In the world of disruptive technology, bringing innovative products to market is no small feat. Unlike conventional technology solutions, truly novel advancements often require an entire ecosystem—integrating supply chain partners, industry collaborations, and technical expertise—to ensure success. As someone involved in launching a range of groundbreaking technologies, I've seen how crucial it is to build an ecosystem supporting a company’s mission and strategy, from the lab to market realization.
The critical role of ecosystems in disruptive innovation
When launching a disruptive technology, you’re not just introducing a product; you’re often creating a solution that challenges existing market paradigms and may require complementary technologies to function optimally. Consider the early days of Video on Demand (VOD) in the 2000s. I was with a company that had developed leading-edge VOD solutions, but to bring the service fully to market, we had to tackle challenges in video compression and encryption. Only after forming critical partnerships with companies in those areas could we provide a turnkey VOD solution that met customer expectations. This partnership approach allowed us to fill gaps, enhance our offering, and accelerate time to market, leading to an acquisition within two years.
Establishing an ecosystem isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential when developing disruptive technologies that require multi-faceted support. A key lesson here is that by engaging in strategic partnerships early on, you can jointly develop supporting technologies and collaboratively shape the ecosystem needed to bring your innovation to life.
From vision to reality: Strategies for ecosystem development
As a startup working on new technology, one of the most significant challenges is convincing established players to join your journey. Larger companies often need reassurance that your team can deliver on ambitious goals and support the technology as it scales. Startups can face the risk of being dismissed by industry giants unless they demonstrate the technology’s viability and the credibility and capability of the team behind it. This is why it's crucial to “begin with the end in mind”—thinking strategically about who you’ll need to succeed and carefully curating the expertise on your board to open up doors within the industry.
My approach centers on cultivating a tightly integrated network of partners whose technologies complement ours and align with the specific demands of MicroSolid Printing. In practice, this means that, in my current role, we actively seek suppliers who bring unique strengths that bolster our technology’s performance across shared markets. Instead of viewing these partners simply as vendors, we prioritize building strategic, collaborative relationships. This approach allows us to co-develop tailored solutions from the outset, ensuring that every element—from materials to processes—is optimized for our specific requirements. By working this way, we create a seamless, end-to-end ecosystem that accelerates our go-to-market timeline and empowers each partner to capture value, creating a mutually beneficial pathway to market success.
Avoiding the pitfalls of disjointed development
One trap many startups fall into is developing products without a clear market path—often pursuing “shiny objects” without calculating how each initiative aligns with customer needs. In effect, some startups operate more like university research labs, focusing on isolated projects that lack a strategic tie to an end customer. This “science project” mentality can quickly drain resources and stall progress.
A better approach is focusing on solutions with a customer pull—finding companies that recognize how your disruptive technology can give them a competitive edge. When your customers actively integrate your products, they become an extension of your team, providing insights, funding, and validation for your solution’s market potential. If you’re trying to persuade customers to see the value in your technology, you may simply have “a solution looking for a problem.” Actual industry traction comes when customers see your product as integral to their success.
Building a resilient, scalable supply chain
Creating a sustainable supply chain that can grow with your business is another core component of successful commercialization. Beyond finding suppliers, startups must align with partners whose vision, capacity, and market reach support the industry, even as they grow. This is especially crucial today, with supply chains facing various geopolitical and economic challenges. Understanding these dynamics can help you make decisions that safeguard against future disruptions. For example, knowing whether regional trade restrictions impact a potential supplier can influence your selection and prevent costly delays later on.
In building a resilient supply chain, it’s essential to anticipate these types of hurdles and plan for alternatives. Every new partner you bring on will require a qualification process to ensure they meet your standards, and the onboarding time can significantly affect your market timelines. This is why we’ve taken a long-term approach, ensuring all partners like Toray Engineering understand our growth trajectory and are prepared to scale alongside us.
Creating lasting industry impact through cross-sector partnerships
Developing partnerships across academia, research institutions, and established companies is another pillar of ecosystem building. When working with emerging technologies, startups must stay at the forefront of innovation, as advancements can progress rapidly, and a two-year gap could mean falling behind. I've found that forming a “technology council” across these sectors allows for an ongoing exchange of insights, keeping our strategies aligned with the latest industry developments and avoiding potential “leapfrogging” by competitors.
At my company, we’ve cultivated a network of cross-sector partnerships that support our technological progress and keep us informed of market shifts. This proactive approach ensures that we create solutions and anticipate tomorrow’s demands.
Turning vision into reality
In my experience, commercialization success depends on building an ecosystem where every partner shares a common vision and timeline. Disruptive technologies require concerted efforts among diverse stakeholders—from research groups to corporate leaders. Through years of working with different partners, I’ve seen how the best outcomes emerge when all parties are aligned to understand the technology's roadmap and market potential.
Take, for example, how companies like VueReal in the micro-technology space are forming turnkey manufacturing solutions, where each player contributes a crucial component of the final product. By aligning on both vision and timelines, we can accelerate the development and delivery of innovative solutions.
Charting a path forward
Building an ecosystem for disruptive technology is a marathon, not a sprint. To make it, startups must secure buy-in from strategic partners, develop adaptable supply chains, and continually align their products with customer needs. Companies can overcome the inherent challenges of launching a disruptive technology by beginning with the end in mind, bringing the right team together, and nurturing a network of collaborative partnerships. An effective ecosystem isn’t just about who you partner with; it’s about shared goals, mutual growth, and a clear path from lab to market.
Jason Ruppert is vice president of Operations at VueReal, a company specializing in micro-pixel manufacturing.