ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
CHAPTER 1
SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS AS ENTREPRENEURS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to
1. Discuss why studying entrepreneurship is valuable.
2. Explain the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in the economy.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
The process of taking an invention from idea to business concept and then to market is called
technology commercialization. This dynamic process faces a unique set of challenges and
opportunities in a fast-paced market. Consequently, products must be developed faster,
prototyped earlier, and brought to market in record time. Small entrepreneurial companies are
in a good position to do that as they tend to be more flexible and quick to respond to
environmental changes. In contrast, large established companies have the challenge of breaking
away from traditional strategic thinking and the inertia of success.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The transition to entrepreneurship
a. Why study entrepreneurship?
2. The role of innovation and entrepreneurship
3. The commercialization process
a. Discovery
Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers
c. Testing technology and market feasibility
d. Protecting IP assets
4. Summary
END OF CHAPTER QUESTIONS
1. Why is continual innovation critical to business success today?
2. How has the new economy affected entrepreneurial decision making?
The new economy is characterized by an emphasis on knowledge workers, globalization,
3. When it is time to commercialize an invention, what options are available to an inventor to
navigate the business side of commercialization, and what are the advantages and
disadvantages of each?
Inventors and innovators generally choose from three major launch strategies. 1) They can
license the right to further develop, manufacture, and market their inventions to a third
4. How are disruptive technologies different from sustaining or incremental technologies?
Incremental innovations build on existing technology but in a substantially new way. The
Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers
5. Why might engineering and science students, despite their inventive ideas, resist becoming
entrepreneurs?
Reasons why engineering and science students might resist becoming entrepreneurs include
the following:
CASE STUDY SUGGESTIONS
The case study, “Innovation in the Palm of his Hand” provides an opportunity to emphasize
several important concepts in the chapter.
• Great innovations come from things you know something about. Hawkins was fascinated
with cognition and neurobiology and even went on to study it in some depth. It was from
that interest in neurobiology that he gained the insight that auto-associative memory could
be applied to data that varies over time. He also applied his understanding of how humans
predict their environment to the ultimate development of the Palm Pilot that initiated the
handheld computing era.
• A good discussion for students will emphasize the importance of understanding where your
strengths lie and know when it’s time to bring in the experts. As a scientist or engineer, can
you really do it all?
Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers
ACTIVITY
Expectations Exercise
Ask students to prepare a couple of paragraphs on their background and a couple paragraphs on
the view of entrepreneurship that they bring to the course. Then have them conclude with why