#TŐKEPORTÁL BLOG
Mini interview with Miklós Somogyi mentor
08/27/2021 – Tőkeportál’s own content
We’ve already presented 2 of our mentors, and in the next episode of our mini-interview series Somogyi Miklós will introduce himself, who has vast experience in the area of innovation management. He assists in the market entry process of innovative product-, technology- and service ideas, and he took part in the creation, sale and naturalization of multiple know-hows before. His book, GUESS, IMPLEMENT IT, BE SUCCESSFUL!, (TALÁLD KI, VALÓSÍTSD MEG, LÉGY SIKERES!) was published recently, in which he’s gathered decades of experience and knowledge.
You took a degree oin mechanical engineering at the University of Technology. How did you get into the area of innovation and innovation management?
As I finished at the University of Technology (BME), I immediately started to engage in R&D and innovation. Me and my collegues elaborated a patent, and I had a patent application which I presented together with others based on my idea. We used to attend to the research and development of different technologies, special tools and single purpose machines in the institution, mostly based on market demand. We made know-hows and sold them abroad. I could take part in the naturalization of several foreign know-hows and in the domestic introduction of technologies. Our institution was eliminated in the 90’s along with 10 other industrial research institution. As an entrepreneur, I’d been also attending to technical development and innovation, and since 2004, I have been working at CHIC Ltd. (Közép-magyarországi Innovációs Központ Nonprofit Kft.) in Budaörs focusing on the development of SMEs’ competitiveness and the innovation management developments related to the market introduction of product-, technology- and service ideas. We’ve assisted in the domestic and international market entry of several startups. I got experiences in every area of innovation management, which I summarized in my book, GUESS, IMPLEMENT IT, BE SUCCESSFUL!, which came out this year.
In your opinion, what are the most important things which can help an idea or a startup to reach business success?
First and foremost, the most important thing is the more profound examination of novelty and the getting of more information about the market and the competitors. The second most important thing is the question of intellectual property protection. The next step is the breadboard and/or the prototype, which is a watershed, because it turns out here if there is a chance for moving forward and getting further funding. In parallel with this, the shaping of the realizer team, the formation of the business model, the fabrication, the performance and market entry of the service are also substantial.
What do you think, what does domestic innovation management need to improve in?
The biggest problem of the domestic innovation management assistance is that it doesn’t start off from reality, but tries to copy practices paid off in more developed countries.
Currently there are no innovation agency services (integrated information production, networking, assistance in the realization of innovation ideas…) in Hungary.
There is no real, public seed capital, which could help innovative ideas to get to the prototype.
Industrial research institutions are missing from the domestic innovation system.
Most of the investors consider exclusively financial aspects in their decision making.
The number of innovative ideas are descreasing, creative studios are missing and there is no organized project collection and evaluation in the country.
Tenders primarily help those, who would be able to develop without subsidies.
Principally, these are the problems which need to be helped.
Your book, which was published this year, provides help and advices to these problem among others. Please, tell us a bit about the book itself and the conditions of its formation!
I’ve been engaged in innovation for more than 40 years, I’m a mechanical engineer, and I was researcher, research institute manager, successful and busted entrepreneur, innovation center’s strategy director, investment advisor, investment association’s manager.
I could took part in the development of patents jointly with others, we created and sold know-hows, licences, and I assisted in the market entry of many ideas and reasearch achievements, i.e. I’ve acquired knowledge in all areas of innovation management technically. I am the co-founder of the Hungarian Association for Innovation, and I was the board member of it for more than a decade. I was able to get to know more than a hundred innovation ideas and research achievements in the last 40 years, and I supported the market entry of these projects in different levels. On the basis of my personal experience in almost all areas of innovation management, which I consider to be broad, I decided to try to summarise and publish my knowledge and thoughts.
If you have a new idea and are interested in innovation, if you have a business or even if you’re on the other side as an investor and/or a business angel, this book is for You! The publication is a collection of decades of innovation experience and it’s worth to read it in parts or in full for its many useful and thought-provoking tips. You can also merit practical advices and targetable inspiration from it.
- How to get started if we have an innovative idea?
- How to protect our intellectual property?
- How to solve the funding of a project?
- In what can we expect assistance from the domestic innovation management institutional system?
- How can we become one of Europe’s most innovative nations?
Among others, you can find answers to questions like that in the book!
If you want to know more about Miklós, visit his mentor profile.
