Abstract
Engineering entrepreneurship represents an important solution for powering businesses worldwide. Valuable ideas should not be wasted but pursued and turned into practical goods and services leading to technology-based business performance. Therefore, the book by Paul Swamidass in the field of entrepreneurship comes as an answer to the need of better entrepreneurial development focused on technological innovation. This concise book, with adequate references, written in a friendly and easily accessible language for all readers interested in developing their own businesses constitutes an authentic guide for all first-time inventors.
This book, that aims to help novices to business understand value creation, serves as a 10-week guided tour of what it takes to be an entrepreneur in technology. Therefore, the publication is organised in 10 parts, guiding the reader from the finding of ideas to preparing to be an entrepreneur. The book presents the seven phases of technological innovation, from pre-start-up activities to business growth, covering the importance of protecting intellectual property. The text purposefully avoids long essays, being organised in 44 small chapters conveying synthesised information, aiming to keep the reader focused and interested. However, some of the topics would have deserved a lengthier approach, as for instance, the business model, business plan and execution phase. This is especially true for engineers and scientists in technology who generally lack advanced business knowledge and need a better input in these regards. The book contains many case studies, pertinent examples and questions to help the reader to advance on the entrepreneurial road. This publication makes an important contribution to the need of securing intellectual property through patenting.
Given the fact that the text is purposefully fragmented in small chapters, I have structured my review on the main parts of the texts. The first part of the text focuses on value creators in technological innovation. The author introduces the seven phases of innovation in technology and advocates for the importance of the innovator as a main engine of translating bold ideas into commercial successes. Finding the right idea is of tremendous importance for any entrepreneur; therefore, the author examines the ways in which ideas may be stimulated through keen observation and brainstorming. In the conceiving of idea phase, meeting customer needs is presented as essential and the refining of ideas through customer survey and market research is suggested. The inspiring success stories evoked are an invitation for readers to think outside the box and to strive to discover the best answer.
The second part looks at appropriate protection for inventor’s ideas under the law. This element distinguishes this text from other books in entrepreneurship as it makes a real contribution on patenting, having also a complete example of a successful patent with USPTO (United States Patents and Trademark Office). Regardless of the fact that this section is based on an American example, the contents offers insight on what it takes to be an inventor applicant for a patent. As a successful inventor applicant to USPTO, Swamidass also explains the idea that patentable inventions are a necessity not only for the inventor and users of the inventor’s invention but also for the national economy.
The third part of the text briefly analyses the supply chain needed by any business. Suppliers, manufacturing, marketing, sales, distribution, customers and competitors are presented, not necessarily in this logistical coordination order. The macro- and micro-environmental factors which influence any company are briefly presented. In my opinion, this would have deserved a more in-depth analysis, as a first-time innovator should be aware of all supply chain participants. Marketing receives special attention, the author setting a special focus on social media marketing as a powerful promotion tool. This part also contains break-even analysis, which in my view, would have been better integrated in the fourth part which discusses costs and prices.
The fourth part is about business model, estimation of costs and prices, and business plan. The author introduces here an inspired questionnaire of more than 50 questions to be applied for start-up businesses. The business plan is presented as a tool to attract investors and briefly explains its contents, the decisions required by a successful plan, but also the need of a meticulous, comprehensive and contingency planning. Given the fact that the book is aimed at first-time inventors, the start-up business financial feasibility is also tackled along with possible financers as banks, devoted agencies and angel investors.
The fifth section of the text deals with the execution phase of the technological innovation and is mainly based on case studies, but also contains one example based on intrapreneurial effort. This part contains many insightful considerations about what is required to be an entrepreneur, beyond the technological ideas, as leadership competencies and ability to evaluate risks and potential success.
On balance, this is an easy to follow book which offers a good perspective on how a person interested in technological development should act to surmount all the hurdles and invites the readers to be more confident and to pursue on the road to a new business development.
In the book preface, Swamidass states that the book is addressed to innovative engineers and scientists who desire to become income-producing businessman or potential investors. As such, the book meets the expectations, but may also be used by anyone interested in studying to better stimulate their own entrepreneurial/intrapreneurial abilities, potentially leading to business development in technology. I would recommend the book for instructors in entrepreneurship and their students as an important reference, as the book uncovers many of the multifaceted practical aspects of what it takes to become a first-time inventor and first-time business owner.