Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace

Part of the Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business Specialization »

Develop insights on navigating the innovation process from idea generation to commercialization. Build knowledge on how to create strategies to bring innovations to market. Develop an innovation portfolio and business model canvas for your venture.

We establish a framework for examining the innovation process, and quickly transition into exploring how to successfully bring innovations to market. Key questions answered within the course include: 

• What are the key indicators of innovation opportunities?
• What steps are critical for entrepreneurs to bring innovations to the marketplace?
• What innovation strategies are valuable for new ventures to establish and maintain a competitive advantage?

With this course, students experience a sampling of the ideas and techniques explored in the University of Maryland's Online Master of Technology Entrepreneurship.

Course Syllabus

Week One: The Innovation Landscape

• Defining Innovation for Business Strategy
• Creative Destruction as Innovation’s Outcome
• Innovation’s Value Proposition for Entrepreneurs
• New Models of Innovation for Entrepreneurs 
• How the Life Span of an Innovation Follows Product Life Cycles
• How Innovations Diffuse into the Commercial Marketplace

Week Two: Indicators of Innovation Opportunity & Steps in the Process of Innovation

• Drucker's Seven Sources of Innovation Opportunity
• How Technology “S” Curves Reveal Innovation Opportunity
• Understanding How Innovations Disrupt the Marketplace
• How Lead Users Foster Innovation
• Where Innovation is Hiding in the Value Chain
• How to Recognize a Winning Innovation Idea
• Ways Technology Can Be a Source of Innovation
• Three Framed Views of the Innovation Process
• How Individual Steps Form the Overall Innovation Process
• An Innovation Process Applied: New Product Development
• How Creative Roles Contribute to Innovation
• How Implementer Roles Contribute to Innovation

Week Three: Innovation Strategies for Competitive Advantage

• How Strategic Alliances Enable Open Innovation
• How a Blue Ocean Strategy Leads to New Market Niches
• How to Cross the Adoption Chasm and Get an Innovation to Market
• How Benchmarking Can Be an Innovation Strategy
• How Technology Influences an Innovation Strategy
• How Lead User Research Becomes an Innovation Strategy
• How to Compose the Elements of an Innovation Portfolio
• How Technology Transfer Fits into an Innovation Portfolio

Week Four: Creating Winning Business Models

• Developing Products and Services to Fit the Market
• Keys to Developing Winning Business Models
• Beginning the Business Model Canvas
• Completing the Business Model Canvas

Recommended Background

This introductory course is designed for those interested in learning how innovation works. It does not require a background in business.