big deals will be but these areas will not be “unknown” any more in terms of IP. Data Analytics will continue to be in the crosshairs as well but it needs time to nurture. While the demand for Internet of Things is apparently everywhere, I think that area will unfold slowly as well. Some of the best IP opportunities I see are based around areas the university has extensive “frequency”, by flow, opportunity, context, expertise. Also what the market thinks is hot NOW tends to be “oh yeah that, we did that like 5 years ago…” meaning the academics and research folks are further in future than you realize. Like NEXT on campus is likely more Quantum Computing than say IOT, or VR, etc. Not to say its not there, but the fringe of next isn’t mainstream- IOT is going mainstream, in labs, dude we’re working on warp drive (ok maybe not but some amazing stuff, definitely!).

Five, 2015 Predictions for the Central Ohio Startup Scene

Traction and Exits.
Central Ohio startups formed 3-5 years ago will be more notable, recognizable and piling on the traction front. Some will be exiting. Of course we rarely hear about the startups that tried and died. But I see more talk of traction, more tale of how, the people of Columbus will rally to support and exits, mergers and acquisitions will be afoot. Some of these starts are down right tactical meaning their time for epic glory is coming, provided their ramen will last.
City of Design.
Columbus is booming with agencies. Columbus has always been a “design” town but it will be more known and notable in 2015 as the many more agencies spin up, mid sized ones expand into larger agencies, and the pool of talent coming out of the schools kicks of more doers, believers, thinkers and so on. Columbus is becoming a magnet for hip, interesting, arts, maker, doable, hustle. The frame of “design” is changing as well as it bleeds into any and all biz related the space- software, PR, creative, maker, experience, research, you name it! How this factors into the startup scene? Well more shops crafting and coding meaning more code made here for here. Plus the talent pools and spill overs forming new groups will be continual.
Power Struggle in the Tower of Influence.
As more people believe there are more to be told the message. Of course the message varies and we’ll see that unfold in 2015 as the game of influence. There are new players in town. Even more to come. The battle of influence from everything to how to start to why to start is underway, its been brewing for awhile but the game is getting thicker. We’ll see more events, more conferences, more blogs, more chatter, more well, everything. Its not just for VC tho, from casual players to private equity, just about everyone is eyeing on what they see as next in Columbus Ohio. The long game is definitely apparent. The prize is what’s ahead in 10 years. 2015 will be a good year for opinion and voices on the subject, as the hustler audience doubles so does the demand for worthy content and commentary. So influence will be unfolding on multiple tiers, incubator, state level, life style, funding, making, retail, you name it, there is room for curation, authority and influence.
CASH continues to be tight.
The golden goose of every would be startup is CASH, who can provide it? Well in 2015, cash will be present but it will still be tight. Just because Forbes writes an article on Columbus every other month doesn’t mean the midwest just gave us all a blank amex card. New currency will be passed around from mentorship to space to networking power but CASH will still serve the golden key of survival for many. Which will make our scene hard to grow within, meaning we’ll be talking out our related states and valley partners to help bridge the valley of death every new business must cross- onward to traction! The ideas built on transactions today will SKYROCKET in Columbus and serve as early leaders of the space. The State of Ohio will continue to fuel and encourage the scene as well, and I suspect it will double down in some ways providing more CASH for solid people with ideas that can prove the rainbow of cash on the other side. More people will turn to crowd funding, angels and more cash enabling ideas to get their start as well. The big question is whether or not Columbus finds a way to help the big disrupters cross the gap without big cash- which could happen.. if we reduce the impact of where cash goes. For example the pending tax free zone coming for startups, combined with affordable talent and great ideas and long term players betting on 2025, maybe we can grow that base for the big disrupters.
Foundational Testing.
With CASH continuing to be challenged and or tight, there will be more foundation testing happening- what the heck is that? Its basically a means to piece together the fate of a tech/startup without vesting in it. We’ll see alot of this happening with new incubators spinning up. It follows along with more people believing as well. While CASH is tight, hope is boundless and there will be more support (with the hope of influence) to direct the herd of “potentials” into rivers of foundational testing. This will lead to mixed results. Testing is good, but so is leaping off the cliff and doing. Columbus will split between a sea of doers, often insanely crazy or delusional, and later reflected upon as brilliant, to safety net of validation, which can yield good safe results but at what costs? There is middle ground and we’ll see that play out but get ready for the ride!

