3 Critical Steps for Commercializing International Technologies for the US Market
The team of experienced engineers at Next Rung Technology, a Friend of FORGE partner, partners with growth-stage companies creating sustainable technologies to support them through the range of complex challenges faced in commercialization. In this Tools of the Trade, Next Rung Technology discusses the process innovative companies should go through as they bring their product to the U.S. market.
Bringing a new technology to the US market is a monumental task, and one that should not be attempted without careful planning and consideration.
Suppose you and your colleagues have invested time, energy, and effort into developing a new technology, finding investors, scaling the process, and building some successful demonstrations in your area of the world. You feel good about your successes and believe that you are ready to take your growth to a new level and enter a new market – not just any market, but the US market. Where do you begin? What important differences might you encounter between the US and other markets? What about government and regulatory requirements?
If these questions cause you some anxiety, those feelings are totally valid, as making some wrong moves when launching your technology in the US could cost you time, money, and effort.
Before deciding to make your move, it is important to be aware of three critical steps that can help ensure your success:
- Conducting a Market Study
- Establishing a Sales Pipeline of potential customers
- Having a system for sourcing and delivering your technology in the US
Importance of a Market Study
First steps toward US commercialization should include market research, identifying market trends, analyzing the target market from a geographic perspective, evaluating competing technologies, perhaps completing a simple techno-economic analysis, and wrapping up with a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis.
Next Rung Technology performs broad ranging evaluations of the US market for new technologies, providing a comprehensive report including tables, graphs, and data with important details for each category, as well as a complete high-level summary of our findings.
Sales Pipeline
Developing a sales pipeline is another key step in commercializing your technology. Having too few industry contacts in the US (or none) can pose a nearly insurmountable challenge for you in completing this key step.
Our Next Rung Technology team has far-reaching contacts within the ecosystem of clean-tech and sustainable technologies, including potential end-user targets as well as the adjacent spaces such as engineering firms and business partners that support those end users. We can establish a sales program for your new technology efficiently by leveraging our extensive network of contacts. We are active in professional organizations, including having a booth presence at major conferences and presenting to audiences of customer stakeholders. Next Rung supports the development of presentation decks enhanced with a US perspective, and is experienced in pitching technology “challenges” to US investors.
System for sourcing and delivery in the US
Once you are ready to make your move, having the capability to source equipment, and/or fabricate skids or modular systems in the US will go a long way toward helping you economically penetrate the US market. Our Next Rung team has spent decades building extensive networks for sourcing of both new and used equipment. We have helped numerous clients with evaluation and selection of equipment, as well as managing fabrication of modular or skidded systems. Next Rung has extensive technical and project management capabilities and as a smaller group, we are nimble and move forward at a faster pace. We also have significant experience with design, construction and commissioning of pilot test facilities and test laboratories.
Why do we offer this service for international technologies?
We understand the challenges associated with entering the US market, while also recognizing the value of bringing innovative sustainable technologies to one of the largest markets in the world. In Paul Hawken’s introduction to his book Drawdown, he states:
“We see global warming not as an inevitability but as an invitation to build, innovate, and effect change, a pathway that awakens creativity, compassion, and genius”.
Paul Hawken
The climate crisis impacts all global citizens, and innovative technologies that benefit society and the environment should be shared and promoted across multiple regions of the world.
We have focused our efforts to systematize this process for these reasons, so that we can use our expertise in knowing the ins and outs of commercializing new technologies, in order to facilitate your entry into the US market.
All in all, we can be your strategic partner, collaborating with you to ease your transition into doing business in the US, navigating appropriate target markets, sales, and manufacturing. Let’s talk!