2 Going abroad, yes or no?  will  skills  qualification  experiences

3 Requirements  family  finances  training requirements  legal requirements (notifiable transactions, trades)  general requirements

4 Founding or buying a company  benefits of corporate takeover  disadvantages  procedure

5 Individuality or partnership  help yourself  or  togehter is better  ?

6 German Market Conditions Sectors: Germany excels in the production of automobiles, machinery, electrical equipment and chemicals. SMEs: It is estimated that about 1500 German companies occupy a top three position in their respective market segment worldwide. In about two thirds of all industry sectors German companies belong to the top three competitors (wikipedia)

7 Growth areas in the German Market /Hesse (1)  ICT sector in Hesse: the strongest technology sector  9,466 ICT enterprises generated a turnover of 17.8 BEUR in  76,300 employees, e. g. compared to the machinery (42,400 employees), chemistry (58,000 employees) or automotive sector (47,600 employees).

8 Growth areas in the German Market /Hesse (2) Hessen is one of the top locations in Europe for:  business software, network software and games development  telecommunication, international backbones and co- location  high-performance computing  application areas like banking, logistics and automotive industries  ICT consulting

9 Growth areas in the German Market /Hesse (3) ICT industry in Hesse Source: Hessen-it 2011

10 Policy decisions  subject of company  location  legal form  mission, vision, goals  form of financing

11 Incubation activities  business plan  resource planning  investments  financing

12 Pre-opening arrangements  register  product development  set of performance  set and train employee  advertising

13 Management aspects  set goals  plan activities  organise  control / check

14 and  start!

Scientific Orientation vs. Sales Orientation Goal Income for prototype development Instrument Project Acquisition Basis Technology Selling scientific achievements (Short-term income orientation) 15

Technical Orientation vs. Sales Orientation Goal Income for product sales Instrument Customer Acquisition Basis Prototype Selling product achievements (Mid-term profit orientation) 16

Ten Common Pitfalls in Developing Growth Stategies Under-investment in the Core Business Pursuit of Value Destroying Diversification Failure to Respond to Industry Turbulence Implementation Failure 1.Poor Business Definition 2.Failure to Drive towards Leadership 3.Failure to Drive towards Potential 4.Adjacency Expansion at the Expense of the Core 5.Movement into Unrelated Businesses 6.Movement into Follower Positions 7.Failure to Achieve Scale 8.Failure to Respond to new Entrants 9.Failure to Redefine the Business 10.Failure to Address Organisational Inhibitors to Growth

Purpose of the Business Plan The Business Plan and the Financial Model set the framework for –Founding, financing, growing, and capitalising a technology spin-off and is therefore a key requirement –The founder‘s team as well as for their external stakeolders, e.g. investors, partners It is also a living documentation of all relevant aspects of the company and ist evaluation and value-generation. The Business Plan is about Corporate Strategy ….. and about money!!! 18October 2011

Technology Marketing … is a key part of the busines plan and the financial plan … has to be understood as Sales and Marketing which is the main „cash- in“ source Technology Marketing is about Corporate Strategy ….. and about money!!! 19

Thank you for your attention! 20