+1.970.776.4355 · Loveland, CO · Russ Krajec, principal Currently accepting Fractional Chief IP Officer engagements →

  • CES and Grifting the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

    I just returned from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I have been going for many years, and I thoroughly enjoy the show in many respects, but the grifting in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is out of hand.

  • Stolen Valor: How Sleazy Patent Attorneys Abuse Inventorship

    For an innovator, being named as an inventor on a patent is the crowning achievement of a career.

  • Four Horsemen of the Investor Apocalypse

    Contempt is one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Once it shows up, it is the end of a relationship.

  • AI-Assisted Patent Search Tools Exacerbate Inventor Biases

    Inventors and entrepreneurs might love the idea of using an AI‑powered search tool to check “Did I do something new?” fast and cheap. It sounds smart. It sounds responsible. I am a big fan of startup companies doing patent searches, as they make the patents more valuable and ultimately reduce costs.But here’s the uncomfortable truth:…

  • Your Patent Attorney Is NOT Giving Business Advice

    Most inventors think that hiring a patent attorney[1] means they’re protected. That’s a mistake.

  • Contempt from Crowdfunded Equity

    Entrepreneurs are stuck between two polar opposites. On one hand, they are encouraged – endlessly – to hype, hype, hype. The accelerators and incubators want to see astronomical projections, Total Addressable Markets in the trillions, and hockey stick growth. Entrepreneurs need to attract attention, and the more they hype and over promise, the more attention…

  • Entrepreneurs and Imposter Syndrome

    Some founders will drone on and on telling you how “innovative” they are. They highlight their patents, their clever ideas, their alma mater from decades ago. But without customers and cash flow, that’s just posturing. Real innovation is not what you dream up in the lab—it’s what you prove in the market.

  • AI Startups: Protect Everything EXCEPT the Patent

    Short version: One dividing line decides the patent question for artificial intelligence (“AI”) companies. The same feature “done with AI” is not worth patenting—keep it a trade secret. A feature that was never before possible—the detectable, tangible result the customer buys—is the patent worth owning, and it carries more weight as software gets cheaper to…

  • Strategic Partnerships are often Neither

    Every founder loves to brag about their “strategic partnerships.” The name sounds impressive, but hides a glaring truth:

  • The Company as the Product

    Serving two masters – but they are compatible. The first master is the customer who buys your product, and the second master is the one who buys your company.