電子產(chǎn)業(yè)一向喜歡贊頌成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)故事，吹捧業(yè)界多家巨擘在草創(chuàng)時(shí)期如何艱困的環(huán)境──車庫(kù)因此成為成立一家公司的最佳地點(diǎn)！ 但這些成功故事的背后通常忽略了還有成千上百次的技術(shù)創(chuàng)新最后無疾而終，因?yàn)檫€有許多具有創(chuàng)意的創(chuàng)業(yè)家們由于無法吸引任何人的注意，要不就是得不到關(guān)鍵的資金援助。 我們從科技領(lǐng)域發(fā)生的事件中聽到的種種故事，都是一些成功的企業(yè)，如Amazon、Apple、Facebook、Google、Hewlett-Packard與Yahoo。但業(yè)界還有更多由于產(chǎn)品無法進(jìn)入主流市場(chǎng)而到不了華爾街的奮斗故事！那么，新創(chuàng)企業(yè)與創(chuàng)新者如何讓他們的創(chuàng)意與產(chǎn)品也有機(jī)會(huì)躋身被歌頌的成功企業(yè)之列？ 邁 向成功的道路上免不了橫亙著無數(shù)的障礙與挑戰(zhàn)。許多技術(shù)創(chuàng)新由于種種因素最后消聲匿跡，主要的原因不外乎缺乏資金援助、沒找對(duì)合作伙伴或無法引起市場(chǎng)共鳴、欠缺營(yíng)銷、經(jīng)驗(yàn)不足導(dǎo)致管理失誤、競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力不足、產(chǎn)品上市時(shí)機(jī)不對(duì)、供應(yīng)鏈問題，以及無法吸引供貨商、合約制造商與第三方支持服務(wù)供貨商，甚至是潛力產(chǎn)品的設(shè)計(jì)不佳等等。 在電子產(chǎn)業(yè)中，新產(chǎn)品要實(shí)現(xiàn)成功前可能面臨的最棘手障礙之一──以組件為例──就是無法在現(xiàn)有產(chǎn)品中為該新組件找到一個(gè)最佳位置。業(yè)界常說的“design win”，就是指讓組件被包括在工程師設(shè)計(jì)終端設(shè)備時(shí)所需使用的組件清單中的可能性。 對(duì)于新創(chuàng)公司而言，產(chǎn)品能夠獲得主要OEM平臺(tái)、電路板、軟件或封裝中的選用，就象征著最高度的成功。例如，對(duì)于新創(chuàng)公司而言，能夠從蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)取得設(shè)計(jì)訂單，就意味著取得千萬美元的銷售業(yè)務(wù)，同時(shí)也能讓自家產(chǎn)品獲得更高的知名度。 但是，在法國(guó)南部、英國(guó)中部或美國(guó)中西部的新創(chuàng)企業(yè)，如何實(shí)現(xiàn)這樣的成功呢？在每年控制著數(shù)百億美元采購(gòu)支出的公司高階采購(gòu)與供應(yīng)鏈主管之前，創(chuàng)新的企業(yè)如何搶占先機(jī)順利推銷自家產(chǎn)品？如果一家制造商過去從未供應(yīng)組件給蘋果公司，也無法直接與其銷售主管聯(lián)系，如何讓蘋果了解或檢閱這家供貨商的創(chuàng)新？ 透過像J Lyons Marketing這樣的技術(shù)營(yíng)銷公司，也有機(jī)會(huì)協(xié)助開發(fā)廠商彌合與業(yè)界主導(dǎo)企業(yè)之間的距離，建立雙方的合作管道以及協(xié)助營(yíng)銷創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品。J Lyons Marketing公司CEO John Lyons指出，該公司已經(jīng)協(xié)助許多開發(fā)商與Fortune 500企業(yè)之間建立關(guān)系了。“如果一項(xiàng)技術(shù)符合制造商所要求的目標(biāo)，我們就能為找到最佳位置，”Lyons說。 但這并不容易，贏得設(shè)計(jì)訂單的第一步驟是得先說服像J Lyons這樣的技術(shù)營(yíng)銷公司，證實(shí)這項(xiàng)創(chuàng)新值得投入。Lyons介紹其公司：“多年來，我們一直在為價(jià)值高達(dá)數(shù)十億美元的技術(shù)交易進(jìn)行媒合。我們持續(xù)與 Fortune 500大的公司首席技術(shù)官保持密切聯(lián)系，因?yàn)槲覀冎浪麄冋噲D解決的問題何在。特別是對(duì)于歐洲的公司來說，確切掌握哪一家美國(guó)公司對(duì)其新技術(shù)感興趣，這不容 易，但我們有這樣的能力?！? 不過，即使透過技術(shù)公司將產(chǎn)品推薦給Fortune 500企業(yè)采用，也并不表示就能成功?；蛘?，如果營(yíng)銷公司無法成功推銷產(chǎn)品，新創(chuàng)企業(yè)與技術(shù)開發(fā)者也還有其它道路可追尋。他們也還能利用資助伙伴的力量， 從通路伙伴取得專業(yè)知識(shí)與廣大人脈關(guān)系；而如果這一切都失敗了，也還有機(jī)會(huì)直接透過電話聯(lián)絡(luò)OEM先引起興趣與注意力。無論如何，各種方式都值得一試── 畢竟，合作雙方總是在尋找一些具差異化的產(chǎn)品、一些能夠提高自家競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力的創(chuàng)新。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EBN Online，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 參考英文原文：The Matchmaker，by Bolaji Ojo, Editor in Chief)

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{pagination} The Matchmaker Bolaji Ojo The electronics industry likes to celebrate success, touting the unusual circumstances under which many of its biggest companies were founded -- the garage is a favorite location. It often fails to mention the hundreds, possibly thousands of other technological innovations that died unsung because the entrepreneurs either couldn't get anyone to pay attention to their ideas or failed to secure critical funding. The stories many of us will ever get to know about events in the technology world are those of the successful companies, enterprises like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Yahoo. But many others never get to Wall Street because their products failed to make it to Main Street. So, how can startups and innovators give their ideas and products the opportunity to get included in the narratives of successful companies? The hurdles are certainly numerous. Many technological innovations die on the vine due to a variety of factors, the top reasons being lack of funding, failure to attract the right type or any sort of viable partnerships, insufficient marketing, management missteps resulting from inexperience, insurmountable competitive opposition, poor product timing, supply chain challenges such as inability to attract the patronage of suppliers, contract manufacturers and other third-party support services providers, and simply poor design of a potentially great product. In the electronics industry, one