This report covers February 2022 for HerbalOil Antioxidant Co. under Manitoba Technology Accelerator’s Start-Up Visa program. Dave Smardon was the advisor and reported 13 hours for the month. The client’s start month was January 2022.
Commercialization maturity
The five phases in order are idea (I), validation (V), development (D), ready for launch (L), and established or launched (E). The ratings are 0 (not started), 1 (entry level), 2 (in progress), and 3 (established). Every rated phase below received a 3. Any phase after the last one listed for a category received a 0.
Product and technology
- Concept evaluation reached established or launched.
- Technology evaluation and proof-of-concept research reached ready for launch.
- Early prototype development (MVP) reached development.
- Large prototype development (MVP+), pilot, pre-production, pre-launch, and live deployment had yet to start.
Market
- Research and needs formulation reached ready for launch.
- Needs validation reached development.
- Small user campaign or letter of intent, larger user campaign, traction, satisfaction, scalability, and stability had yet to start.
Other categories
- Key personnel reached ready for launch.
- Sales and marketing, business plan, financial management, operations management, governance, risk and compliance, and legal and regulatory work had yet to start.
Current and future activities
The three priorities were B1, overall business plan readiness, under business plan maturity. P2, technology evaluation, was under product and technology maturity. P3, proof-of-concept research, was under market maturity for the product or technology.
All three priorities were at V2 (validation in progress) in the activity tracker. The advisor led the initial assessment. A further meeting would clarify maturity. The assessment was underway with the client and advisor and had a forecast end date of March 31, 2022 for each priority.
The general comments and potential future project services fields were blank.
Maturity legend
Product and technology stages
- P1, concept evaluation. Translate scientific research into applied research and explore the technology’s basic properties.
- P2, technology evaluation. Study how the technology could be applied in the market and decide what direction to take.
- P3, proof-of-concept research. Begin active R&D, develop a technological solution, and identify what it needs to meet the application’s requirements.
- P4, early prototype development (MVP). Integrate and test basic components in a laboratory. The team may repeat this work during development.
- P5, large prototype development (MVP+). Integrate and test basic components in a simulated environment after lab testing. The tests often need better equipment to identify potential issues.
- P6, simulated environment pilot. Test the finished design to gather data for commercialization.
- P7, operational environment demonstration. Test the prototype outside simulated conditions and refine it if performance issues arise.
- P8, final testing and evaluation before launch. Confirm that the technology works under normal operating conditions and is ready for successful deployment.
- P9, live deployment. Use the final technology under real conditions.
Market stages
- M1, basic research. Identify the intent and perceived need. Gather information to test the rationale for the proposed direction.
- M2, needs formulation. Describe needs with a customer or user story. Use simulated experiences to learn what matters.
- M3, needs validation. Test interest in an early offering and its presentation. Map attraction, entry, engagement, exit, and extension.
- M4, small user campaign or letter of intent. Run a small closed beta with friendly users.
- M5, later early-adopter campaign. Run a small closed beta with friendly users.
- M6, proof of traction. Reach 100 paying customers to demonstrate that the solution fits the problem.
- M7, proof of satisfaction. Gather qualitative and quantitative evidence from customers and the team about how well the team and its vision fit.
- M8, proof of scalability. Use a stable sales pipeline and knowledge of the market to project revenue and confirm product-market fit.
- M9, proof of stability. Meet or exceed mature performance indicators with predictable growth.