Entrepreneurship support atthe University of Twente:Acceleration of Growth

Dr. Aard J. GroenHead of department Entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy

and international managementScientific director NIKOS,

a.j.groen@utwente.nl

Presentation

• NIKOS• Opportunities and results of spin off

program TOP from University of Twente• Successes but also issues to solve• Approach of design of support structure• Firm level• University level• Q & A

ResearchResearch•• The role of entrepreneurial networkingThe role of entrepreneurial networking•• UniversityUniversity--Industry Interaction (ECIU)Industry Interaction (ECIU)•• EE--commerce incommerce in SME’sSME’s•• Global start upsGlobal start ups•• Database of knowledge intensive firmsDatabase of knowledge intensive firms•• Marie Curie Training siteMarie Curie Training site•• High Tech Small firm ConferenceHigh Tech Small firm Conference

•• Business DevelopmentBusiness Development•• TOPTOP•• NENSINENSI•• KEBKEB•• BepartBepart•• MephiMephi•• GlobalGlobal startsstarts

• TeachingTeaching•• Minor Entrepreneurship, international managementMinor Entrepreneurship, international management•• HighHigh techtech businessbusiness developmentdevelopment•• MscMsc InnovativeInnovative EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship & business& businessdevelopmentdevelopment•• ECIUECIU MasterMaster InnovationInnovation && EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship

•• Training & consultancyTraining & consultancy•• Market orientation HTSFMarket orientation HTSF•• KVGO/KVGO/VNOVNO--NCWNCW•• RaboRabo•• International consultancyInternational consultancy

Trainingand

Consultancy

TrainingTrainingandand

ConsultancyConsultancy

BusinessDevelopment

Support

BusinessBusinessDevelopmentDevelopment

SupportSupport

TeachingTeachingTeaching

ResearchResearchResearch

EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurshipinin

networksnetworks

ActivititActivititiesies in NIKOSin NIKOS

Incubator (labs, offices,administration)

Science ParkProduction andcommercializationManagement

Business networkBusiness Development

ProcessBusiness valuation of

technologyLicensing/Co-development withindustry (grants)

Concept creation(Industrial) scientific

networkingExternal

communication(science,

education, society)

OpportunityExploitation

Spin-off creation (TOP)Entrepreneurial process

Investors

Demolab feasibilityBusiness model

Market dataPMC

Role of technology invalue chain

Application forgrants/subsidy

(NWO, EU, STW)

OpportunityPreparation

Scouting for businessideas

Market-pull andproduct-based

technologydevelopment

Seed money

Proprietary IPRIncentive for inventor

External 2nd opinion onbusiness aspects

Publication or IPRExternal 2nd opinion on

technologyIncentive for inventor

Social cultureresearchers

OpportunityRecognition

Integrator/Applicator

DemonstratorFundamental

Research Process

Val

ori

zati

on

Pro

cess

PMC

Forms of creating value in differentresearch types

mu

ltid

iscip

linari

ty

MESA

BMTI

!

embeddedsystems CTIT

tele-medicine

Healthcare@UTHealthcare@UT

Nano, IT, Biomedtech and entrepreneurship research:From fundamental to multidisciplinary work

nano-medicine

IGS-NIKOS

Businessdevelopment &Tech dynamics

The entrepreneurial process

Opportunityrecognition

Opportunitydevelopment

Valuecreation

Entrepreneur

Environment

Evolvingsociotechnicallandscapes

Novel“configurationsthat work”

A patchworkof regimes

3

2

1

[1] Novelty, shaped by existing regime[2] Evolves, is taken up, may modify regime[3] Landscape is transformed

How to stimulate growth in high techbased firms?

• Laissez faire, the invisible hand of themarket will do its work

• Governmental intervention, The visiblehand steers the region: e.g.transferstate service organisations to theregion; or start an university

• Co-ordinate many visible hands bybuilding entrepreneurial networks onmicro level

Idea generation

EntrepreneurshipNetwork

TOPENT-Training

Coaching training, courses, networks

Conceptdevelopment

AcceleratorIncubatorTechnopark

Organisationdevelopment

Venture capital &financing

Housing/facilities(technopark)organisational support (CI)

“Train the trainer”Monitoring entrepreneurship development

Support throughout enterprisegenesis process

• Facilities• Personel• Arrangements & Systems• Knowledge

• Own capital• bridging development period• Financing investments

- Venture Capital- Loans

• Contacts with:- clients- suppliers- experts- colleagues- support agents

SocialNetwork-Contacts

SocialNetwork-Contacts

Skills:Patterns of

Organisation

Skills:Patterns of

Organisation

Scale: Economy:Financial meansScale: Economy:Financial means

Scope:from

idea toStrategy

Scope:from

idea toStrategy

Entrepreneurand

Enterprise

What are the needs of an entrepreneur?

