Research & Development (R&D) Process
Darrell Williams
Working with individuals, startups, and small emerging firms seeking to produce an innovative digital health, health technology or MedTech solution.
Purpose
Turn an amorphous, untested concept into a physical, marketable problem-solving solution
Function
A practical cost-effective, challenging, achievable strategy leading to creating a concrete technology.
As a health technology or MedTech startup, moving from an innovative idea to a tangible, commercially-viable product involves the following three steps:
Proving (Demonstrate) Proof-of-Concept
Proof of concept is the beginning stage of the new technology development process. Establishing POC validates the viability of a proposed health/medical technology concept. The process focuses on gathering evidence to support the practicality of a project. It involves formulating and implementing a series of experiments leading to proving that the proposed solution is viable. A successful proof of concept process enables the company to build & test a technology prototype.?
Building & Testing Prototype?
A prototype is the initial version of a proposed technology concept.? The prototype helps producers physically envision the solution before it becomes a final product. Prototyping also helps producers accumulate needed information in determining whether the novel idea is technically feasible and if potential buyers will be interested in purchasing the solution. The process enables producers to visualize, test, and perfect the solution before mass production.
Prototyping incorporates creating a scale or a full-size model to test the proposed solution's functionality, durability, and desirability. Product developers regularly research, examine, and seek feedback to gain insights about key features and usability before completing a final model. The revisions include altering product design, changing materials, and eliminating/adding features.?
Refining The Prototype Into A Minimum Viable Product
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a customer-ready version of the prototype containing key attributes to attract early-adopters, i.e., targeted buyers. Early adopters help substantiate the proposed technology during the nascent period of the product development cycle. More importantly, early adopters are risk-takers and trendsetters who influence the success of a new technology. The MVP’s usability and effectiveness allows early-adopters to measure fulfillment.??
An MVP helps producers determine if the solution meets the buyers’ needs. It gives buyers an opportunity to see if the newly produced technology’s performance is superior to existing, marketed technologies. Targeted buyers need to know and feel that the newly produced technology offers a clear advantage and a worthwhile replacement.?
Funding The R&D Process
After the R&D plan is completed, the startup need seed funding to implement the strategy. In particular, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) provides a $2M direct seed investment in U.S.-based first-time entrepreneurs, startups, and small emerging firms to execute a new technology development R&D plan.? In fact, a NSF SBIR Phase I $305K grant can be used for proving proof of concept, a $1.2M Phase II grant can be used for building and testing a prototype and a $500K Phase IIB matching grant can be used for refining the prototype into a MVP.??
About the Writer
Mr. Darrell Williams is the founder, president and CEO of Eighteen Ventures. He possesses extensive experience in preparing startup business models and National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) seed funding proposals. He has been involved in small business development since 1999.
Eighteen Ventures is a Portland, ME independent, private small business development consulting firm serving U.S.-based first-time entrepreneurs, startups, and small emerging firms seeking to produce a novel health technology or MedTech solution.
Our services include preparing sustainable startup business models and NSF SBIR proposal seed funding proposals. We do not provide direct investment in startups or small firms.
Eighteen Ventures helped Sterile Geeks VR, a startup MedTech firm based in Jacksonville, FL, prepare a sustainable business model and produce a winning NSF SBIR Phase I proposal resulting in a $255K new technology development seed grant.
Mr. Williams can be reached at [email protected]
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