UCF Venture Lab | 12201 Research Parkway, Orlando, FL 32826 | Phone: 407.823.1442

CASE STUDY: PICO Technologies

THE COMPANY: Innovative design for military vehicle display backlightingin 2006 PICO Technologies teamed up with two faculty members from the University of Central Florida to deliver an innovative design for a high performing backlight in the LCD displays of military vehicle cockpits. In 2007 PICO was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. PICO’s LCD display design is unique in its ability to provide pilots with the capability to view crisp, intense display visualization in bright sunlight with no fading. In addtion, pilots will be able to selectively light panels of interest during night flights. The design utilizes front-lit LEDs and a geographical control system to assist in localized, user-manipulated brightness variation.

While PICO’s technology was innovative in its design, the company needed business mentoring to assist with the completion of required SBIR Phase 1 progress reports. These reports were critical for Pico, as they were the key to receiving an SBIR Phase II proposal invitation that could result in up to $1 million in follow-on funding for the company. Pico’s management team had excellent project management and technical skills, but had limited experi-ence in the creation of professional marketing and commercialization plans that are critical in SBIR Phase II funding proposals. Specifically, PICO’s team was limited in business-planning expertise, and had never written a formal business plan. Phase II SBIR proposals require the inclusion of a commercialization plan that outlines the strategy for taking a technology into the commercial marketplace, and the company was at risk of losing the Phase II fund-ing without a solid commercialization strategy.

The Venture Lab Rounds Out Team PICO turned to the Venture Lab to assist with the market research for determining the best markets for commer-cializing the company’s displays. Pico was assigned a Venture Lab team that consisted of a coach and a dedicated student intern. The intern was a UCF Engineering graduate student that was assigned the task of conducting extensive market research as the first step. Boht the intern and Pico’s CEO were actively mentored by the Venture Lab’s coaching staff to determine the ideal “go-to” market strategy for the company’s products. The next step was to create a robust set of financials that included valid revenue assumptions that aligned with the chosen market strategy. Specific industries and clients were identified as part of this process. Finally, the intern assisted Pico’s CEO in the creation of a commercialization plan that met the requirements of the Phase II Solicitation. The combined efforts of Pico’s team and the Venture Lab resulted in Pico winning a $1M SBIR Phase II award in the Spring of 2008.

A Word from the CEO“We would like to recognize the extensive contributions by the Venture Lab to this effort. The Venture Lab team produced materials that were directly employed in documentation supplied to our customer to satisfy commer-cialization requirements. The Venture Lab team even went with us on a customer visit, and briefed the customer when they came to visit UCF as part of their due diligence. The addition of the Venture Lab to our team enabled us to concentrate on challenging technical matters while the Venture Lab provided the commercialization expertise that was critical to our success. The Venture Lab is to be commended for their well received work. “

~ Hank Johannson, CEO of PICO