Success Story: Lytmos Group LLC
Pair progresses into partners leading tech-consulting firm in Lee's Summit
Their friends might affectionately call them "Dancers with Bears."
Considering all the challenges Peggy Shults and Mary Bernard have confronted in their professional lives, the moniker would be appropriate. Shults and Bernard—CEO and COO, respectively, of Lytmos Group LLC—have the vision, vigor and determination to lead their consulting company in the right direction.
Shults and her partner Mary Bernard (left), the firm';s CIO and vice president of operations, have developed the Lytmos Process, which connects their clients "with qualified specialists who can provide independent, informed feedback on an idea, whether it's a grant proposal to be submitted to a federal agency or an invention created in a laboratory or workshop."
Founded in 2001, the firm was originally intended to serve as a conduit for high-tech small businesses to obtain expert feedback as they pursued federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding.
Along the way Lytmos Group has evolved. Peggy started the company with her father, a retired small business consultant. He lived in Wichita; she lived in Lee's Summit. It combined his consulting experience with her expertise in systems engineering and SBIR grant writing.
However, Lytmos Group is not Peggy's inaugural plunge into entrepreneurship. Encouraged by her husband who ran a business of his own, Peggy embarked on the road to entrepreneurship in 1998, following a 12-year career as a manufacturing engineer for AT&T Microelectronics. After a succession in increasingly responsible positions Peggy found herself jobless. Her employer had been sold and her job moved to Pennsylvania. She declined to move with it. That's when she opened the door to self-employment.
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/success/lytmos.asp for the complete story.
Your local Small Business Development Center can help with your business success. Appointments may be made for free consultations on small business issues by contacting the SBDC office near you.
SBIR: Funding for Small Technology Firms
A competitive opportunity for small business
SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore its technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation's R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.
SBIR targets the entrepreneurial sector because that is where most innovation and innovators thrive. However, the risk and expense of conducting serious R&D efforts are often beyond the means of many small businesses. By reserving a specific percentage of federal R&D funds for small business, SBIR protects small businesses and enables them to compete on the same level as larger businesses. SBIR funds the critical startup and development stages and it encourages the commercialization of the technology, product, or service, which in turn, stimulates the U.S. economy.
Since its enactment in 1982, as part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act, SBIR has helped thousands of small businesses to compete for federal research and development awards. Their contributions have enhanced the nation's defense, protected our environment, advanced health care, and improved our ability to manage information and manipulate data.
Small businesses must meet certain eligibility criteria to participate in the SBIR program.
- American-owned and independently operated
- For-profit
- Principal researcher employed by business
- Company size limited to 500 employees
Each year, ten federal departments and agencies are required by SBIR to reserve a portion of their R&D funds for award to small businesses. These agencies designate R&D topics and accept proposals. Following submission of proposals, agencies make SBIR awards based on small business qualification, degree of innovation, technical merit, and future market potential. Small businesses that receive awards or grants then begin a three-phase program.
- Phase I is the startup phase. Awards of up to $100,000 for approximately six months support exploration of the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology.
- Phase II awards of up to $750,000, for as many as two years, expand Phase I results. During this time, the R&D work is performed and the developer evaluates commercialization potential. Only Phase I award winners are considered for Phase II.
- Phase III is the period during which Phase II innovation moves from the laboratory into the marketplace. No SBIR funds support this phase. The small business must find funding in the private sector or other non-SBIR federal agency funding.
For more information on the SBIR program and how the SBTDC can help your business navigate the application process please visit www.missouribusiness.net/fast/.
Business Going Green
MOEAC offers pollution prevention course, industry assessments, paid internships
"P2 boot camp" for businesses
The University of Missouri Environmental Assistance Center announces the start of a new program to help Missouri businesses cut costs and reduce environmental impact. From May 19-23, MOEAC will launch an intensive, week-long course on pollution prevention that will cover how to assess inefficiencies in energy and water use, wastewater generation, stormwater controls, solid waste and hazardous waste. It will also provide instruction and tools for weighing options and identifying those with the quickest return.
The course will be available as credit and non-credit through the MU College of Engineering. If your business is interested in sending representatives through Pollution Prevention: Good Industry Practices and Applied Engineering (also known as "P2 boot camp"), contact the Environmental Assistance Center at 573-882-5011 or MOEAC@missouri.edu for registration information.
Seeking industries for P2 assessment
What if you could hire an engineer for $7/hour to identify ways for your company to save money and improve environmental performance? We are recruiting industries to host engineering interns between June 2 and Aug. 8. Interns will identify, assess and recommend pollution prevention strategies, under the supervision and guidance of MU engineering faculty. If your company is interested in hosting an intern, please complete and return the application before March 1. See the P2 Business Application Letter (PDF) and P2 Business Project Proposal for more details.
Paid engineering student internships
MOEAC is are also recruiting some of the best MU engineering students to engage in summer internships to identify, assess and recommend pollution prevention strategies for five host industries. Interns will work under the supervision and guidance of engineering faculty. If you are a student wishing to apply for one of the competitive internships, please see the student application.