Usually I have a few more as well.. like..

stocks
tech trends
startups to watch

but yeah.. we’ll get to that later. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Tasty Reads: OREILLY RADAR, 4 Short Links

October 4 2014

Deep down, i’m pretty much an hard core geek. Sure I can manage party scenarios and wonder BS my way through conversations, nod to the obvious, wonder to the ooohs and ahhhs of every day conversation but basically, I’m still a geek. I like a lot of stuff. Addicted to newness if that makes any sense.

Tim O’Reilly is basically one of the cornerstones of the web, he’s a force, a old world force of the web, and he always finds some of the coolest weirdest bits of stuff out there. So I gobble them up. 4 short links, every day, some are like super hard to understand, others are spot on, some are super useful.

Its pretty geek material, but if you like to think about where the web is going, great place to sit in and spin a bit. 4 Short Links

Can venture capital disrupt academia?

October 3 2014

Via the A16z Podcast about evolving trends in venture capital investing in academia. This is key podcast for leadership across all colleges, ILO and TCO offices, great big thinking here.

It’s a myth that startups happen in isolation. Those legendary two people in a garage are often building on deep and basic research — long funded by government and conducted in universities — that has come before it. But with the advent of the internet, what’s the future of peer-to-peer collaborations and startups-as-“science experiments”? Can venture capital disrupt academia… and vice versa? And finally, what’s the secret to universities like Stanford making money off the entrepreneurial ideas coming out of them? (Hint: It starts with a ‘p’. But isn’t what you think.)

a16z’s new professor in residence Vijay Pande interviews Marc Andreessen at our recent Academic summit on these topics, as well as ‘regulatory arbitrage’; how to mix humanities and science; and what major Marc would have done if he were 18 today.

The Ackerman 660 Project

October 3 2014

Sometimes I laugh at some of the truly crazy ideas I come up with. This week I went to a meeting at 660 Ackerman to talk to an inventor around some algorithms in management engineering, cool stuff, brilliant guy, great team and super engaged department. It was a fun meeting, the energy was excellent, we gotta a plan, a mission, we’re gonna try- because if we don’t try, we got nada.

BUT in the elevator going down, leaving the building i couldn’t help but stare at the directory in the elevator- every floor, various departments, all around the management services, departments etc for the hospital/cancer center etc. Sometimes intellectual property is not obvious- transfer offices are hard wired to find IP and patents in the labs and benches of our core R&D offerings on campus, but here, in this building I see a different kind of IP.

The IP of process, the IP of expense, the IP of transactions, patient experience, revenue cycle management, billing, customer management, data analytics, workflow optimization, strategy on how to save millions and spend it wisely…. this building is full of IP, it holds 2 startups maybe more we just haven’t found them yet.

But they’re here, I know it. Even better they’re all likely to be enabled through software, which is CHEAP considering its power in wielding the ability to manifest NEXT.

I studied that floor department listing more closely, yeah… i nodded and the elevator doors opened, people were getting in and I was there just staring that this directory… eventually I had to get out of the elevator.

Hackathon, yep, you heard me, hackaton, this whole building needs to do one massive floor by floor challenge hackathon, each floor is responsible for serving up big ideas they see, big opportunities they believe could be huge, and the whys behind that, and the notions of how’d they do it, each floor of 660 ackerman, needs to battle it out with the other floors, together creating one massive say, day long or week long hackathon- they dont need to code, merely serve up the big idea, they compete with the other floors, we do our own shark tank, have teams manifest their pitches, I’ll help each one of them do it, me and my team, you got it, then lets see, bring forth the ideas i know that are in that building. Make it fun, make it engaging, enable the guy or gal that has seen the same problem over and over and over, step out of the cubical and say “ummm i got an idea to fix this” because the beauty of that idea is that FIRST, we, Ohio State benefits from that innovation, and then second, we take it to market, and third, we change the culture and we enable people to show us the next, and they want to be heard.

Now how to pull this off?

Well thats like a proposal, then a conversation, then a meeting, and so on. Would everyone participate, maybe yes, likely no, but without trying you get nothing, I’ll keep trying. Plus it’d be a hugely awesome feat if we could do it… really WE can, just gotta say, do lets go for it.

Nothing motivates people like annoying problems, or well cash, but while a cash prize could be done, we really want the annoying problems and the experts to fix them to stand up.

Easily over half of commercialization is “noticing” what could be, and then being crazy enough to go for it.

I notice you 660 Ackerman, I will keep digging!