Www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu Quick Assessment for Business Idea FITT (Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer)

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Quick Assessment for Business Idea

FITT

(Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer)

2 | 03.2010 Quick Assessment for Business Idea

NABC: definition

What? Easy method to quickly analyse and develop value propositions for

projects

Who? Introduced by Curtis Carlson & William Wilmot (Stanford Research

Institute, US) in “Innovation – The Five Disciplines for Creating What

Customers Want” (August 2006)


Do the NABC in 4 questions

What is the important customer and market NEED?

What is the unique APPROACH for addressing this need?

What are the specific BENEFITS per costs that result from this approach?

How are the benefits per costs superior to the COMPETITION’s and the

alternatives?


Listen to the customers voice


Detect the customer value


NABC process in practice

Easy framework for dissemination within your network at any time

(possibly on line request)

Makes researchers aware that the latest, greatest technology is not

enough, but needs to be combined with great positioning and a great

team. No need to solve all problems of the world at once.

Guides researchers to write down a compelling, quantitative, value-

laden, pitchy Value Proposition showing their distinctive advantage

If NABC looks promising at first glance, intake meeting can take place

where contact with idea owner is important and next steps can be

discussed

Good fit in organisations with great deal flow of ‘wild’ business ideas,

emanating from people with few entrepreneurial skills


NABC example: Video on Demand

Need: movie rentals represent a $5 billion business opportunity that you currently cannot access. The

only parts of rentals that people really dislike are the obligation to return the tapes plus late fees.

Customers find that it is inconvenient and wastes time.

Approach: we have developed a system that allows you to provide videos on demand to your

customers using your cable system, with access to all the movies of Blockbuster. Our approach makes

use of one of your currently unused channels, with no changes to your system. In addition, you do not

need to invest any capital. Each movie costs your customers $6.99, the same cost as a rental at a video

store.

Benefits per cost: You will receive 5 euro of new revenue per movie rented, with a margin of

20% after paying for the movie costs. Your customers will have all the pause and fast forward functions

of a VCR when watching the movie, and they do not have to return the movie when done. Late fees are

gone. We estimate you could capture a market share of 20%.

Competition: Our system is patented, and it is the only one to include all of these features. Online

rentals represent new competition for both you and us, but they have a handling-cost disadvantage of

75 cents per tape. Sending videos back is inconvenient, plus they cannot provide spontaneous

purchases.


Pros & Cons

CONsPROs

• Strength: quick first level assessment tool for business opportunity, easy accessible for researchers

• Innovation: practical way to assess researchers ‘wild’ business ideas

• Useful in large organisations with big deal flow of ideas

• Problems: researchers have sometimes difficulty to be concise and risk of killing possibly good ideas to early

• Acceptance is not same as ‘go’ to business: need further research into IP and freedom to operate


Why ? Rationale NABC

Need for quick assessment tool of business opportunities in a large

research community with a demand driven research agenda

Value proposition development

Identify important customer needs

Define champions and productive teammates

Articulate the value proposition (NABC)

Iterate often with others, regularly, in a group

Bridging the gap between excellent research and (new) business

(creation)


Why ? Impact NABC

Success rate: all applications for iProof (proof of concept projects) and

iBoot (iBootcamp) were assessed on this framework. First feedback to

idea owner (even if negative) has high sensibilisation effect.

Recommendation: Helps researchers to think ‘customer’ and ‘customer

value’ and to feel the entrepreneurial vibe for the first time

Impact on future performance: the NABC will slowly help to change the

mindset of a research community to a research valorisation community

without to much harassing researchers with writing business plans


Outcome

All first level assessments of business opportunities need to pass the

NABC test

Higher awareness level within research community

Easy accessible for all

Create pool of business ideas

No immediate need to change the format, although on line availability

could prosper the use by researchers


Lessons Learned

Looking back now, what would you …

• … do different? Nothing really

• … improve? Combine NABC with quick IP and freedom to operate scan

• … recommend to others? Just try it out.


Suggested Readings

Link to bibliography

“Innovation – The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers

Want”

Link to code book

Link to related websites

http://www.sri.com/innovation/discipline.html

Documents

Www.FITT-for-Innovation.eu Quick Assessment for Business Idea FITT (Fostering Interregional Exchange in ICT Technology Transfer)