But no supplier wants to risk alienating or abandoning a hard-won network of retailers and other distributors. It takes some creative planning to sell online and keep both consumers and intermediaries happy. Protecting and maximizing the value of intellectual assets, however, doesn't happen by chance. A comprehensive and consciously implemented IA management program is essential and if need be, third-party vendors should be brought in to help. It takes more than a good story and good financial results to get an underwriter to agree to take a company public.
Investment banks take a long, hard look at the experience and quality of the management team.
A Blue Ribbon panel came back with 10 recommendations that, if adopted, may present some challenges to growth companies. But this time around, the importance of technology and innovation and the need for flexibility and responsiveness make it possible for smaller companies to make a bigger impact on the industry's future.