Abstract
The IdeaLab is a laboratory for accelerating business ideas. It results from a pioneering initiative in Portuguese universities, which started in 2009. So far, there have been 17 editions, in which 255 ideas from 570 entrepreneurs have been developed. Of these ideas, more than forty have materialized into companies. The IdeaLab enables participants to (1) enhance the business potential of their ideas and (2) develop their entrepreneurial skills. A team of trainers/consultants ensures thematic workshops, coaching, networking and pre-incubation. The promoters are offered methodologies and tools to improve the design of innovative products, services and businesses. In this article, the IdeaLab is analyzed and discussed, as a catalyst of the process of turning knowledge (technology-based and other) into a product/service and/or sustainable businesses. Based on the analysis of the 17 editions, the results presented highlight the relationship between the promoters’ background and profiles and the type of ideas. Their potential to materialize into effective companies is also analyzed.
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Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.
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Moura, H., Catarino, M., Afonso, P., Nunes, M. (2019). Turning Knowledge into Business Ideas: Insights from the IdeaLab Business Accelerator. In: Machado, J., Soares, F., Veiga, G. (eds) Innovation, Engineering and Entrepreneurship. HELIX 2018. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol 505. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91334-6_159
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91334-6_159
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