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I met Thomas Mathiasen at a Connect Denmark event and I peppered him with questions about being an independent consultant. He also agreed to do a Skype chat with me and we spoke about his role as an innovation consultant. (Sept. 2008)
""Fantasy is getting ideas; creativity is getting ideas that are applicable; innovation is getting the ideas carried out in reality."
- Thomas Mathiasen
Denmark's first Innovation Manager, working with startups, the value of IPR
Alex Farcet (Q): What is your background, and what is TM-Innovation?
Thomas Mathiasen (A): I have a MSc in Chemical Engineering and I worked for years as a researcher in industry and as an assistant professor at DTU [Danish Technical University]. I then found out that what I had been doing was something called innovation. And I was given the first title in Denmark as Innovation Manager (at FOSS, who develops and sell analysis instrumentation for the Food industry).
I became involved in innovation in quite many companies, and then formed my own consultancy because I rather like to work with innovation at many companies. The challenges always differ and that I like.
TM-Innovation focuses on creating ideas and knowledge for customers. Danish Intellectual Capital Management (DICM) is my other consultancy and focuses on creating value from ideas and knowledge, for customers.
(Q): I see you are accredited as an 'IP Auditor' by the Danish PTO - what is the PTO and what is an IP Auditor?
(A): Patent Trade Organisation. IP auditor audits the IP processes in a company and helps the company improve on the processes. On can do that on innovation also. Then it´s an Innovation Audit (you never guessed!)
(Q): Innovation is such an overused word, how do you define it?
(A): Fantasy is getting ideas; creativity is getting ideas that are applicable; innovation is getting the ideas carried out in reality. From a business perspective, that is of course to get it into value (read: money), either as a process or a product or a service. Innovation may be overused, however, I feel that is necessary in order to get even top management to accept the concept. They seldom jump into the new but want proven concepts and ideas to use.
(Q): You work with large companies and startups, what's the difference?
(A): Large companies have the money to pay for my services. And they want either new products or to develop new business. Startups don't gave any money and want help in defining the business; to chose and focus on the most favourable activites.
And startups are normally driven by eager entrepreneurs and that is inspiring. For me at least.
(Q): What do you specifically contribute to a young startup?
(A): Could be:
a) A strategy map that defines and describes opportunities, roads that may be followed.
b) A strategy for developing and harvesting the value of the intangibles of the company. Most modern companies' value is built on intangibles and not on buildings, machinery etc.
c) A focused product development toward getting the product to the right market to the right time.
(Q): How do startups compensate you?
(A): Mostly poorly. That is one reason why startups are more for ´giving back´ to society for me, than a living.
(Q): I know what you mean! What about 'sweat equity' - that is, getting some equity with future potential value?
(A): Never used it. Then you have to put much more work into the company, and wait for the compensation.
(Q): Startups are told to focus on IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and that seems to imply 'get a lawyer to protect your idea'. You work with IP Capital Management, which goes beyond, how?
(A): Defining, among other things, how to optimally get value out of the IP. e.g. to suggest which ideas to protect by patents, trademarks, agreements. And how to think through how to utilize the IP when you have it formalized.