yet2ventures Speaks at Forum for Consumer Product Entripeneurs

July 4, 2011

I had the pleasure of speaking at a forum for consumer product entrepreneurs 2 weeks ago in Radnor PA.  It was hosted by Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP, who did a great job connecting a rooms full of entrepreneurs with venture capitalists – tough to do in this climate.  It was great to see a law firm take such a leadership role in facilitating these kinds of connections.

A few key learnings?:

  1. There is a lot less money chasing fewer consumer product start ups.  The West Coast VC bubble has not hit Philly yet
  2. The VC’s have a high regard for sector knowledge/Rolodex, and basic ‘blocking and tackling’
  3. Entrepreneurs are still not taking advantage of the Open Innovation offices in most major companies (these are your internal evangelists)

Here is a edited summary:

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Posted by bendupont

yet2.com’s 11th Annual Open Innovation Conference

June 17, 2011

We hosted our 11th annual Open Innovation conference in Boston 2 weeks ago.  It was a huge success.  We talked about; trends in innovation and best practices.  A few large companies presented their learnings and plans, a few small companies presented their breakthrough technologies and we had a few case studies…..and a personal favorite – we ate lobster.

In total, we had executives from 3 Continents, with a large group from Japan.  Some of the companies  participating included; Canon, P&G, Agfa, AirProducts, Applied Materials, AveryDennison, Baxter, Bayer, Clorox, Colgate,  DuPont, Ecolab, GSK, Kimberly-Clark, J&J, Kisco, Mellon, Nissan, Panasonic, Parker Hannifin, P&G, Ricoh, Sony, DSM, Invista and NASA!   Add to this, we had 2 dozen selected small companies, with breakthrough technologies.

     I liked the robust Q&A after each presentation.  When Canon’s CTO, Dr. Ikoma-san, presented, 4 other CTOs asked questions.  You cant beat that.  Some themes that emerged

  1. Be ready for disruptive innovation from the bottom of the pyramid
  2. Regional R&D, with Global Sourcing
  3. Squash the immune response – accept ‘fuzzy data’
  4. Enable personal risk taking
  5. Engage ‘Renewal Searches’ – at the middle and the end of R&D

We spent a lot of time discussing how to optimize deals between large and small companies.  This has been a reoccurring theme are our events.  Even when there is a great technology fit, deals take more time than both parties would like. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Clean Tech, future trends, open innovation, yet2.com, yet2Ventures | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by bendupont

yet2.com Open Innovation Conference, Boston, May 17th to 19th

February 10, 2011

yet2.com hosts a fantastic Open Innovation conference annually.  Typically more than 50 of the Fortune 500 participate.  It’s a very active hands on event.  Key speakers are from; P&G, DSM, DuPont, Tyco, Colgate- Ben

PS  Previously, our speakers have included; Dean Kamen, Dr. Oz, Henry Chesbrough, Esther Dyson, etc.

The event is an intimate technology scouting and networking conference for executive Open Innovation, technology, R&D, licensing, and business leaders. Recent conferences have averaged 120–140 leaders representing 100+ global corporations from six continents. Big enough to be global, small enough to encourage meaningful conversation.

This year the event will be held May 17-19th at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, MASS USA.

Speakers include:

Dr. Kenneth W. Klimpel, Worldwide Director – External Innovation, Colgate Palmolive, Stephen J. Baggott, Director, Global Business Development, Procter & Gamble, Jim Toth, PhD, Sr. Director of Technology Strategy, Tyco Electronics, Marcel Lubben, Managing Director, DSM Venturing and DSM Licensing, and Michael T. Kane, Founder, Fairbridge Venture Partners.

Past attendees include: Agfa, Amway, Ashland, AT&T, Bayer, BP, Catepillar, Ciba, DSM, DuPont, Eastman Chemical, GE, Georgia-Pacific, W.L. Gore, Honeywell, IBM, Microsoft, NASA, Northrop Grumman, P&G, Royal Dutch Shell, Samsung, SAP, Tyco,Unilever, Wrigley.

A complete list of speakers and past attendees can be found here.

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Posted by bendupont

yet2.com – Presents 4 New Materials Technologies: Stronger/Lighter/Better

December 30, 2009

yet2.com is a great platform for looking into the future because we touch so many different companies and new technologies – in Europe, Asia and North America.  We are at the cutting edge – sometimes even the bleeding edge – of many different trends in technology and IP.

On Thursday the 14th of January 2010, 10:00am–11:30am US Eastern Standard Time, we will present 4 new materials technologies.  15 minutes on each.

If you can make it stronger or lighter, you make it better. Find out what’s new from four companies who are making materials stronger, lighter, and especially better. On 14 January, yet2.com continues its successful Conferences To Go™ series of free webinars.  

This live webinar features four new technologies and an overview of the market. Not just a lecture, the webinar format offers ample opportunity for interaction with the principals.

REGISTER NOW. The webinar is free, but space is limited.   As of this writing, we have 92 companies registered to participate.
Reserve your place at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/890984659

Topics and Panelists:

  • Microscopically reinforced polymers for durability, Tim Bernstein, yet2.com
  • Unique linear chain extenders for PA/PET/PBT/PLA, Marcel Lubben, managing director, DSM
  • Vacuum-assisted manufacture of composite parts using resin, Thomas Dugas, project manager, EADS
  • Injection-molded metals processed on standard injection molding equipment, Gary Arnold, Cool Polymers

Mr. Stern will present opening remarks and overview, followed by the four presentations in order at approximately 15-minute intervals. Each presenter will answer submitted questions at the end of his presentation.

Read more about these technologies here.

REGISTER NOW. The webinar is free, but space is limited.
Reserve your place at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/890984659

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email.
For questions or additional information, please contact Nancy Harris at: nharris@yet2.com.

Leave a Comment » | commentary, future trends, news release, open innovation, yet2.com | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by bendupont

yet2.com Conference – A Few Pictures

October 7, 2009

We had a fantastic event.  This was our 10th – in 10 years.  122 guests came from 3 continents.

We had many leaders in Innovation and Technology together, from IBM, to P&G, to DSM to SAP – and listening to their vision of the future was fascinating.

There were also 16 small companies with a wealth of new technology.  Two examples; Vincent Ribas came from Madrid to present his way to measure blood pressure (and other things) with light.  Yagi-san came from Tokyo to present his new encapsulating technology.  Lots of fascinating discussion.

When doing technology deals – it’s all about people.  Which is a key reason we have been hosting our own event for 10 years now….

I’ll send out a more detailed description of the event, but I did want to share a few pictures:

_BD31771Tom Reeves, VP of IP and Licensing at IBM, is about to start his presentation.  IBM filed 4,500 patents last year.

_BD31758

Jason Lye (Newell Rubbermaid), Thomas Jacobs (Material ConneXion), Chip Murray (DuPont), Ben duPont (yet2), Nob Tamagawa (yet2)

Yagi-san (Ellie), Rob Kirschbaum DSM , Takeda-san (KISCO)

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by bendupont

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