Pitching Investors is Not “One-and-Done”
Spend some time “riding the bus” in the Minors before getting to the Big Leagues. I have the enviable position of seeing lots of inventors who bootstrapped their companies along before they take outside investment (if they take any outside investment at all). This is – without question – the single best way to build…
Read MoreRegistration Numbers
Due diligence in patents requires looking at the patent attorney. When I review patent applications, I always download the full prosecution history of the patent from the USPTO. The prosecution history is the formal, legal record of the back-and-forth between the applicant and the Patent Office, and includes all the papers as originally filed, as…
Read MoreWaiting Room Inventors
“Moonshots” and Abdicating Responsibility as an Angel Investor. A friend who is an angel investor asked my opinion on a company. I did not like it for a number of reasons, not the least of which was their poor IP strategy. The real reason why I didn’t like the company was because the inventor was…
Read MoreTechnology is always about firing someone.
The value proposition of “technology” is usually that an employer can fire someone. It is always about doing more work with fewer people. This typically has a short term advantage for a business owner, but typically create poorer experiences for their end users over the long run. Consider a banker, who may approve or disapprove…
Read MorePatents: An Imperfect System
The system is arbitrary, but it works. And it is unlikely to change. Some technologies just are not suitable for patents. The patent system is a clunky, one-size-fits-all system. It does not work for every invention or every industry, but the patent system as we know it has existed for over two centuries and industry…
Read MorePrinting Money and the Shiny New Toy
What drives the entrepreneur may be more complicated than what it seems… For many entrepreneurs, getting to revenue is not “success”, it can be a let down. I see this pattern over and over: an entrepreneur has a product that quickly makes some money, but they get distracted with a ‘new’ and ‘better’ idea. They…
Read MoreYou are not a tech entrepreneur.
Real entrepreneurs focus on the solutions they deliver, not the mechanism. There are countless industries where technology can improve things. Most of these industries are bland, run-of-the-mill industries that deliver services. It may be plumbing, pest control, or even pumping gas at a convenience store. These benign, everyday businesses focus on delivering some product or…
Read MoreThis product is great…for someone else.
The kiss of death. Entrepreneurs are constantly testing out their messaging. They are constantly pitching to their family and friends, and they are always prepared to pitch to investors. An entrepreneur’s pitch usually starts out with the problem in the marketplace, describes a ginormous total addressable market, then says how they are going to solve…
Read MoreAssignment Due Diligence: Unassigned Assets
Spotting bad behavior in startup companies. It is heartbreaking to see bad behavior by ‘inventors’ and their startup companies, but it occurs over and over again. Let this lesson be an example of the things you need to check anytime you are doing due diligence on an early stage company. First pass at due diligence…
Read MoreVoice of the Customer
The only metric of patent value – and business in general. Our business is to loan money using patents as collateral. My most frequent question: How do I put a value on patents? It all comes down to the voice of the customer. If I can capture the reason why someone bought your product –…
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