of the toughest obstacles to the success of a new product -- in the case of components -- is failure to find a home for the parts in existing products. The industry jargon for this is "design win," which refers to the possibility of getting the component included in the list of components used by the engineer when designing the end-equipment. A "win" on a major OEM's platform, printed-circuit board, software, or enclosure is a highly coveted victory for a startup. Scoring a "design-win," for example, on products from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), could translate literally into tens of millions in sales for a startup and give its products greater visibility with other manufacturers. But how can a startup in southern France, central UK, or the Midwest of the United States score such a win? How can an innovative enterprise even get its products before the top procurement and supply chain executives at companies that control tens of billions in purchasing expenses per year? What will it take for Apple to review a component vendor's latest innovation when the manufacturer does not have a history of supplying components to the world's biggest consumer electronics company and has no direct links with its supply chain boss? That's where folks like John Lyons come in. A veteran of the electronics industry, Lyons is CEO of J Lyons Marketing, a technology matchmaking firm that assists developers in bridging the wide gulf separating them from the companies that can benefit from and help market their products. Lyons told me in an interview that his company's specialty is hooking developers up with Fortune 500 enterprises. "If the technology can do what the manufacturer wants, we'll help you find a home for it," Lyons said. It's not quite that simple, though. The first step to scoring that design win is convincing technology matchmakers like Lyons that the innovation is worth hawking around. Matchmakers are valued by OEMs especially because they would have already done much of the vetting that the enterprise would have to do if the middleman wasn't involved. Lyons said in a statement he emailed to me: Over the years, we have been responsible for matchmaking hundreds of technology deals worth over a billion dollars. On one hand, we keep in constant contact with the CTOs of Fortune 500 companies so that we know the problems that they are trying to solve. It would be extremely hard for companies in Europe to know exactly which person in any number of vast US companies might be interested in their new technology but we do. Not only that but these guys will take our call because they know we deliver solutions time after time. The products introduced to equipment manufacturers for consideration by technology marketers like Lyon must have already passed muster with the middleman who require have a deep knowledge of the customer's products and may even be aware of its product roadmap. In order to sustain the relationship on both sides, Lyons and his team are constantly in touch with CTOs at equipment vendors and spend a great deal of time hunting for valuable innovations. An introduction by Lyons to a Fortune 500 company is not a guarantee of success, though. He admits to scoring wins regularly but added that many of the innovations he considers may not get past the front door at the equipment vendor. Lyons counts amongst "his successes a camera chip design win of 50 million units and counting, a battery design win for a Set Top Box worth $400 million, and a new disposable sample gathering device used in diagnostic testing with the potential to sell millions of units a year." Of course, if matchmakers like Lyons cannot deliver the goods, there are other avenues technology innovators and startups can pursue. They can leverage the strength of funding partners, tap the vast knowledge and contacts available at distributors, and if all else fails, there's always the chance cold calling the OEMs might elicit some interest. It's a long shot but it may just be worth trying -- after all, both parties are always on the lookout for something different, something that improves their competitiveness.