chapter 19, The First Years of Crystal Fibre A/S from a University Perspective

In Part II: Some Case Studies from: Engineering a High-Tech Business: Entrepreneurial Experiences and Insights

Editor(s): José Miguel López-Higuera, Brian Culshaw

Author(s): Anders Bjarklev, Jes Broeng

Published: 21 March 2008

Chapter DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/3.786604.ch19

Chapter Page Count: 8 pages

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Front Matter

Part I: Reflections, Motives, and Money
1. Some Suggestions from an Economist to a New High-Tech Starter

2. The Academic Entrepreneur: An Oxymoron?

3. Money

4. Confessions of a Start-Up Junkie

5. Being an “Intrapreneur” and an Entrepreneur in the Optoelectronics Industry

Part II: Some Case Studies
6. Mirada Solutions: The Case Study of a University Spin-Off

7. Building a Company the Old-Fashioned Way: Meadowlark Optics, Inc.

8. Building a Lasting Optical Design and Manufacturing Company

9. The Life and Times of a High-Tech Entrepreneur

10. A Case from Russia: IPG Photonics

11. Wacko WYKO

12. The Ocean Optics Story in a Nutshell

13. Experiences Starting a Nano-Sized Company

14. The Story of Fiberonics

15. Founding a Fiber-Optic Component and Sensor Business

16. How to Start a Small High-Tech Business in Troutdale, Oregon

17. SMARTEC: Bringing Fiber-Optic Sensors into Concrete Applications

18. “An Earth Odyssey” or Fibersensing

19. The First Years of Crystal Fibre A/S from a University Perspective

20. Multiwave Photonics: Building a Fiber Optics Company in Portugal

Part III: Supporting the Entrepreneur
21. Developing High-Tech Companies in Spain and Portugal

22. Intellectual Property in High-Tech Entrepreneurship

23. Support for a Young Company

Part IV: The Universities
24. Strategic Support: The Case of the Technical University of Madrid

25. University Research and the Optics Industry

Back Matter

Preview

Excerpt

This chapter describes some of the essential steps towards the formation of Crystal Fibre A/S as seen from the perspective of the employees of the co-founding university, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The chapter addresses issues concerning barriers for the development and important decisions leading to the founding and first years of the company history.

19.1 Introduction

More than a decade has passed since we took the first steps towards the formation of Crystal Fibre A/S, which develops and manufactures photonic crystal fibers. These optical waveguides, which also are known as microstructured optical fibers, in most cases confine light to their central part by a highly organized structure of microscopic air holes running along the full length of the fibers. A lot of knowledge has, of course, been gained since the beginning of this technological voyage from a scientific perspective, but also from the perspective of bringing technology beyond the laboratories of the university. Surely, this process will also look different depending on the role that one plays in it, and it is, therefore, very important to have in mind that the experience to be gained from other people will be strongly colored by their positions.

A very important subject in the public debate concerning the innovation process is the role of different institutions within societies, and a strong interest from a political point of view is the question of the mutual roles that should be played by private enterprises and publicly funded institutions. What each person believes to be right and wrong in this discussion is basically a question of personal and political standpoints, but independent of this, it is relevant to learn from experience under all circumstances. The present contribution should be seen in this light, taking as a point of reference the role played by a university (and its employees) in the process of forming a novel, independent company in collaboration with private industry.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/3.786604.ch19

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