Posts Tagged ‘Invest in Startups’
Cramdowns, Receivership, Bankruptcy – Why Patent Financing is Good for Founders and Angels.
BlueIron’s patent financing puts your IP in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) – an LLC that holds your patents. It can be thought of as a lease with a buyout option – similar to leasing a car. A special feature is that it can help you survive a cramdown, receivership, or bankruptcy of your portfolio…
Read MoreThe Entrepreneur and the Angel Investor – The Story of Bad IP Protection.
An angel investor will ask the entrepreneur “Do you have a patent?” The next thing the entrepreneur does is run out and gets a patent. Is this smart? Note: this excerpt is from my forthcoming book “Startup IP Strategy.” The calculus is simple to the entrepreneur: they think a patent will help to raise money,…
Read MoreWhat Risk Is BlueIron Taking When Financing A Patent?
BlueIron is taking several risks when financing a patent. BlueIron is taking the risk that the patent will even issue. BlueIron is making an investment in researching the invention, writing the patent, and getting the patent through the patent office. If BlueIron fails to get a patent, you can walk away from the deal at…
Read MoreWhy Startup Patents Are Doomed From The Start
Patents for small companies are fundamentally different from patents for large companies. The decisions made – and skills needed – to develop the two are very different. There are several problems facing a startup company when getting patents. The biggest problem: the skillset needed for a startup’s patents is not practiced in the conventional law…
Read MorePatent Enforcement Insurance Makes Your Company Valuable
Why should I get a patent? I don’t have enough money to enforce it. Many startup companies don’t bother with patents because they don’t think they can enforce them. And they are right. A patent lawsuit can be very expensive, and the game of enforcement is really a big game of chicken: both sides are…
Read MoreWhy IoT Patents are Hot
What are the hottest patents? IoT patents. Most people do not realize that there is an extensive, highly developed secondary market for patents. This market runs under the radar for the most part, with occasional news stories about “patent trolls”. However, it is very sophisticated, well financed, and trades tens of billions of dollars of…
Read MorePatents Multiply Your Investment in a Company
Note: this is an excerpt from my book “Investing In Patents.” Patents Multiply Your Investment Patents are used to defend, but also to multiply an investment in technology. In the first case, companies use their patent assets to preserve an investment. In the second case – and this is the most powerful one – patents…
Read MoreA Lifestyle Business Makes Investors Jealous
Investors are just jealous of a lifestyle business. The term “lifestyle business” is used pejoratively to smear businesses that angels or venture capitalists can’t fund, but is really something about having a PROFITABLE business. Investors are just jealous that “lifestyle entrepreneurs” don’t need them. In the angel/VC model, there is only one focus: the exit.…
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