One of the biggest obstacles that entrepreneurs face in bringing new technology to market is the cost of research and development.  The answers to this problem are not simple.  Large corporations' research departments and universities' research departments are funded much better.  However, they often lack the sense of enterprise that an entrepreneur brings to the table.  Entrepreneurs are in a sense of crisis and urgency in trying to bring out a new solution before the rest of the marketplace.  Researchers don't like to be rushed and often don't fully appreciate the market opportunity and the customer-centric requirements.

Funding still looms as a major problem for innovators.  For small entrepreneurs, I recommend build the smallest and cheapest prototype possible and selling it.  By doing so, an entrepreneur gives valuable market insight, viability validation and a small amount of non-refundable funding.