Strategies for a Quantum Entrepreneur

This is a post while I was in a “Strategies for a Quantum Entrepreneur” workshop that was held at IQC RAC 1 2009, June 6, 2012. It was a “bonus classroom experience” to the QIC 870 and QIC 871 classes. I came into the workshop looking for ideas to develop, something feasible as a project and that is likely to succeed. My plan is to get ideas from physics and create a spin-off. Being here reminds me of QKD 2011, this is the exact same lecture room. The workshop takes a very formal approach to entrepreneurship, kind of like business school class and theoretical physics. For example, innovation = invention + commercialization. Facts like government policies, a slide titled “the national system of innovation”. This is not quite what I would like to hear about. I want to find out what are some practical things that I can build, as an undergraduate student. Hypothetical ideas are kind of ironic… in the sense that the workshop takes a theoretical approach to how an ideal startup should start off.

Example slide: About how a startup can fit in the system.

There are 3 motivation models for research

1. Pasteur’s Quadrant

This is a graph with 4 extremities

new understanding
Bohr | Pasteur’s quadrant
|
no new use ———– new uses
| Edison
None |
no new understanding

“Is ‘basic research’ smarter than ‘research with an end product in mind’? No!” – Brzustowski

“Using a qubit for a magnometer” – Laflamme

2. Swiss cheese model

—-|| —__–_–| _——|advancements|—
[unknown]

E.g.
Physicst solving the Navier-Stokes equations of fluid mechanics in a new configuration might be gap-filling; to an aerodynamicsist, it might be leading-edge research.

Problems also arise from deadends. People having found dead ends may save others from similar dead ends. E.g. Pharmacy.

3. Bifurcation model

knowledge
|
| ___
| *(==bifurcation pd
|_))099 more fruitful
|common path
_____________________________time
Learning curve is low risk, low return, crowded, easy funding.

Challenge is to get funding for risky ideas.

One of the ways to get your business out and make money is to get firms to buy R&D startups.

“Push skill to market” vs “Pull to solve problem”

Research: the process of learning what is not yet known, not by anyone, anywhere
Basic research: to find answers to discover nature.
Applied research: governing principle understood in general
Project research: solve a specific problem
Engineering: producing peoples’ needs.
Design: process of meeting constraints, compatibility, cost.
Technology: set of tools that predictably and reproducible
IQC should focus on technology asset.
Creativity: ability to look and see something different and explain.
Entrepreneurship: capacity to find opportunity to create value, they are creative for values

Quantum computers are the holy grail, which puts IQC in Pasteur’s quadrant. A lot of other useful things are going to arise out of the basic research happening. – B

qcirc.iqc.uwaterloo.ca

On Quantum Entrepeneurship by Rolf Horn.
Patentable:
Method: algorithm “QKD” by Joseph Renes
Device: object entangled photo source
E.g. “Quantum computer” by Bruce Kane on an implementation of silicon based NMR quantum computer.
E.g. “Efficient Quantum Computing Operations” by Richard Cleve and John Watrous by MagicQ

Why patent? Vehicle for innovation, jobs, resume padding

Commercialization <=> Thomas Jewewnnnnenekeen
Patents are expensive, can one become a patent lawyer?

WatCO research policy patenting:
good deal for resume patenting
bad deal since it takes 25% of your potential earning.
Rolf took this route.

Assessing your IP. Is it a behavioral modification? Because it needs to be that to be a successful product.

What about talking to VC and investors? Do we need NDA?

E.g. Quantum Dot missile defence idea. US patent 7,916,065 by Raytheon Co.

E.g. Quantum Digital Signatures: submitted to arXiv May 8, 2001 and patent applied Apr 26, 2002

Patents are a vehicle for research turned down.

www. madolara .com
Used a web scraper on python to scrape content, uses WatIAm to login?
Quspin.

“Companies don’t have to make money”.. What? Terrible.

IQC is the client, Ray is the authority.

How should one write application for a grant?
Tips and inside tricks.
Get Christophe to do a lightning talk about how to setup a EC2 serve.

The worst case is when we know something but we don’t.

Concluding remarks: not very clear what the story is about.
MOK me NOT

Hope I can bring in some entrepreneurial spirit to IQC.
Feedback forms for Q workshop.

research based
|
established |
firm ———– new venture
|
|
design based

Describing the things like linear model of innovation.
Research >> development >> manufacturing >> marketing

“The cure for commercialization is new innovation.” – Brzustowski

We talked about necessities.

Thanks for reading. This is really rough, I might update it if I find it interesting later.

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