When you’re building a startup, it’s natural to become focused on the market you started with. You developed the product for a particular customer, built the prototype around a particular application, and probably created your…
A recent article by Mathias Klenk, Why Startups Die, makes an important point about startup failure. Companies rarely die because of one dramatic event. More often, failure is the result of problems that have been…
At some point, growth begins pointing beyond your home market. You receive an inquiry from another country, a potential partner mentions international demand, or someone asks whether your technology could work outside the United…
One of the first questions inventors, entrepreneurs, and startup founders ask is, “How do I know if my idea has commercial potential?” It’s a fair question, but after more than three decades of helping organizations…
One of the first questions you are likely to ask when you begin considering licensing is, “How long will it take to get a deal?” It is a reasonable question. You may picture contacting a…
When patents matter, when they don’t, and what companies really care about One of the most common questions I hear from innovators is whether licensing is even possible without a patent. A lot of people…
When most people think about intellectual property, they immediately think about patents. If you don’t have one, it’s easy to assume you don’t really have much intellectual property to commercialize. After all, patents receive most…
When entrepreneurs think about growing a startup, the sequence usually feels automatic. Develop the product. Raise capital. Build a team. Launch into the market. Scale as quickly as possible. That progression has become so deeply…
Series: Inside the Accelerator | Article 11 of 11 Week 9 — Live Launch and Beyond If you’ve read every article in this series, you now know more about the licensing process than most people…
By Week 7 of the Licensing Launchpad Accelerator, you have crossed into Stage 3. Your foundation is built. Your strategy is set. Your negotiation framework is ready. Your presentation is prepared. Your marketing campaign is…