Five W’s and the How!

Commercialization and RICAP

Rohit Shukla, CEO, Larta Institute, Los Angeles, CaliforniaNovember, 2015

Baseline Topics

• About Larta

• Issues on commercialization for all

applicants – big picture

• Fundamental Questions: the 5 W’s

• Finally, the “How?”

• Features and benefits of RICAP

About Larta: Since 1993

– Focused on the commercialization of science-based innovations

• Technologies that fuel, feed and heal the world, and their derivatives

• Acceleration into market – investors, industry, customers

• Respected source and pipeline of vetted innovations

– Aligned with the needs of entrepreneurs and their enterprises

• Assisted some 9,000 entrepreneurs in market, customer and enterprise

development

• Have strong success metrics – capital raised, deals, acquisitions and enterprise

viability

– Worked across the world: “Global Bridge” programs

• Founding partner of RICAP

– Principal acceleration partner for U.S. federal funding agencies

• National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, National Institutes of Standards and Technology, DARPA

– Operated a seed fund for the State of California

Issues on Commercialization

• It’s a body contact sport – one size does not fit all– Wrestle with constantly changing markets, issues, technological

dynamism, demand

– Not linear – getting an education on “topics” that follow from each other in commercialization is not going to make you better at it

– People-driven – not purely a rational issue i.e. just because something may appear to be superior as a solution, does not guarantee its adoption: because people are variable, are driven by many motivations

– Referenced by what exists on the ground – accommodation or disruption: performance, cost, value, time

Fundamental Questions – the 5 W’sCritical to understanding your position

• Who are you? Your assets, your history, your motivations, your

story, the identity of who you are targeting.

• What? What is it that you have to offer this principal target or

customer?

• Why? Why would they care, given what they are currently doing?

• When? Will you be able to offer what you have – as a workable

solution or even an interim one?

• Where? Will you offer the solution?

These relate to the sections in the RICAP Application Form!

Finally, the How!

• Bringing together assets, prospects, plans and potential

– How will you address the gaps that exist?

– How will you address the customers you identify?

– How will you make sure that you distinguish yourself from

the competition?

– How will you allocate the resources and effort necessary to

“build out” the product/service?

– How will you price it to ensure “stickiness”?

• The RICAP application asks you to nominate your needs, in order

to build a profile and a potential work plan

Features and Benefits of RICAP• This is not a classroom exercise

– Everything you experience and understand is customized for you

• Focused on needs of emerging and established entrepreneurs

– Offering in two tracks: Academy and Accelerator

– But both focus on your viability as an enterprise

• Designed to be in parallel with your efforts

– Develop, try, modify, offer

– Strong industry, domain and functional expertise, both U.S. and

Romania-based

• Goal is to achieve outcomes, either a “roadmap” or a specific set of

targets

Thank you Rohit Shukla

Founder & CEO, Larta Institute