• Germany– Engineering– Quality

• China– Work Ethic– Cost Savings

• Japan– Manufacturing Efficiency– Miniaturization

• United States …

Countries’ Core Capabilities

INNOVATION

Our Core Capability

What is Innovation?

Our Story

Our Story

• Bridger Photonics’ unlikely beginnings– 3 MSU Grad Students moved away– Returned to Bozeman to raise families– Wrote 3 proposals for government funding– No external investment– Almost ended before it even started– Hit 2 of first 3 proposals– Leadership by default

Randy Reibel Pete Roos Jay Brasseur

2007

Strong MSUcollaboration

Hit 2 of initial 3 proposals

Laser

Receiver

Meth chemicals

Directly in line with why we wanted to live here

Meth lab detection

2008

Range: ~900 m

Bridger Facility

Retro Location

Range: ~900 m

Bridger Facility

Retro Location

Long-range distance

measurements

Wrote21 proposals

in 2008

Short-range distance

measurements

4 EmployeesHit first proposal we

wrote together as Bridger employees

High resolutiondistance measurement

20097 EmployeesDelivered first distance

measurement prototype

Opened additionalMSU collaboration

for imaging

Realized that imaging was very important

Old New

Sand DVE Test Chamber Chamber Off – Sandy Target Chamber On – Sandy Target

Return Signal Through Sand Cloud

Developed prototype laser for gas sensing

201013 Employees

Delivered first infrared commercial prototype

laser

Company jackets

Vice Pres.Reibel at

summer retreatFirst full product release:Distance measurement system

Developed focus control commercial prototype

Bridger Photonics Today

• Core technologies– Precision LADAR

• Highest resolution distancemeasurements in the world

– Precision LIDAR• Only compact high-energy

mid-infrared laser in the world

– Advanced Imaging• Only existing high-flexibility MEMS

membrane mirror in the world

• Performance – Rapid growth

• 3+ years of operation, • 2 → 17 employees, • $110k → >$2M annual revenues

• Government funding gave us our start• We are now actively capping this revenue stream

Success With Proposals

31% 33% 42% 70%

Growth

22%

• This growth should put us in the Inc. 500 fastest growing small businesses in the U.S. for 2011

• First volume commercial deal last week• Goal: 50% of revenues from commercial by 2013

Projected

What Is Innovation?

The Idea?

• Ideas are a very small and easy part of innovation

• The idea isn’t even 0.1% of the journey

Special Start?

• Bridger Photonics’ unlikely beginnings– 3 MSU Grad Students moved away– Returned to Bozeman to raise families– Wrote 3 proposals for government funding– No external investment– Almost ended before it even started– Leadership by default

Randy Reibel Pete Roos Jay Brasseur

Special Planning?

Bridger Photonics Core Value #3: We deeply value one another, our families, our community, and a sense of balance in life

Stable Equilibrium

Unstable Equilibrium

No Special Plan

What is Innovation?

• The heart of innovation is converting ideas into products that help society

• Innovation is the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, perseverance, and passion.

• Innovation is never, ever, ever giving up.

Innovation Is About the People

RandyReibel

SandyReibel

LisaRoos

PeteRoos

• These people will enable future job creation

NathanGreenfield

CharlieKeith

Eric Seger

TrentJackson

CeceliaRossetti

DaveKozicki

AaronKreitinger Aaron

Anderson

ChrisWilson

TrentBerg

BrantKaylor

How do you stimulate our economy?

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

Guidance

The Lord of the RingsGandalf and Frodo Baggins, Chapter 'The Shadow of the Past'

The Problem

• Congressman’s recent visit to Bozeman and discussion with business leaders:

"What would it take for you to start hiring again?"

Improved Economy:Job Growth

Businesses:Improved Economy

Not willing to take risk

The Solution

• Go back to our country’s core capability:

Invest in Innovation

• Mitigate the risk for innovators and reward them if they succeed.

• Here is one example of how to do that …

MSU’s Role in Our Success• Professional training

– Graduate education– Proposal writing– Grant management and performance– Contacts and networking

• Strong research collaborations– MSU Spectrum Lab (Randy Babbitt, Zeb Barber)– MSU Engineering (David Dickensheets, Joe Shaw, Kevin Repasky)– MSU Physics (David Klumpar)

• Flexible employment– Spectrum Lab able to employ us part time to help transition (w/ COI management plans)

• Equipment availability– Can write use agreements into proposal budgets if not collaborative

• Employee pool– More than 80% of technical employees are MSU grads

• Related Centers and Programs– TechLink (Ray), Optec (Joe), TechRanch (Gary & John),

MMEC (Mark), MMF (David & Phil)

Risk Mitigation

My Challenge to You

• Let our country’s Core Capability guide you– Invest in Innovation

• Figure out how to mitigate the risk of innovation– Follow MSU’s lead– Many other possible methods for other styles of business:– Lenders, real estate, manufacturers …

• There’s no prescription. You must get personal!

Thank You