Delopment of new and improved technologies and Exploration devices were paid heftily and were kept secret.

Engineers were really needed back they to innovate and create better products and methods of exploration. Anyone who had come up with a device to explore such as the astrolabe were wanted to be kept in secret and were sold for high prices so that the inventor would make profit. Also since everything was money based many inventors earned loads of money.

Trade within trade. The trade of new exploration methods and devices were exchanged for gold. So if anyone created a model of wagon that could carry loads of weight many merchants who only traveled by land would want to hurry and buy it so they'd be able to take as much product back to their main selling location thus earning them larger profit. European tools basically set of new markets and trades.