Technology Development
Lessons from Industrial Chemistry
and Process Design
by Ron Stites
Ron has recently completed the manuscript for a new book on Technology Development under contract with Walter de Gruyter GmbH. De Gruyter is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. The new book should be available May of 2022. The Table of Contents below gives you an idea of the topics covered:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: What is Technology and Technology Development?
Some Common Misconceptions
Types/Classes of Technology
B2B Markets
Consumer Markets
Government Markets
Social/Common Good
Impact on Existing Markets
The Benefits of Technology Development
Chapter 3: Some Basics Axioms of Technology Development
Axiom 1 – Nothing is Completely Predictable
Axiom 2 – Collaboration can be a Four-Lettered Word
Axiom 3 – Money is the Final Unit of Measure
Axiom 4 – Everything is Urgent
Axiom 5 – Size Matters
Axiom 6 – The Quest for Knowledge Requires Intuition and Deduction
Chapter 4: The Science of Technology Development
Markets First
Investors/Stakeholders Second
Go/No-Go Decision Process Third
Finally, The Technology Development Process
Planning to Learn
Designing Your Experiments
The Intuitive Phase
The Deductive Phase
Making Sense of Uncertainty
Simple Statistics – Population, Sample, Average, and Standard Deviation
Guarding Against Major Blunders
Execute Your Plan
Evaluation and Reporting
Improve Your Experiments or Wrap Up Your Conclusions
Valuation Methodology (Present Value/IRR)
Evidence-Based Decision-Making and Data Science
Chapter 5: The Art of Technology Development
The Art of Human Relationships
With Employees
With Funders and Potential Funders
With Customers and Potential Customers
With Stakeholders
The Art of Matching Technology with Markets
The Art of Monetizing the Technology
Chapter 6: Funding and The Discipline of Technology Development
How Discipline Impacts Funding and the Growth of Wealth
The Biz Plan
Funding in Large Organizations
Funding in Small Organizations
Technology Development Startups – A Peculiar Subset of Small Business
The Funding Process
Dispelling Some Myths about Raising Capital
Assessing Capital Needs
Set Capital Goals
Detail Capital Goals and Strategy
Identify Potential Capital Sources
Guiding Principles for Contacting Potential Investors
Structure Capital Offering(s)
Manage the Capital Campaign
Chapter 7: The Future of Technology Development
Critical Technology Development Needs
Capital Sourcing Challenges
Evaluation of Technology
Use of Capital
Scarce Supply of Capital for Small Business
Accountability
Patience
Chapter 8: Where Do We Go from Here?
Reducing the influence of academics and Higher Education
Strengthening review of government Technology Development programs
Specifically requiring statistically sound review
Encouraging small, primary investments directly in small businesses
Graduated Capital Gains Tax
Capital Gains Tax on Non-profits
Phasing out Non-profit Status for all Non-profits
Phasing in Strict Financial Reporting for all Non-profits
Reforming all of Education to make it eventually Competitive, For-profit
Requiring Grade-appropriate Probability and Statistics Curricula
Requiring Appropriate Field Proficiency Probability and Statistics STEM and Professions
Deregulating Crowdfunding for Small, Technology Development Companies
Chapter 9: Some Final Words
If you would like information on how to get a copy, contact us at Ron Stites at [email protected]