For many people, the term “innovation” implies having a great idea, and hoping that somehow it will take off. According to H. Chesbrough, this is clearly insufficient, and in his definition, he is very specific and demanding: an innovation is an invention that has been developed into a novel product or service, and which is creating economic value. Or simply stated: Without market success, no innovation has happened!

Researchers and entrepreneurs are used to weighing the potential risks and rewards of any project they are thinking of putting time and money into. Potential financial investors — be they government policy advisors, members of grant committees, venture capitalists or angel investors — are no different. But in terms of viability, some projects, visionary and game-changing as they may be, are far from certain. Even if overwhelming technical hurdles are navigated successfully, there always remains the risk that the market will not be ready …