Conference for Entrepreneurial Women Set for Feb. 25-26 on MU Campus
In Good Company, a two-day conference for entrepreneurial women, starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. The Monday evening session runs until 8 p.m.; the Tuesday session runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Among the topics covered during the event: financing a business, market research, franchising, employee recruiting and retention, marketing, branding, and government contracting. Guest speakers will be Brenda Newberry, founder and CEO of the St. Charles-based IT firm The Newberry Group, and Michelle Stauffer, founder and CEO of Kansas Aircraft Corp.
Conference cost is $79 ($99 the day of the event), which covers all meals, materials and sessions. For more information and registration contact the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at www.missouribusiness.net/ucie or call 573-882-7096.
Sponsors for the event include the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers, the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, the Missouri Women's Council, UCIE, the Small Business Administration, Commerce Bank, University of Missouri Extension, KRCG-TV, Missouri Employers Mutual, the Columbia Business Times, the Bank of Missouri and Williams-Keepers LLC.
Cool Product Idea! Now What? (Part II)
Lessons learned on product development
In Part I of this article (January 2008 edition) we discussed areas of concentration for the first phase of the product development process, conceptual development. As in Part I, a step-by-step process will not be presented for the remaining two phases, but rather a few lessons learned from developing consumer-related products.
Product Development Process
I. Conceptual development
II. Design and implementation
III. Post-product launch
II. Design and implementation phase
1. Product specificationIf you're paying attention you will notice this was the last point discussed in conceptual development. Why does it show up again in the design and implementation phase? You should not start this phase without a product specification. Without a well-defined product spec you will end up chasing your tail!
- A well-defined product specification reduces the number of iterations during the design and implementation phase.
- It acts as a leash for the design engineers. It will keep them from charging off in the wrong direction. Marketing, sales, operations and engineering stay on the same page.
- It keeps everyone in the loop of progress. Regular project review and reference to the product specification keeps the project on track.
2. Project complexity
Take a realistic look at the complexity of the project ahead of you. Estimate a timeline to complete the project and add "X" number of weeks, or even months.
- Don't underestimate the project. There is no such thing as an easy project. Some are just less complex than others.
- If you hit minor road blocks in design remember that fermentation is your friend. We're not condoning the use of alcohol here, although we're not ones to condemn it either. Sometimes you need to back off from a project for awhile to let it "ferment." It's easy to not see the forest for the trees when pushing hard in the design phase.
- If you hit serious road blocks you may have to admit the idea may just not work. Pumping time and money into a project when there are serious limitations to a successful launch has its obvious consequences. Put it back on the product development list for the future or kill it.
3. Design deliverables
If you plan to use contract engineering and design services what should you expect to receive as verification of design?
- Manufacturing-ready part and subassembly prints. This will include material specification, tolerances, all necessary dimensions and surface finish requirements (i.e. anodizing, powder coat, acceptable surface roughness).
- If applicable, 3-D CAD models of the part(s) to be manufactured. Tooling for complex parts is more easily fabricated when the manufacturer has access to CAD models.
- Prototypes
- Bill of material. This typically includes all anticipated parts, quantities, piece price and tooling cost.
- Quality control specifications.
It is difficult to push the baby that you have created into the cruel marketplace when you don't know if it's ready, but you have to eventually launch the product to make money.
- Meet the requirements of the product spec and be done with it.
- Sell-fix-sell-fix not fix-fix-fix-sell. This is not to say that a poor quality product should be released, but engineers can be prone to trying to fix things that are not broken.
- Changes can still be made after initial product launch. These are new releases (new and improved), or even a deluxe model of the product just released.
No matter the complexity or simplicity of the product development process, you just need to have one that works for your situation. A documented process will keep you from leaving out vital steps or unnecessarily repeating others. It helps break what may seem to be an overwhelming project down into a methodical sequence of manageable steps. Although listed under the design and implementation phase, this really encompasses all three phases.
- Googling the "product development process" will bring up more information than you need to draft a process tailored to your specific needs.
- The product development process is not just about design and engineering. Don't forget to include packaging, assembly and logistics (shipping).
- A good process will also keep sales, marketing and operations informed of the project's progress.
III. Post-product launch
1. The light at the end of the tunnel...It may be a freight train headed your way.
- Be prepared for product shortcomings or problems.
- How will you handle product returns?
- Review the product after introduction for final cost and look for quality problems. Was the product spec met?
- Schedule periodic reviews of sales numbers and potential quality issues. It may cost more to keep a product with a sub-par record in inventory than what it's worth.
2. Review the process
If this was the first product you developed, it probably won't be your last. Take a step back and review the project.
- How did you get here? Is this where you wanted to be?
- Identify and document the bottlenecks. Streamlining any process is a ratcheting type of action. Eliminating one bottleneck moves you up, but exposes the next.
- Learn from the mistakes and highlight the successes.
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