Getting to Go – Commercializing great ideas in the Technology Driven Economy

We have a long history of innovation and technical excellence a great “can do” attitude and a culture in the high tech industries of helping the newcomer get off the ground. In years gone by, being smart and having a good idea was enough to get a company going.

In the technology sector especially it used to be that you would get a few smart people together, convert your garage to corporate headquarters and start working on the “proof of concept.” The proof of concept or first working unit enabled the start-up business to show friends and investors the idea would and provided the leverage to raise that much needed investment to get the new venture off the ground.

The increasing complexity of microelectronics and the rise of microsystems which integrate microelectronics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), optoelectronics, microfluidics and embedded systems into one neat little package has put the price of getting into business and building that first proof of concept device out of the range of most entrepreneurs.

The high cost of entry into Microsystems has had a dampening effect on start-up activity in the sector. And those brave enough to proceed face daunting challenges as investors circle and wait to see if the good ideas can be had by just waiting for a start up companies money to run out. All too often we see ownership being diluted before a proof of concept is ever delivered because of the high costs of developing the first product.

A new path to commercialization is now available for the would-be entrepreneur. CMC Microsystems, the organization which has been developing design, manufacture and test infrastructure to Canadian universities for the last 25 years, has opened up a wholly-owned subsidiary, DMT Microsystems, to provide commercialization services to start up Microsystems companies.

The extensive portfolio of products, services and support available from DMT Microsystems (see participating vendor design tool logos above and foundry services below) is impressive and includes design methodology and software, fabrication, test, packaging and more for disciplines ranging from microelectronics to MEMS to optoelectronics and photonics to microfluidics to embedded software.

DMT will help review a business plan, help make introductions to investors, help find people to implement a design, provide design capabilities and then work with a company to get first working prototypes made and tested. Working through the infrastructure that has been assembled to support the Canadian Research community, DMT has very sophisticated capabilities and extensive connections to help get new companies over the valley of death and to successfully launch new ideas. DMT can also help existing companies to evolve and adopt new technologies and ideas and make their products more integrated.

Unfortunately the barrier to entry for new companies in this industry sector is still high. Even utilizing the existing infrastructure the cost of bringing new Microsystems products to market through DMT can be very expensive. But by lowering the barriers to entry and providing a much more cost effective way for a start up company to develop the first working design, DMT makes it more feasible for would be entrepreneurs to get there companies up and running.

And the less money required in those early days, the greater the likelihood of success.

DMT Microsystems is represented by Deeble Sales Management Inc. Please contact Nick Deeble at 613-762-3331, Skype nick.deeble, email nick@deeblesales.com