• Ideas

• Assessing the opportunity

• Strategic processes

• Business plan

• Facilities• Personel• Arrangements & Systems• Knowledge

• Own capital• bridging development period• Financing investments

- Venture Capital- Loans

• Contacts with:- clients- suppliers- experts- colleagues- support agents

SocialNetwork-Contacts

SocialNetwork-Contacts

Skills:Patterns of

Organisation

Skills:Patterns of

Organisation

Scale: Economy:Financial meansScale: Economy:Financial means

Scope:from

idea toStrategy

Scope:from

idea toStrategy

Entrepreneurand

Enterprise

Support instruments

• Ideas

• Assessing the opportunity

• Strategic processes

• Business plan

Knowledge &Space

Organisationalsupport

Coaching, training &Courses

Strategic Coach

Soft loans

participation

Contacts

Brokerage

Spin off Companies University ofTwente

Economic results:

• 500 firms in TOP program (since 1985)• Approx. 400 survived• Total direct employment in region >

3000 fte• Indirect employment ?• Clustering: ICT, biomedical, process

technologies, nano (around Mesa+)

Issues• Spin offs are small (medium) sized• Growth is small• Distance to market death valley• IP returns to University until now via direct

financing of research and infrastructure• IP: patents are recently taken by UT: aim long

term growth of IP returns• What about creating business in/with existing

firms?

Issues

• Market orientation versus technology orientation• Operational effectiveness versus Strategic

flexibility• Service or product / production• Strategic partnering (TIMP)• Management competencies• Building of industrial networks• Global arena

Facilities• Personel

Arrangements & SystemsKnowledge

• Own capital• bridging development period• Financing investments

- Venture Capital- Loans

• Contacts with:- clients- suppliers- experts- colleagues- support agents

SocialNetwork-Contacts

SocialNetwork-Contacts

Skills:Patterns of

Organisation

Skills:Patterns of

Organisation

Scale: Economy:Financial meansScale: Economy:Financial means

Scope:from

idea toStrategy

Scope:from

idea toStrategy

Entrepreneurand

Enterprise

Factors explaining growth of high tech start ups

• Ideas

• Assessing the opportunity

• Strategic processes

• Business plan

Balanced teamscombining

management,commercial &

technology skills

Entrepreneurial andmarket orientation

Growth ambition

Strategic focus based oninsights in T-M-O dynamics &

value creation

Overcoming death valley(time-to-market vs

investments) through accessto venture capital

(Formal-informal investors)

Strong connections withmarket (suppliers-clients)

Managing strong & weakties (in business &academic world)

UT-Entrepreneurship SupportStructure: Innovation Lab Twente

• Decentralised into research institutes, accelerators• Specialised business development support from

NIKOS and BCvB staff• Market-academy connection via accelerators

(business developers) in the research institutes• Utility sharing• Venture capital network• UT-strategy, focus on spearheads of research

(converging technologies: Nano-IT-biomed)• At least 10-15% of academic staff involved in leading

the entrepreneurial activities

Business & Technology Centre – BTC-Twente

Nanotech accelerator

Twente Life SciencesBusiness Accelerator

Incubators

Entrepreneurship in the curriculum (1)

3yr Bachelor / elective Minor

1 & 2 year Master programme

Entrepreneurship in the curriculum (2)

• Advanced Technologies– Bachelor programme with “entrepreneurship and business

development” as a specialisation• Industrial Design

– In Bachelor programme: Market-oriented entrepreneurship• Business & Information Technolgies

– In Master programme: Business Development in Networks• For Ph D students: Business planning and

technology dynamics• For all students (elective):

– Become your own Boss– Managing an SME

Characteristics of successful supportof entrepreneurial processes

• Multi-dimensional (strategy,organisation, networking, economics)

• Multi-level networking: firm level,regional level, global networksenhancing University IndustryInteraction across technological fields

• Multi-actor: combining heterogeneouscompetencies e.g. creativity,technology,and marketing competencies

New Program for generating Highpotential entrepreneurial teams

creating business out of UT-technology

Group based support/selection

• Kansrijk eigen baas (200 firms created in 2,5year in Achterhoek)

• Individual trajectories (self selection based)• Group based (n=60, 4-6 months)• Self selection + assessment• Intensive training, ideas brought in, process

of enterprise concept development

High Tech / High potentialGroup based selection process

• Enterprising with knowledge• Group based (n=60, 4-6 months) +

team/concept based 1 year• Target groups students Saxion, UT &

persons with work experience• Using high potential business

concepts UT

High Tech / High potentialGroup based selection process

1. Self selection + assessment2. Intensive training, general ideas brought in,

process of enterprise concept development3. Selection of high potential T-M-F teams

matched with high potential businessconcepts

4. Small group/personal coaching with highlevel business coaches

5. Network with international VC-funds6. Office space 1000m2

Expected Results• Groups of 60 persons• 30 firms based on own idea development of

participants (after 5 years 25 firms,employment >250)

• 5 firms based on high potential ideasmatched with teams based on selectionduring program (after 5 years, 2-3 firms,employment >250)

• 2 groups per year, 3 years employmentafter 8 year >3000

Questions and remarks?