University & Tech Transfer – Page 2

Venture Capital

5 Tips for Venture Investing in University Inventions

Investing in university ventures is difficult but worthwhile. The following are a few things to consider when you are negotiating investment deals with universities. All of this comes from my own experience and might not reflect the engagement with your particular university. 1. Know who you are engaging University...

August 25, 2011June 27, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer

Disrupting the University Tech Transfer Space

At TandemLaunch, we invest in multi-media concepts but ultimately we are trying to disrupt the university technology transfer space. I wrote about the benefits of improving this highly inefficient $50billion+ market earlier. It’s big; it’s inefficient; and we believe that it is ripe for disruption. Technology transfer is a...

August 17, 2011July 7, 2017

Startups & Economic Development

Why We Do What We Do

For the last few months I have shared stories and opinions about university entrepreneurship. I figure it’s time to talk about the “why” rather than the “how”. Specifically, why do we try so hard to bring university technology into the world? First same background: I spent my career commercialising...

June 21, 2011July 10, 2017

Entrepreneurship

10 Tips for Student Entrepreneurs

Starting your own company out of university is a tricky business. You tend to have other things on your mind – like getting your degree. Here are some practical tips for university students who want to commercialise their technology. 1. Write Everything Down: Most university ventures are formed around intellectual property...

February 15, 2011July 12, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer , Tech Transfer & IP

Stubborn University Terms

Dealing with universities and their Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) can be a very frustrating experience if you don’t understand the unique cultural barriers at universities. I am often in the role of intermediary between the university and business world, so the following dialog is common: Helge: The university wants...

November 30, 2010July 13, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer

Inventors Don’t Pitch (at least the University Ones Don’t)

Investing in university innovation is very difficult. In fact, I would argue that it is nearly impossible for traditional venture funds. Part of this is the inherent expectation gap between university inventors and venture capitalists. The latter wants focused, multi-disciplinary founders (tech & biz), and universities generally don’t have...

November 22, 2010July 13, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer , Tech Transfer & IP

Leveraging the Technology Transfer Office

At this point you are probably wondering why on earth I recommended that you find the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) in the first place. If they can’t develop your business, what are they good for other than taking some of “your” money? In fact, every single email I received following...

November 16, 2010July 13, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer , Tech Transfer & IP

Understanding the Technology Transfer Office

Hopefully you either followed my last guide or already knew your Technology Transfer Office (TTO). Now it’s time to get to know them a bit better. First you need to figure out what is your relationship with your TTO. Broadly speaking, your university will follow one of two invention ownership...

November 15, 2010July 13, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer , Tech Transfer & IP

Finding the Technology Transfer Office

As a professor or student interested in entrepreneurship you might have heard about something called a Technology Transfer Office (TTO). It’s the place that is supposed to help you turn your idea into money. The next few posts will be a quick guide to finding, understanding and leveraging these...

November 10, 2010July 13, 2017

IP & Tech Transfer

Intellectual Property & Secrecy

For the last few days I have been staring at the title for the last topic in my “Spin-Off vs Start-Up” mini-series. Unlike the topics of focus, budget and customer development, it seemed really hard to write about intellectual property without a long explanation of the patent system. Thankfully,...

November 4, 2010July 14, 2017

Tag: University & Tech Transfer