Report Content

1. Your Idea – Clearly define your product (‘product’ herein includes services), what it does (avoid details of how it works), and what is special about what it does. Also describe how your technology creates a sustainable competitive advantage.

2. Market Pain – Convince the reader that your product addresses a real market pain in an effective and innovative way. You should include citations or quotations from market experts to make your case.

3. The Initial Target Market – Clearly define ONE market segment that represents the best first opportunity for commercialization and why you have chosen this market segment. Include the size of the market directly related to your product or service and that can reasonably be reached in a 2-5 year timeframe (from market entry). As an example, if you are selling a new type of tire, the total value of the automobile market will not be a relevant market size number. You may include follow-on market opportunities to show longer-term potential, but the focus of your report should remain on a single market segment.

4. Feasibility – Put your technology and its developmental status into perspective for the reader. Describe whether your technology is a likely derivative of existing work, the results of a proof-of-concept experiment, a laboratory prototype or further down the development path. Include expert estimates of the time and cost of creating a prototype that could be shown to potential customers. Describe how your technology will continue to be superior to alternatives.

5. Value – Define the value of your opportunity in terms of market size, the value of your product to your customers and the costs of getting your product in your customer’s hands. This does not need to be detailed analysis, but must indicate that you can provide your product for significantly less than the value of your product to your customer.

6. Market Barriers – Characterize the challenges of addressing your target market. Include relevant information about regulations, buying decisions, various supply chains related to your product and other features of your market that must be overcome.

7. Competition – All ideas face competition that is significant and often difficult to define. Provide a careful assessment of technical and market-based competition that currently exists and that may exist in the next 2-5 years. Others may be addressing your market with very different technologies or concepts.

8. Intellectual Property – Describe the current ownership and scope of IP protection (especially patents and possible trade secrets). Outline the protection this provides relative to potential competitors and a basic strategy for IP development in the future.

Complete the Five Page Submission Online Form by April 12th, 2010 at 11:59pm.  On your report, please include your team name and member names.  Submission as a PDF is preferable; however word documents will be accepted as well.