Innovation Toolkit

The Innovation Toolkit is the package of services and funding that QB3 provides to aid entrepreneurial scientists. The foundation of the Toolkit is the use of Knowledge Brokers: scientists helping scientists, serving as matchmakers with industry. Knowledge Brokers help to find promising discoveries by providing business-savvy mentors and early-stage funding; to nurture the project through the proof-of-concept stage guided by the needs of potential customers; and to start new companies by assembling management teams, identifying funding sources, and providing research space at the QB3 Garage.

The Innovation Toolkit enables entrepreneurs to cross the “Valley of Death” (see graphic) that confronts scientists as they try to translate a discovery into a good or service. Federal funding declines as a concept moves away from the discovery phase; and outside investors are leery of supporting an enterprise before it has proven its worth in pilot trials. QB3 bridges this gap by connecting researchers with funding and by providing mentoring and analysis. The California economy begins to reap benefits in the form of jobs as soon as a company forms.

The Innovation Toolkit includes:

• Help with identifying societal needs and linking them with creative solutions
• Education for researchers unfamiliar with commercial development
• Best-practice management and business skills
• Help with writing and presenting a business plan to investors
• Introduction to potential sources of funding
• Start-up space
  
  

Find, nurture, and start

Keen on finding discoveries with market potential, QB3’s Knowledge Brokers foster connectivity and regularly familiarize themselves with faculty research. They help faculty locate resources; promote cross-campus, cross-disciplinary collaborations; and secure proof-of-concept funding. This first step is based on the concept that innovation is often driven by unexpected connections made at the interface between scientific fields. Problems that seem hard in one discipline are often easy to solve in another.

Promising projects must then be nurtured, guided by the needs of potential customers. Without this user-driven approach, researchers may incorrectly assess the market opportunity for a promising technology, and misspend precious time and money. To avoid this, we have assembled a team of mentors with considerable business experience in the life science industry including synthetic biology, energy and other applications. Also, QB3’s Clinical Associates help researchers determine the practical applications of medical innovations and what value they might have for doctors and patients.

QB3 is dedicated to helping start successful companies. On-site research space is available for start-ups located at the QB3 Garage@UCSF, the QB3 Garage@Berkeley, and partners in the Mission Bay Incubator Network. Aimed at incubating companies in a capital-efficient manner, the Garages offer small amounts of space in the heart of the UC research campuses. This encourages our tenants to collaborate with UC investigators and make use of core facilities. Moreover, we provide our young companies with mentoring, beneficial pricing with legal and commercial services, and introductions to potential funding sources.

QB3 has not taken equity stakes in the companies it has helped incubate.