Discover - identifying a large, unmet market need via major, multinational Corporate Partners
The first step is to discover unmet market needs, directly from the market. While many unmet needs are obvious, (e.g. the need to find a cure for specific cancers), many more subtle needs (e.g. to find a solution for bacterial biofilms that does not involve toxicity or promote resistance) are not widely known. XL TechGroup believes that the key to uncovering unmet needs is gaining access to thought leaders in targeted markets, which it does through extensive contacts with Corporate Discovery partners. These are typically Fortune 100 companies such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft and Syngenta. Experienced individuals or thought-leaders within an industry have a unique understanding of their industry's needs and dynamics, and can often best identify those significant, market-changing unmet needs that would transform their own businesses/industries if matched with an appropriate technology solution. However, as Professor Christensen explains in the “Innovator's Dilemma,” large corporations themselves are often unwilling or unable to address needs which are disruptive or market-changing.
Therefore, as part of their search for an external solution to their unmet needs, XL TechGroup's Corporate Discovery partner network informs XL TechGroup of unmet, market-changing needs that large companies are generally not able to satisfy. These partners are generally prepared to share their ideas about transformative change with XL TechGroup because XL TechGroup is willing to develop the solution at its own expense and to give the partners first access to the solution.
Unlike many companies which begin with a technology concept and then try to convince the market that it needs the technology, XL TechGroup always starts by finding an unmet market need and only then works to identify a potential technology solution. In this way, XL TechGroup is technology agnostic as it seeks the best solution in the world rather than promoting its own technology. This approach significantly reduces the risks associated with market adoption of the idea or business solution.
Reducing Competitive Risk