1. Special Entrepreneurship
Why?
Dr. Dr. habil. Wolfgang Runge and Prof. Dr. Stefan Bräse
Karlsruhe, March 2015
Institute of Organic Chemistry (IOC)
Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Material Sciences
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Biotechnology
Process Engineering
Optoelectronics
Bioprocess Engineering
Biological Chemistry
Biophysics
Organic Chemistry
Organic Semiconductors
Medicinal Chemistry
Genomics
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Metabolic Engineering
Genetic Engineering
Biochemistry
Mechanical Engineering
Biophysical Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

2. Discipline-Oriented Technology Entrepreneurship
Technology Entrepreneurship refers also to technology development and management (“ideation”)
Emphasis:
Generic features of entrepreneurship and the specific ones of disciplines

3. The Voice of Technology Entrepreneurs
87% of NTBF * entrepreneurs believe: training for technology entrepreneurs needs to be specialized, to reflect the unique challenges of the discipline
(CORDIS – Articles on Innovation. Breeding business success.
For NTBFs, an MBA is not a way to gain experience; it is a way to gain perspective!
*) NTBF: New Technology-Based Firm

4. Different Addressees and Education of Audience: Entrepreneurship Courses
Much interest in courses!
Disciplines: focused on economics or business administration, computer science (software, IT);
Observation: ca. 10% from natural sciences and engineering (in courses)
Levels of audience: Majority of students (Bachelor level and slightly above)
Teaching language: (Usually) English
But: hardware, process control; research computing, supercomputing, HTS, … cheminformatics, bioinformatics, simulation; business and R&D processes
Technology Entrepreneurship
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

5. Technology Entrepreneurship:
Different Addressees and Education of Audience: Technology → Special Entrepreneurship
Technology Entrepreneurship:
Disciplines:
Essentially natural science (physics, chemistry, biology, biotechnology, …) and engineering (chemical engineering, process engineering, mechanical/electrical engineering …)
Levels of audience: graduated students close to diploma; graduates occupied with diploma/master thesis or doctoral thesis; PhD/Dr. post-docs or assistants
Language: English or German
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

6. Technology Entrepreneurship:
Orientation and Customers (It’s never been cheaper to create software companies)
Entrepreneurship:
Almost only IT-related: essentially software, consumer services, Internet firms, business processes
Education (often drop-outs), hobby, obsession; academic education: any
Focus: B2C (consumers - thousand(s), millions)
Emphasis: Using technology
Technology Entrepreneurship:
+ Intrapreneurship (from industry to startup)
Mostly full natural science, engineering education
Focus: B2B (industrial, professional customers; very few may generate €1 bil. sales in < 10 years); B2G (“government”)
Emphasis: Science, developing technology and related offerings

7. Key Differentiators of the Fields and Entrepreneurs
Technology Entrepreneurship:
Closely associated with technology development and management - which
influences revealing opportunities (“techno-logy trajectories”)
Funding needs often much higher (than “software”); funding more complex
Tech. Entrepreneurs
Mostly required: broad and deep knowledge of the specific technical subject * (science, engineering) by education and training!
Often special aspects for marketing and sales (consumers mostly not customers)
*) Very favorable: also some knowledge of other disciplines
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

8. Multi- and Interdisciplinarity: Chemistry Example
Spin-outs from chemistry departments of UK universities
Biosciences and pharmaceuticals 45%
Functional materials, optoelectronics and polymers 21%
Conventional (fine) chemicals sector 6%
analytical services and micro-technologies 8%
Rest: food, contract services, water, process & engineering, energy, sustainable development, medical devices, environment
Involved in production: 5%
Interdisciplinarity “is based on the integration of ideas from across fields and directed towards a common goal. In this regard it is essential that those involved have a fundamental understanding of the core concepts of the area, its research traditions or themes and the basic questions under consideration.”
Multi-disciplinarity: Little or no cooperation between the areas
[Runge 2014:214,331,1207]
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

9. Interactions of Science and Technology
Translational Science:
An multidisciplinary form of science that bridges the recalcitrant gaps that sometimes exist between fundamental science and applied science; to translate knowledge into applications
Basic research gives input to the development of a treatment or other forms of interventions, but considerations of practical problems inform what questions basic scientists should look at. Ideally, it goes back and forth.

10. Knowledge-Based Improvement or Chance?
Sharing experiential knowledge (Erfahrungswissen)!
Better performance, Lower cost,
Higher efficiency
Necessary for technological breakthroughs - New (better) analytics for “real” samples - Understanding from nano-scale to module
N different Parameters
A. Klein, K. Lips, FVS + PV-Uni-Netz Workshop (2003) 126
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

11. IT-Related Entrepreneurship: Internet of Things (IoT)
Everyone seems to agree: IoT will dramatically change our lives
No one really knows how it's going to happen
Which company or product will have the greatest impact?
The next great industries to transform our lives?
“Things” (the basis), systems and security
“Things” often result from technology entrepreneurship or innovation in industry

12. Strategy and More – Needs to Know
Applicable also to other fields of Technology Entrepreneurship!
“A great deal of business success depends on generating new knowledge and on having the capabilities to react quickly and intelligently to this new knowledge. … I believe that strategic thinking is a necessary but overrated element of business success.
If you know how to design great motorcycle engines, I can teach you all you need to know about strategy in a few days. If you have a Ph.D. in strategy, years of labor are unlikely to give you the ability to design great new motorcycle engines.”
(Richard Rumelt (1996): California Management Review 38, 110)
Dr. Ing. Jens Fahrenberg | Innovationsmanagement

13. THANK YOU! Engineering Chemistry Physics Biology Chemical Engineering
Institute of Organic Chemistry (IOC)
Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Material Sciences
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Biotechnology
Process Engineering
Optoelectronics
Bioprocess Engineering
Biological Chemistry
Biophysics
Organic Chemistry
Organic Semiconductors
Medicinal Chemistry
Genomics
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Metabolic Engineering
Genetic Engineering
Biochemistry
Mechanical Engineering
Biophysical Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry