Commercialisation Australia more than the money

Turning raw intellectual property (IP) into a product, process or service that people want to buy is the fundamental challenge facing our start-up entrepreneurs. Success requires a mix of technical understanding and market insight, which can be hard to find.
Our ingenious researchers and inventors do not always have the raw entrepreneurial talent that the investment community is looking for. The reticence of the capital markets makes it doubly difficult to attract the right people. This “catch 22” is largely to blame for what is termed the ‘Valley of Death’ – a place where many early stage businesses with promising IP find themselves, having run out of capital before establishing a compelling value proposition for their target market.

For the most part, successful commercialisation is the result of founders relying on their own resources or being able to secure investment from angel investors, strategic corporations or family and friends.  Many more attempts fail and valuable local IP is sold, licensed or lost for want of good quality commercialisation. This represents a point of market failure that we, as a nation, need to address if we are to take full advantage of our substantial investment in R&D and our inventive talents more generally.

To this end, in January 2010, the Australian Government launched Commercialisation Australia (CA).

CA differs from past Government programs in that it aggregates the infrastructure, processes, disciplines and networks necessary to begin the task of systematically addressing this shortfall. CA has been allocated $278m through to 2014 with an ongoing allocation of $82m
per annum thereafter.

Previous programs have focussed on the delivery of grant funding. While funding is necessary and no doubt welcome, it is only part of the equation needed to lift Australia’s performance in converting IP into commercial success. Professional investors understand that entrepreneurial and managerial talent are equally, if not more, important than the money.

CA offers a more holistic approach.  The three-tiered program is designed to grow an effective early stage commercialisation ecosystem which feeds on its own success and provides an environment which encourages and supports entrepreneurial endeavour at its grass roots.

It comprises:

1: Grant Funding
Funding is available through competitive grants under four components:
• Skills & Knowledge
• Experienced Executives
• Proof of Concept
• Early Stage Commercialisation

Funding for each component is highly competitive and all applications are assessed by the CA Board.

2: Case Managers
Each applicant is allocated a Case Manager to provide feedback during the application process and, if they successfully enter the program, ongoing non-executive assistance for the duration of their grant term.

CA Case Managers are successful business builders and advisors who have direct experience in commercialising IP and can provide substantial assistance to participants in developing their entrepreneurial capabilities and business networks. 

3: Volunteer Business Mentors (VBM)
Effective entrepreneurs know how to get to the right people and inspire them with their vision.  To further stimulate this activity CA is developing a VBM network.

CA is now recruiting Mentors (domestically and internationally) that fall into one or more of the following categories:
1: Individuals who have successfully commercialised IP
2: Individuals with specific domain and/or technological expertise
3: Professional investors with a focus on early stage, innovative businesses

CA represents an exciting new initiative in the early stage commercialisation space…there are already approximately 100 participants in the program from a diverse range of industry sectors and technologies.

I encourage those of you interested in learning more about CA to visit our website www.commercialisationaustralia.gov.au and get involved.

Doron Ben-Meir
CEO, Commercialisation Australia
Doron has extensive experience in commercialisation, innovation, technology and the venture capital industry. Over twenty years he has been involved in numerous venture capital organisations and founded six start-up companies