Writing the Technology Opportunity Assessment

Almost all sophisticated financial analyses of opportunities or various deals start from this point of departure. Getting used to moving sums of money around in time through the use of Equation (11.5) will help you better understand this kind of analysis. 

In assessing technology opportunities, it is important to understand what the opportunity is, whether it represents a sustainable competitive advantage, the market for the opportunity, a preliminary financial analysis, and a discussion of personnel who are key to exploiting the opportunity. 

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Consider a technology opportunity that might lead to a new business. Assemble a full technology opportunity assessment from previously written pieces. Write an appropriate executive summary, and prepare a 10-minute presentation on the idea for presentation to an group of potential investors. Make the presentation. 

In the first half of 1979 I conducted a survey into the research and development needs of the various industries in Britain using electrochemical technology. The discussions I held with companies and academic institutions re-emphasized the need to seek to unify the various aspects of electrochemical technology into a single subject. The contacts developed also gave me a unique opportunity to assess the present state of the various industries and to collect the information on which this book is based. Certainly, I became fascinated by the breadth and scope of applied electrochemistry, in particular by the exciting advances of recent years, and felt prompted to write this book. 

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