World Intellectual Property Day Blog

Critical Decisions in Mapping the Route to Market

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- Anne Swift

The process of bringing a technology to market is hardly simple and rarely straightforward. Regardless of the length and complexity of the process, however, you can expect to make four key decisions to determine how you can most effectively bring your product from concept to market.

1. What are your intellectual property assets?

Intellectual property is more than just patents. You may also consider trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, or trade secrets. Think about

• The elements of your product that can be protected – certain aspects may be patented (e.g. the mechanics of the product, as well as it looks), others trademarked (e.g. the way you sign your name on the product)
• The term for which you wish to protect your rights – patents expire after 20 years from the date of filing; copyrights expire 100 years from the creation of the work
• Whether or not it's detrimental for you to publicize how your technology works, which you will have to disclose in a patent; perhaps keeping your formula a trade secret would be more profitable in the long run (it worked for Coke)

The bottom line is this: talk to your intellectual property lawyer about options. Start the conversation with the question, "What are my options?" rather than, "I'd like to patent this technology."

2. Should this technology be licensed for development and sale or should it be the basis for the creation of a new company (is it a product, a project, or a company)?

In some cases, you might wish to bring a product to market by licensing it for sale (or even for development) by other companies. This way, someone else pays for the marketing, sales, and other business operations. And you get money for your idea. Not bad at all.

Some factors to consider when you are making this decision include the cost to bring the product to market, such as establishing relationships with suppliers and distributors; the cost of marketing to consumers; the (possible) profit margins; and your commitment to starting and managing a business.

If you think that licensing might be the way to go, ask yourself who would license the product from you. Unless you can come up with three specific companies, as well as a way to convince them that they need to license your product, you will likely have difficulty pursuing this route to market. Think of the licensee as the end customer and do your market research! Position your product and show your potential licensees that they will profit from your ingenuity.

3. What team should bring the product to the market?

Once you've decided that your product warrants the creation of its very own company, you need to consider whether or not you need to be at the helm. Not everyone enjoys the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Even if you had dreams of becoming an entrepreneur in childhood, you may need to surround yourself with individuals who have skill sets such as sales, marketing, operations, financials, product development, and human resource management. Your role may be that of the CEO or the by-stander who takes a cut of the company and lets someone else run it. (The role of the observer is a variation on a theme from Decision #2.) Remember, it's better to have a small share of a large pie than a large share of a small pie. You will always be the inventor whose idea spurned the creation of a very successful company.

That said, you may decide that entrepreneurship is really the way of life for you (and it is a way of life). In this case, run with it! But remember that you can't do it alone.

4. How should commercialization be financed?

Before you begin searching for a venture capitalist to fund your product development, consider your options. You need to decide carefully whether searching for private equity – particularly for an early-stage venture – is necessary. Venture capital may not be the most appropriate solution for you for two reasons: (1) it is difficult and time consuming to raise venture capital; (2) it can be costly to maintain the relationship with venture capitalists, who will be watching your progress with great interest.

If you are at the idea or prototype stage of your invention and need money to bridge the gap to market, you may wish to explore other venues of financing, including friends and family, as well as your own pocket. If you do decide to seek venture capital in the future, potential investors will be impressed by your willingness to take a risk with your own money. If you anticipate that you will be able to secure cash flow in the near future, and if you have some collateral, you could consider applying for a business loan.

You may also seek out an angel investor to support your venture. Ask everyone you know if they know anyone who may be interested in investing in your venture. In particular, ask your banker, your lawyer, and your accountant. But don't forget to ask your family and friends, too. In some cities, angel networks hold occasional events for entrepreneurs; such events offer a great opportunity to pitch your idea.

5. Bonus decision (no need to decide – just do it!): Find a mentor

An experienced mentor will provide you with guidance, advice, and encouragement. Even if you have run a business in the past, you can always find someone who can teach you something – or at least bring up your spirits during difficult times and provide you with some additional perspective.

Anne Swift is the Founder and President of Young Inventors International , an international network that educates and connects innovators under the age of 35 to useful people and resources assisting with commercialization. Young Inventors has more than 1,300 members, recently held a conference for inventors and entrepreneurs at MIT, and was featured in Forbes.com. Anne's work with the organization won her praise from GLAMOUR Magazine, which called her one of the top ten college women most likely to change the world. Anne is a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University's program in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Technological Change and can be reached at anne@younginventors.org.

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