Physics World November 2014

Commercializing physics: how to translate ideas into business

This special issue of Physics World magazine looks at some of the challenges in commercializing physics. We kick off with one common problem for hi-tech start-ups, which is how to bridge the “valley of death” – in other words, what to do when your research funding has dried up but you’re not yet making any money from your product. Jesko von Windheim then examines why physics-based firms have a harder job than ordinary businesses, where succeeding is simply about finding a market and meeting its need. There are also some real-life lessons from Floor van de Pavert – a physicist who’s been at the business coal face – and we see how crowdfunding websites can help researchers get their ideas off the ground.

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