essays – Helge Seetzen

IP & Tech Transfer , venture capital series

From Idea to Enterprise – Technology Transfer Tips for Academics

The earlier articles in this series by Helge Seetzen described the fundamental aspects of building a venture: people, funding, and monetization. While this information is useful for all aspiring entrepreneurial technologists, this fifth and final article in this series is devoted to the specific demographic of university researchers. UNIVERSITY...

March 10, 2015February 5, 2018

Venture Capital , venture capital series

Exiting with Grace – and Profit

There are many ways to move on from the start-up phase. Some deliver a better return than others, as is explained in our fourth article in our venture capital series. IT’S time to talk about the end. In previous articles, we discussed assembling a team, building a technology business,...

February 17, 2015February 5, 2018

Venture Capital , venture capital series

The Ins and Outs of Venture Capital

Raising venture capital funds is an exciting and often necessary step for your start-up. It’s also fraught with potential pitfalls that could cost you your company. The third article in this venture capital series examines key terms used in investment deals and offers valuable insights into the venture capital business...

February 3, 2015February 5, 2018

Venture Capital , venture capital series

Raising Capital for Technology Ventures

Investors come in different packages. It’s important to know the various types, along with their pluses and minuses. This article is the second of five in a series by Helge Seetzen. IN the first article of this series, we talked about the fundamental building blocks of a new technology venture:...

January 22, 2015June 27, 2017

Entrepreneurship , venture capital series

Start-up Fundamentals

A game-changing idea is only one of the ingredients you will need to launch a successful new business. Without the right team and a commitment to ongoing fundraising, your brilliant new venture will flounder. This article is the first of five in a series by a venture capital expert who...

January 6, 2015February 9, 2018

Entrepreneurship , People

Is your Startup Ready for Titles?

In a startup things move constantly, roles change and within a few months people swing from one side of the spectrum to the other depending on their immediate needs. This works well when the team is small and people feel ownership of the whole project. I’ve had multiple roles...

December 11, 2012June 30, 2017

Entrepreneurship , People

Why Does Hiring Feel Like Dating?

You are managing a startup. It is growing quickly and you have personally become the entire human resources department. And admit it, you under estimated the time it takes to find the right person who will understand the business vision and fit in with your culture. Are you meeting...

October 23, 2012June 27, 2017

Entrepreneurship , People

Linearity and Employee Incentives Plans

In my last blog post I talked about the fundamentals of effective employee incentive plans: Proportionality, Transparency, Appropriateness, and Certainty. To my mind of thinking, creating linearity in your employee incentive plans is essential to achieve Transparency and Proportionality, and I’d like to elaborate on that a bit using the...

July 3, 2012July 4, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer , Tech Transfer & IP

Regionally-Focused VS. Domain-Focused University Tech Transfer

Some Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) have been exploring the idea of domain-focused rather than regionally-focused technology transfer recently. This shift is an extremely powerful idea in my mind. In fact, the advantages of domain-focus are the reason TandemLaunch has the specialization it does in consumer electronics market. Yet the...

May 30, 2012July 4, 2017

Entrepreneurship , People

The CTO Role Broken Down

The CTO fills a critical role in a technology startup. The title is really broad, and people tend to cling to different aspects of it, but what do you really need your CTO to do in a startup? Here’s a quick breakdown for aspiring Chief Technology (or Technical) Officers....

May 22, 2012July 4, 2017