0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

Develop and
Launch New
Products
and Services
You might think that only big companies with deep pockets can
launch products. Not so. More products are dreamed up and executed
by small, innovative companies or individuals. In 2007, small
companies invested about $50 billion on research and development (R&D),
according to the National Science Foundation.
In 2010, as the economy improved, all U.S. firms were projected to
spend $260 billion on R&D, down slightly from the $268 billion spent
before the recession in 2008.
Often, just one or two people dream up a staggeringly great idea.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard undergrad, and
some friends. A few years and several lawsuits later, he turned down a
billion-dollar offer to sell Facebook, and by 2010, the privately held company
was estimated to be worth about $33 billion.
Feisty entrepreneurs founded Napster, the company that pioneered
digital music sharing. Napster’s colorful history included high-profile
lawsuits filed by musicians and music publishers, bankruptcy, and an
ultimate revival and sale to Best Buy for about $130 million. (My friend
Chris Gorog resurrected the bankrupt company when he served as CEO
and turned it around before it was sold.)
Being a pioneer isn’t easy. Jann Wenner dropped out of UC Berkeley to
start a new music magazine called Rolling Stone. He borrowed $7,500 from