Five-Instrument Suite · Deep Tech Commercialisation · © 2026 Rajesh SHARMA

Innovation Friction

Five instruments. One framework. From laboratory bench to category leadership.

P(success) = (Technology × Execution) ÷ (μhuman × Nlegacy × τcycle × Ccapital)
Your position in the founder journey determines which instrument to use
Lab /
Discovery
→ I
Pre-
Commitment
→ II
Active
Venture
→ III
Corporate
Innovator
→ IV
Crisis /
Pivot
→ V
Instrument I · Research-to-Application
Research to Application Decision Tool
For: PhD researchers · scientists · TTO officers
A six-step guided wizard that helps science-trained founders assess whether their research is ready for commercialisation, which path is most likely to succeed, and what must be true before committing irreversible resources.
Output

Path A / B / C recommendation with specific first actions per path and IF friction profile

Open Instrument I
⏱ 30–60 min · Use once at the research-to-application decision point
Instrument II · Pre-Commitment Canvas
Pre-Commitment Canvas
For: Founders before raising capital or hiring
The most important instrument. A comprehensive pre-commitment assessment mapping all five failure layers, measuring IF across candidate segments, validating the Five Honest Questions, and producing a go/no-go signal before irreversible resources are committed.
Output

Full IF score by segment · TRL/CRL gap · Five Honest Questions verdict · Capital sufficiency check

Open Instrument II
⏱ 2–3 hours · Use before any capital commitment; revisit if pivoting
Instrument III · Quarterly Report Card
Quarterly Report Card
For: Active ventures · board meetings · investor updates
A stage-aware quarterly diagnostic tracking friction elimination across all five layers. Founder View and Investor View. Generates a formatted report card showing CRL velocity, capital per CRL level, and the dominant failure layer requiring attention this quarter.
Output

Printable report card · Layer elimination scorecard · CRL progression · 90-day priorities

Open Instrument III
⏱ 30 min · Use every quarter, every board meeting
Instrument IV · Corporate Innovation Canvas
Corporate Innovation Canvas
For: Innovators inside large organisations
A corporate-adapted canvas for innovators navigating internal political friction. Maps budget cycle dependencies, executive sponsor risk, internal champion exposure, and the build vs buy vs partner decision — producing an internal path recommendation.
Output

Internal vs external path recommendation · Sponsor risk map · Internal friction reduction plan

Open Instrument IV
⏱ 2 hours · Use before proposing an internal innovation initiative
Instrument V · Crisis Diagnostic
Crisis Diagnostic
For: Any venture when something has gone wrong
A rapid 30-minute diagnostic for ventures in distress. Identifies which failure layer has re-activated, what triggered it, and whether the correct response is eliminate, pivot, or change path entirely. Generates a 30-day action protocol.
Output

Crisis type · Reactivated layer · Continue / Pivot / Change Path signal · 30-day protocol

Open Instrument V
⏱ 30 min · Use immediately when a crisis event occurs
The four denominator pillars — what the instruments measure and help you reduce
μhuman
Human Resistance
Psychology, loss aversion, career risk, cultural inertia. Reduced by reference customers, narrative clarity, and risk-sharing commercial models.
Nlegacy
Legacy Normal Force
Incumbent systems, vendor contracts, regulatory validations. The structural weight your technology must displace — or route around via beachhead selection.
τcycle
Temporal Friction
Sales cycle × approval layers. Every month of cycle consumed is a month of capital burned. τ and capital are directly coupled variables.
Ccapital
Capital Friction
Total capital required to reach cash-flow positive. When C_required ÷ C_available approaches 1.0, the company fails regardless of all other variables.