Personal Advancement
Get ready to ride the next big waveThink you've got what it takes to be an innovator? Identifying emerging trends, determining whether a market exists for your product and developing soft skills will help you achieve success, advises Veronika Litinski, a financier and entrepreneur. LINDA WHITE -- Special to the Toronto Sun |
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 [ 2006-04-12 ] |
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MaRS Discovery District
"I encourage people to read a lot and try to recognize patterns and to find the wave that is coming up -- the wave of new customer needs and money that will follow to advance useful products," says Litinski, director of business services at MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com).
She works with start-up companies -- primarily in technology -- and helps them advance along their development path. She spoke about future career opportunities and demands in Canada at a Careers of the Future Panel Discussion hosted last month by the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and MaRS.
THINK GLOBAL
"I work with people who are thinking about building a new product and monetizing exciting new technologies," Litinski says. "Potentially, there are thousands of people attempting to address the same "pain" point, but those ideas are like submarines that haven't popped up yet. Thus, it is very important to think of your project -- be it your carrier or a new product -- in the context of global competition."
Budding entrepreneurs should determine early on whether a market exists for their idea. "Every new product concept should get customer validation quickly," Litinski says. "They shouldn't take their idea for a product or company too far before talking to potential customers."
She predicts real growth and excitement are likely to come from small companies. In Toronto, there are clusters in research and development, particularly diagnostic and medical applications, advanced materials and software development.
"Within technology, there are specific trends," Litinski says. "It's fashionable to talk about convergent technologies. An example would be a large market which is developing in functional foods, which is a cross-platform between biology and agriculture. It's huge in Japan and not as developed in Canada. It has the potential to grow in Ontario because of global demand."
Personalized medicine is another growing trend. "Our understanding of biology is reaching a point that we have a better understanding of the molecular basis of the biological processes in health and in disease. The desire of patients to find treatments appropriate for them is likely to drive growth in the diagnostic sector. Again, it's a global trend. There's global demand for new diagnostic services."
Litinski points to advanced manufacturing as another growing sector. "There are only so many rare metals in the world. Methods that allow you to use less of those rare resources are highly sought after," she says. "It's about finding ways to develop new materials and to use the materials we have more efficiently."
Distinguishing yourself through unique and marketable skills will help drive success. "Think continuously of upgrading your portfolio skills. Identify early on things you like doing in the most general sense. Do you like drawing conclusions from looking at numbers? Do you like dealing with people and helping them out?" asks Litinski.
SOFT SKILLS
Soft skills are equally valuable, she believes. "One needs to develop solid specific skills and your soft skills -- empathy, listening, respect for others -- as well. Be strong at project management. Everything done in business is done in teams. There are many fathers to any success."
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QUICK FACTS
MaRS was created in 2000 and is located in Toronto's downtown "Discovery District," in the heart of one of North America's most concentrated clusters of biomedical research and expertise.
Its goal is to help Canadian innovators turn great ideas into great companies and support those companies as they become global market leaders.
Visit www.marsdd.com to learn more.
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