Any technology innovation program may face many problems; from legal problems including inhibiting rules and regulations, competition from fellow and sometimes bigger, more experienced innovators, lack of adequate skills and experience, inadequate market research and lack of proper management. Funding however is the biggest and most common problem that any entrepreneur may face. Any business needs money to operate and research and development programs need even more money. Equipment needed in research and science labs is not cheap. Neither is the labor required to do the actual research. Apart from equipment and research being very expensive, there are other money intensive services like transport and advertising.
For many entrepreneurs running a technology innovation program, funding is an issue. This is because technology innovation is a high risk money gobbling business with no guarantees of success. Hence, many credit lending institutions shy away from loaning to innovators and especially young innovators who are yet to make a mark in the innovation industry. If at all the loan is granted, it comes with high rates of interest and the stringiest rules possible. This is because the loan is viewed as high risk with little chance of it being repaid in time if it is even repaid at all.
This is quite true to some extent because in most cases, young innovators can only afford to pay back the loan after their innovative product or service is sold. The success of the innovation program may be faced with many problems including legal and other constraints, which can only translate to time being lost which leads to unforeseen delays in the full development and launch of the innovative product or service. Since many lending institutions have a fixed period when the loan needs to b repaid, this can lead to major misunderstandings.
This translates to young innovators avoiding lending institutions and depending on well-wishers and other well-meaning companies which are very rare and far between by the way, for funding. Just like the technological investors, for many banks and other credit institutions to extend innovation credit to a technology innovator, they need to be assured of the success of the program. Showing the investors that you have done adequate market research on the product or service you want to develop will assure them that your product may have more chances of success. You also need to show them why you can provide a better product or service than the one already on the market.
You can do this by stating the various qualifications and experience of your team. More potential investors are generally more comfortable when they know they are dealing with professionals. Apart from the success, they need to be educated on the importance of technological innovations to them and the society as a whole. To achieve success of your technological innovation you need to take care of the legal requirements well in advance. As aforementioned in this article, unforeseen legal problems arising late in the development of your innovation program can delay you severally and might even force you to abort. Many investors do not want to be associated with legal problems brought about a technological innovation they help fund.
With good strategy, you do not have to depend on your friends and relatives or even your own saving for innovation credit to fund your technology innovation program.