The situation: As a small medical device company is putting their devices through quality assurance lifetime tests, a problem, unfortunately, has cropped up: the technique used for gamma-sterilization degrades the epoxy, severely degrading the product. The company has talked with several epoxy companies but none provide a product that can meet their needs. There is not enough time to develop an alternate sterilization process, nor can they afford any significant delay in their product release. How can they quickly find a solution? Who would know what to do? They call Fortnight.

A Fortnight Associate visits the company, working with the engineering and research departments to understand what the company needs. Together they work on creating a description of the problem. The company decides the following description describes the problem in sufficient detail while protecting their intellectual property. The Request reads:

A company needs an epoxy that has the following qualities: Tg: ~120°C viscosity: 500 cPs Shore D hardness: 75 cure time: < 5 seconds using UV illumination minimal or no outgassing (< 0.5% at 300°C) able to withstand immersion in methanol at 80°C for 3 hours with no degradation able to withstand permanent immersion in water at 90°C electrically insulating EN ISO 10933-1 compliant Leads presented to the client will be compensated at $250 each.

Fortnight posts the description to the Network and within two weeks receives many Leads. The three most promising Leads are:

"A scientific article was published in 1998 in "Journal of Neuroradiology" that describes a procedure for making an epoxy that has similar characteristics."

"There is a company that uses a commercial glue but adds an additional processing step to harden it that should enable the epoxy to withstand the conditions of the client's sterilization procedure."

"A specially developed glue used in satellites has been developed at a national lab that should meet all the requirements."

Fortnight provides the Leads above to the client, and the Experts who provided them are paid. The client decides which Leads they would like to pursue further, choosing the national lab lead and the alternative company. Additional research by the Fortnight Experts and Associate determine that the glue developed by the national lab seems viable but is not readily available. However, the lab is willing to license the technology to produce it (a situation undesirable for the client). The company with the modified curing procedure, having been approached, believes that their solution will work for the client and is willing to enter into negotiations to determine a fair price for their solution. The Experts involved in the In-Depth research receive substantial additional compensation for their work. Fortnight introduces our client to the company with the modified curing procedure, and the two companies begin their negotiations.

DISCLAIMER: This is a contrived example. Any semblance to any existing company or problem is merely coincidental.