How to monetize your project in 6 steps
Learn about the monetization story of an extension project within a federal university
The
triple helix model seeks knowledge and skills that enable the development of sustainable solutions, new resources and economic viability, with the aim of promoting innovation and, consequently, social transformation, through the relationship between the three most traditional actors in the
knowledge society : government, industry and universities, with the objective of generating, disseminating, using and commercializing knowledge and innovation.
But achieving monetization within this context can be a major challenge. That's why we've brought you the
six steps to monetize your ideas ,
plus a real case of monetization in an extension program at a federal university.
Good reading!
How to monetize your university extension project and incubators
- Monetization strategies
- 6 steps to monetize an idea
- Success Case: learn about the monetization story of an extension project at the Federal University of Santa Maria
Monetization Strategies
By “money”, we can understand that the meaning of monetization is the act of transforming services, products and solutions into sources of income or resources.
The monetization method may vary according to the service provided. For example, a streaming service, such as Netflix, works with subscription payments, while there are other services that offer pay per use, ticket packages, as in some edtechs, as well as marketplaces, such as Amazon, where commission is charged per transaction. In the case of Spotify, we can observe the freemium + premium formats, with freemium being used for free, but with ads, while premium is paid and without ads.
6 st eps to monetize an idea
Learn how to monetize your project!
The Social Impact Monetization guide , produced by Insper Metricis, in partnership with GK Ventures, explains the importance of a methodology capable of predicting the impact of a solution or product to contribute to your monetization strategy.
In this way, the monetization of an idea can happen in six steps:
- Identify the metrics that will measure the results of your business;
- Compare the results before and after the implementation of your solution in a quantitative way, considering the difference between each one to diagnose the effectiveness of the solution;
- Calculate the accounting costs of implementation, in monetary values, taking into account each investment required for the operation.
- Evaluate the opportunity cost of your program, based on an estimate of how much the fee for a given service would be.
- The next step is the total cost, determined by adding the accounting costs and the opportunity cost over a specific period or several periods, according to the time of the implementation or service, also adding the interest rates that can be discounted in the future.
- With the sum of the costs, the next step is to compare and verify the cost-effectiveness (CE), based on the difference between the results and the total cost of the program.
Now that you've learned a little about ways to predict impact and monetization, it's time to learn how a doctoral student at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) managed to monetize his university extension project.
Get to know the story of Paulo Roberto Silveira Machado , PhD in Business Administration from the Federal University of Santa Maria and co-founder of Softaliza. He is also Deputy Director at the Institute of Intelligent Networks and Business Manager at UFSM, in addition to facilitating the Startup Mundi Game Experience.
Success Case: learn about the monetization story of an extension project at the Federal University of Santa Maria
During his academic career, specifically studying his doctorate, Paulo reflected on how teaching about subjects related to entrepreneurship and startups in the classrooms of the Business Administration course could be better: “ I realized that there was a lack of practice and a differentiated vision for students and that a methodology different from the traditional one could improve learning ”.
In fact, the project “Measuring Innovation in Education”, developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD, shows that the education sector should also excel in the development of new tools, organizations and processes, seeking to improve its practices and innovate.
In 2019, Paulo participated in the Startup Summit, in Florianópolis, when he got to know Startup Mundi: “ I was delighted with the methodology and how it could open the eyes of the participants with the theme of innovation and entrepreneurship ”.
Check out during the interview how Paulo managed to monetize his UFSM university extension project.
SM: How did you get funding to take the game to university?
Paulo: I took the idea for UFSM through the Innovation and Technology Transfer Agency (AGITTEC). I presented the methodology to AGITTEC and created an extension project with the objective of applying the workshop to students, employees and the community of Santa Maria. AGITTEC/UFSM was the promoter of the process and responsible for the resources to take the game to UFSM. A great way to facilitate the inclusion of innovative methodologies in university teaching.
SM: And how did the community find out about the sessions? What do you do to publicize and engage the college community to play? Who usually plays?
Paulo: I publicized the extension project and the game on social networks. We have had fifteen groups since the beginning of the project and the profile of the participants circulated among students, teaching staff, administrative technicians, liberal and self-employed professionals. A very varied profile that contributes to enriching the experience for the participants, in addition to forming a network between them.
SM: And the sessions? What is the average duration of each one? Do you do it in a single day or divide the game application into more days?
Paulo: I usually do sessions lasting between five and a half to six hours. Always performed in a single day. After an update, we run the training between four and a half hours and five hours. As the game project is linked to university extension, it facilitates the application in a single day since it is not linked to a course or class hour. Another feature is that those who attend university in one way or another are the game's target audience. It's a strategy that has worked quite well around here.
SM: And what do participants enjoy most during the game? What do they identify with most?
Paulo: What everyone likes is to feel firsthand the emotion of being a Startup CEO: accomplishing hires by going to the market, strategizing with pitching and learning the concepts that most of the time are far from their respective realities. In addition to the opportunity for participants to relate to people who are different from their daily lives. It is something that strengthens the innovation network in the university environment.
SM: And how does the university benefit from the application of the game?
Paulo: Mainly as a driver of knowledge in the innovation ecosystem. And more a way for the university to contribute to the education and culture of processes of
validation. In academia, knowledge about research is more common. The game helps with knowledge about how to take the research result to the market. Something important, complementary.
