The result of innovation, manifested in unique goods or services, impacts socially and economically. From the user's perspective, who doesn't like technology improvement eg newer designs and functions of gadgets? From the investor's perspective, who doesn't like to deploy inventive products or processes in new markets?
Apart from having the value to be innovative and the STEM capacity to invent and make, innovators need financial support. The innovation process of promising projects may take, on average, seven years from start to exit. The sources of the innovation funding can be private (such as savings, debts, loan guarantees), and public (such as institutional grants, for-profit capitals from angel investors, private equities, venture capitalists or patient capitalists).
In respect of for-profit investments, capitalists generally prefer, for risk management reasons, fast-track and low-cost inventive products or processes in less capital-intensive industries. While traditional capitalists might expect on average 20-30% return on investment, patient capitalists might accept on average 5-10%. Partnering with branded STEM universities' spin-offs might get business traction and even appropriate financial leverage.
Profit-making patient capitalists use strategic measures to feel the pulses of innovation "patients" so that necessary strategic changes can be made timely as there is no point to treat the dead. I believe such "clinical" intervention would not only raise the "patients" from the valley of death due to financial malnutrition, but also add years to their lives. I also think that such longer-term, ever-green or patient capital should have another creative and positive label - "Doctor Capital"!