Testimonials

COMMERCIALIZATION

TECH Fort Worth, a business and technology incubator
TECH Fort Worth, So what? who cares? why you?® has become a pillar of our entrepreneurial coaching program. We use the workbook as a tool with our company founders to really ‘dig in’ to their business models. The methodology and the workbook together provide an un-intimidating format for entrepreneurs who are distinguished in research and academia but not necessarily in business.”
- Darlene Ryan, Executive Director, TECH Fort Worth

Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dublin Ireland
"The self-help nature of Wendy Kennedy's So what? who cares? why you?® makes it a must-have resource for technology entrepreneurs who must address the commercial aspects of their offering. We have embraced Wendy’s methodology for several of our programmes and we expect So what? who cares? why you?® to become the centrepiece of all of our future Enterprise Development Programmes."
- Sean MacEntee, Manager-Novation, Regional Development Centre, Dundalk Institute of Technology

Purdue Research Foundation
We chose So what? who cares? why you?® as the standard approach and methodology to drive our newest program, The Entrepreneur Academy. The program exposes scientifically minded young people to entrepreneurial experiences that they can carry forward in their professional pursuits. The workbook and methodology form the basis of how the students structure their business plans and present the value of their ideas.”
- Sascha Harrell, Academy Program Manager, Purdue Research Foundation

Penn State University
So what? who cares? why you?® is a pilgrimage for those who have ideas to change the world.  It will help you to contemplate your ideas and startup company concepts by identifying the facts, myths, and critical assumptions.  Ultimately, it will provide validation for the one idea you may decide to pursue.” It is a great companion for those who yearn to create and contribute.
- Dan Leri, Director, Innovation Park and Research Commercialization Office, Pennsylvania State University

University of Central Florida
“’So what? who cares? why you?®’ is theoretically sophisticated enough to satisfy our academic requirements, street-smart enough to appeal to our coaches and investors, and practical enough to hit the primary concerns of the technology transfer group.”
 – Dr. Cameron Ford, Founding Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Central Florida

National Research Council Canada
"This book effectively blends the theoretical and practical aspects of opportunity identification and provides a logical and structured approach to formulate the business concepts for an idea. The worksheets at the end of each chapter are an excellent foundation to any business case."
– Clement Langemeyer, Director, Business Portfolio Office, National Research Council Canada

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & COMMERCIALIZATION

University of Central Florida
“Wendy Kennedy’s ‘So what? who cares? why you?®’ methodology cuts to the core commercialization issues and puts researchers in a position to seriously consider the potential of their ideas. It gives the University of Central Florida a standard approach and language to work with inventors to discover the commercial potential for their ideas." 
 – Joseph Giampapa, Associate Director, Technology Transfer, University of Central Florida

Pegasus Equine Diagnostics
“I have been using the ‘So what? who cares? why you?®’ book daily to help craft my first business plan. Even without the business plan completed, I finally managed to get a Heads of Agreement signed between myself and a manufacturer for certain marketing rights to my start-up story whilst we finalise a licensing/royalties agreement. This gave me capital to continue writing grant applications, advance the ideas and drum up investor interest. It has been a struggle to turn what began as a crusade into something that has a possibility of making money – I really did need your book and will be recommending it as a tool that should be available to the life science incubation community here. Thank you for an essential resource!” 
 – Sue Haritou, Pegasus Equine Diagnostics, Nottingham, UK

Iotum
"The So what? who cares? why you? methodology makes it very easy to develop strategy and cut out all of the extraneous 'fluff' that it's easy to get bound up in. Wendy's method forces you to focus on the real issues. I've used it successfully with a team of 15 that had only a basic knowledge of business and I've used it in my own startup. It works."
 – Alec Saunders, President & Founder of iotum Corp

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

University of Canterbury, New Zealand
“I have started using ‘So what? who cares? why you?®’ as a workbook in a number of courses I teach in new Zealand and Australia. The book is practical, to the point and of great value in that the essential concepts of commercialization are presented in a way that can be readily used. Wendy has managed to strip the subject of all the myth and hype usually associated with turning ideas into businesses; the book is an essential teaching as well as a practice tool.”
 – Piet Beukman, Director, Engineering Management Programme, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

University of Central Florida
“‘So what? who cares? why you?®’ helps students ask the right questions and provides direction and a framework for their research. I use it as a textbook to guide student research in undergraduate business development courses, I invite guest speakers to address issues raised by the workbook, and I have students complete the worksheets as homework assignments.The book is also being used in a brand new commercialization course being offered on campus.”
– Dr. Cameron Ford, Founding Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Central Florida

WORKSHOPS

"Wendy Kennedy's So what? who cares? why  you? webinar was a great hit with our university students.  Apart from being knowledgeable and enthusiastic, Wendy was able to teach our members how to bridge the gap between academic research and a successful business.  She offered practical advice that our members could apply immediately and was particularly outstanding in her ability to talk to inventors with technical backgrounds.  We would be delighted to work with Wendy again in the future, as her insights and advice add a lot of value to innovators."
– Anne Swift, Founder and President, Young Inventor's International

“I was very pleased with the Inventor’s Toolkit workshop you gave at FPTT. As the workshop organizer, I received numerous positive feedback evaluations expressing the great value participants received for the time invested. You presented a clearly articulated and logical platform from which to learn. Your experience was obvious and the workshop really delivered on the challenging task of evaluating and assessing research results. ’So what? who cares? why you? – will indeed be put into action at FPTT and we look forward to engaging you again in the near future.”
– John A. Kane, Senior Program Officer, Federal Partners in Technology Transfer (FPTT)

“Your recent seminar at Penn State was one of the most useful sessions I have ever participated in. It directly addressed some of my current project concerns, so it really couldn't have been more timely.”
– Kerry Small, Entrepreneur

"I got a lot out of your session – it provided deceptively simple but organized tools and it is a methodical process, which made my iron ring twitch all day!! I prefer a simple process flow-sheet that I can follow rather than stumbling around in the dark.”
– John Kabel, M.A.Sc., U of Western Ontario

“’So what? who cares? why you?®’ is theoretically sophisticated enough to satisfy our academic requirements, street-smart enough to appeal to our coaches and investors, and practical enough to hit the primary concerns of the technology transfer group.”
– Dr. Cameron Ford, Founding Director, for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Central Florida

I'm an Oxford graduate, a Mercer Consulting alumnus, and I've been in consulting for 15 years. For the past five years, I’ve been working to commercialize a very big idea. ‘So what? who cares? why you?®’ is, quite simply, the best advice I've been able to find on clarifying my pitch *at any price*.”
– Neil Freebairn, Network Innovations, UK

THE METHODOLOGY

“‘So what? who cares? why you?®’ provided my global team of technology oriented scientific staff with a methodology to define and articulate a business value proposition to support their applications for funding from a large investment pool. The transformation in thinking that occurred was significant and as a result, many, many, better investment decisions were made.” 
 – David Mann, former SVP,  Emerging Technologies,  Nortel Networks

“The So what? who cares? why you?® methodology makes it very easy to develop strategy and cut out all of the extraneous “fluff” that it’s easy to get bound up in. Wendy’s method forces you to focus on the real issues. I’ve used it successfully with a team of 15 that had only a basic knowledge of business and I’ve used it in my own startup. It works.” 
 – Alec Saunders, President & Founder of Iotum Corp.

“During the very formative stages of our business, Wendy helped us define our customer focus and business value proposition. She gave us an approach for getting our business started successfully and as we matured, she helped us to establish a solid foundation for growth that has had lasting impact.”
– Helen Maskery, former President and co-Founder, Maskery – Human Interaction Engineering