How We Work

For-profit ideas must have the potential for national or global sales as well as a path to profitability. Not-for-profit concepts should have the ability to serve at least the local community at large. As importantly, 80amps backs people — people who are persistent, intelligent, passionate, flexible, and who get along well with others. Only a handful of concepts are in development by 80amps at any given time.

Concepts that are approved begin a venture viability assessment leading to a “fast fail” or  first-stage execution plan. This process, which may take up to eight weeks, involves:

• Establishment of initial unique value proposition
• Market sizing
• Business model development
• Early-stage financial modeling
• Identification of critical success factors
• Determination of funding requirements and approach

The first stage of execution is customized based on the concept under development. This stage may involve anything from rapid prototyping of a minimum viable product and market testing, to substantial fund-raising and team-building for more advanced efforts.

Regardless of the execution approach, the emphasis is always weighted toward gaining rapid marketplace feedback. Even concepts requiring substantial build-out can be structured to gain customer insight throughout the process. With one exception, 80amps does not undertake efforts for which big, sticky, clumpy investments are required in advance of an ability to judge market acceptance. That exception is 80amps’ willingness to execute the commercialization of research developed by university professors under technology transfer licenses from universities in selective cases.