Developing Your Business Idea
Here's a brief process map to help you as a Staff or Student of the Campus; put your idea or invention into action! Note that the process is not necessarily linear and in some cases, steps may be omitted.
Describe your business idea or novel research using our Business Concept Template
[PDF]. It will help you to think through key commercial aspects. Once this is completed, present it to the Chair of your Faculty Entrepreneurship Committee. The Chairs for each Faculty at the Campus are listed below. Administrative staff should present your idea, using the same template, to the Office of Business Development if your idea does not fit within a faculty. Their contact is also below.
Once the Business Concept form has been discussed and revised, the Faculty Chair or the Business Development Officer will present your proposal to the Campus Entrepreneurship Committee.
The Campus Entrepreneurship Committee will discuss the feasibility of the idea and recommend the type of support needed, to help you and or the University, take the idea forward. This support might include marketing research to determine the demand for your product or services; preparing a business plan to present to potential investors; obtaining University approvals to move ahead; legally protecting the intellectual property; seeking business start-up investors or companies that wish to buy or license the invention.
A full market research should be conducted to determine if there are customers for your product who will actually purchase it the way you have designed it. The Campus Entreprenuership Committee can facilite this service on a limited basis or identify alternatives.
After the initial business plan (from the template) and market research findings have been analysed, a full business plan should be developed. This is a very detailed document that serves to:
- Identify the unique proposition of your product.
- Identify the specific resources needed to establish the business and the timeline for them to be accomplished.
- Detail the financial projections of the business.
- Clearly outline the need and viability of the business.
- Establish long term and short term objectives of the business.
A professionally developed business plan provides guidance for starting a new company and is a very important tool for attracting investors.
As a member of the Campus, you are required to let the University know through this Committee before announcing it in the public domain. This is a requirement of the UWI Intellectual Property and Commercialisation Policy. Using that Policy, the Committee will determine rights to the invention and whether or not the University will support the process of commercialisation. For further information click here »
If the University is invovled in the commercialisation of a business idea or research invention (either as IP owner or investing resources in business development services) then approval is required from the Campus Finance and General Purposes Committee. That approval and all others will be sought by the Head of the Campus Entrepreneurship Committee.
The Campus has a growing number of relationships with business development agencies who may be willing to invest directly in a project or provide access to other investors. Further guidance can be provided by the
Office of Business Development.
Implement Commercial Strategy
It is time to establish the business: hire staff, secure the location and suppliers, develop operational plans and implement a brand and marketing strategy. Alternatively, it is time to find a company or companies that will license your technology and pay you a royalty to manufacture, market and distribute it on your behalf.
