Go-to-Market

The importance of defining how to go-to-market is described in this chapter. Go-to-market (GTM) is the final step in the innovation process. It is the time of making money. The first part of the go-to-market plan (what is the target?) needs to be defined in your company's value proposition. Who will buy what the company sells? Why is the product or service better than the competition? The second part (how to hit the target?) can be built with a go-to-market plan. This plan is a roadmap for deciding how the entrepreneur will enter the market. What will be the price of the product, how many people will the sales team need, through which channels will the product be sold? One critical thing in the innovation is to understand if the time is right. For that, this chapter proposes a simple method using Porter's five forces.

Business Plan

This chapter describes how to design a flexible business plan and the importance of implementing pilots in real environments. The lack of a business plan is the main reason for the failure of several start-ups. The business plan will provide a mean to design the business strategy and also how to implement it. This is a dynamic process. When the final functional prototype is done, it needs to be tested in a scalable and semi-real environment. For that, the implementation of a real pilot is mandatory. It is advised to perform the pilot in collaboration with the right business partner.

Start

This chapter aims at explaining the start phase of the innovation process. Several steps are explained in detail and some examples are given. During the explanation, the importance of innovation in companies is also highlighted. Step 1 of the innovation process starts in two ways: 1) an idea that is then identified as overcoming some market needs or disruptive; 2) a market problem is identified and then an idea is designed. The next sub-steps are common (i.e., from the dream [the idea] the design of it must be done). This will involve structuring the idea by identifying the main features, the benefits, and how to make money from it. After that, the clarification about the type of innovation it is also very important.

In the Future

Innovation consists of a complex process. We need to create new ideas, but these ideas need to be exploited in the market, need to have an impact, and need to bring a new opportunity of changing. The innovation corresponds to the implementation of a new solution for the market or company. There are five types of innovation: 1) product, 2) process, 3) organisation, 4) marketing, and 5) business model. Another point that must be studied profoundly is how long the innovation process must take. The book presents a method; however, other variables must be taken into account. Thus, it is also essential to design a strategy for measuring the time of process innovation in order to help the innovative entrepreneur.

Develop

The goal of this chapter is to explain the development phase of the innovation process. The development of R&D phase is a dynamic phase. Throughout the R&D process, the solution development is needed, but the analysis of SOA and market must continue in order to know how science and market are progressing, and according to that, update the R&D work. Protecting the results of innovative projects can assure the maximization of its value, taking into account the competition and the position of the solution in the market. In order to know if the developments are on the right path concerning the market needs, the implementation of small pilots is essential. These points are crucial for the success of the solution on the market. Listening to the market can be considered the last step of the development activity. From here, the prototype will be improved, and guidelines for designing the business plan are available.

Innovation

One innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (or service), or a process, or a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization, or relationships outside. In this chapter, the innovation concept will be discussed from the creation of an idea to go-to-market. In order to better understand the concept, a general state-of-the-art about innovation and the topics associated will be presented. This chapter is essential to understand the presented flow about innovation. Several types of innovation are explained, and the difference between innovation and R&D is also presented. Furthermore, an overview about the proposed flow is presented as well as the general steps of each phase.