Fusion — Applied Skills — 06
Communicating Value
A defensible analysis that nobody acts on has not finished its job. The last skill is making the case to the people who decide.
Business planning
With a thorough opportunity assessment and the related models in hand, students develop compelling, investible plans for commercialization.
Pitching and storytelling
Techniques for delivering presentations that are both compelling and well-reasoned — a combination that is rarer than it sounds, since most pitches sacrifice one for the other.
Product positioning
Understanding the factors driving adoption for a given technology product, and cultivating the messaging that underlies both attracting investment and generating revenue.
Both semesters end in front of a panel — instructors, technology transfer professionals, and venture investors who ask real questions. In the fall the written assessment is completed after that presentation, so teams have to absorb what the panel challenged rather than defend what they already wrote.