Master’s Thesis Presentation
at TKK Communications Laboratory
on 6th June 2006
Mikko Nykänen
Major: Telecommunications Management
Minor: Communications Network Technology
Direction of Studies: Product Development and User Interfaces
mikko.j.nykanen@hut.fi
Product Concept and Business
Venture Ideation: Plant Terrarium
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The target: Successful business plan
for the Venture Cup business plan
contest to show a way of
commercializing current achievements
in the research of PLC and/or LEDs
(Power Line Communications and/or
Light Emitting diodes) through a new
business venture
Product concept: The product and
related acceptability and productability
issues
Business venture: A start-up business
with a high growth potential through
innovative product, service, business
model, production process or a new
market
Ideation: Idea generation, cultivation,
evaluation and selection
Ideation Related Techniques
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Idea Generation: The first phase of
ideation where the freedom of creativity
is at its highest. Techniques: Mind
Mapping, Fish Bones and Six Thinking
Hats
Idea Cultivation: Refines the valuable
ideas from those created.Technique:
Synethics method
Idea Evaluation: Analyzes the factors
for and against developing each product
concept to a business venture.
Technique: Force Field Analysis
Idea Selection: Gives the best concept
for further development. Techniques:
Decission Three or a method tailored to
the project requirements
Commercialization Process
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New business formation requires: A high
quality business idea, management team
and capital
Commercial potential of a business idea
requires: Defined customer, product and
earning logic with enough market potential
Organization management: Partitioning
people into activity groups, each with a
specific sub-task, and providing
coordination within and between the groups
so as to achieve the whole task
Financial Planning: Keeping cash above
zero, eventually making satisfactory profit,
satisfying critical stakeholders and
increasing company resources and value so
that lasting longevity is secured and
expectations of returns are met
Intellectual property: For protecting the
investment or can be used as a merchandise
Promising Research Results to be
Commercialized
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Power Line Communications (PLC):
The technology to enable the
transmission of data over a power line
that carries and supplies electric power.
Widely used X-10 offers 0,05 kbps,
new PLC modems even 200 Mbps in
standardized products or 0,1 – 30 kpbs
inexpensively on a single chipset
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs): There
are bright LEDs on the PAR (PAR)
frequencies the plants require for
photosynthesis, phototropy,
photomorphosis and photolysis
LEDs and Plants: Ability of radiation
to create photosynthetic activity is
measured as PPF photosyntetic photon
flux.
Ideation
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Selection
Points
Mini Gr.
Talk Chat
PLC Lite
Stage Eq.
Total
186
136
158
74
+ defficiencies of existing,
clearly novel and innovative
- risks in implementation,
far from network technology
+ PLC adds value
- close existing systems
VC: There already is patent
for likewise solution
+ user advantages
- lot of work needed to beat existing systems
VC: Too much coding
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+ combined data and control
-lot of work needed to beat existing
systems, scales of markets
Idea Generation was performed to find
an applicable target group, to define a few
key applications with keywords LED,
PLC, Services (adjustable color, savability,
monitoring), Users (home, work, interior
design), Place of usage (indoors, outdoors,
vechile)
Idea Cultivation resulted to fourteen
converged proposals achieved in four
different ways: Completely new ideas
from this ideation such as Talk Chat for
Seniors, (preliminary) candidates from
earlier product development course such
as Stage Lighting and cultivated
coursework candidates such as Mini
Greenhouse and PLC Lite interior lighting
system
Idea Evaluation resulted to the four
concepts on the left
Idea Selection resulted to the Mini
Greenhouse
Plant Terrarium Implementation
Plan
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Innovation studies, market researches,
& competition evaluation showed the
plant terrarium market position on the left
The Planned Business venture needed
experience from interior and furniture
design and I hired Niko Venäläinen from
UIAH (TaiK) to my Venture Cup team in
addition to my initial team partner Inga
Mathiesen-Buinevits from TKK.
Product specifications gave the need for
cooling instead of initial thought for
warming
Prototype building is ongoing at UIAH
and it is going to be tested with our pilot
customer from the Finnish Orchid Union
Commercialization: My company focus
is in R&D and Marketing and I outsource
production distribution and services.
Venture Cup
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Strong correlation between success in
the Venture Cup and in the real life
later
The first round strengths: trendy ready
made future product which is lacking from
the market, analogy to aquarium hobby
and development areas sales distribution
and marketing
The second round business plan was
among the ten awarded and got a special
prize of arts and design
The third round business plan was one of
the ten candidates for top awards and got
an award of the best business plan in the
fields of media arts and culture. My team
was also awarded with office premises in
Arabus business incubation center for half
a year
Future Options
Hole Surface
Lighting Element
Door
Cabin
Cooling Plate
Automatic
Watering
Fan
Cooling Element
Technological options:
• When the smart home concept proceeds the
plant terrarium can be included there with
PLC technology
• LEDs enable nonconventional positioning
of lighting and thus enable energy saving
• Ultra sound moisturizers, peltier cooling,
automatic watering series
Commercialization options:
• Cooperation with laboratories and existing
companies in the related fields through
combined research and marketing efforts
• Basic and advanced modules to the product
• Orchid Hobbyists and/or Interior designers
as customers preferably internationally
Conclusions
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The objective of the study has been
achieved.
The study has shown potential
commercialization options for the new
research results in LED and PLC
technology
The Venture Cup jury evaluated the
plant terrarium business idea and design
ideology innovative and creative,
showing the capability of the
innovation tools I presented here, and
also my capability to utilize them