003 PRIORITY Flashcards
1st requirement for patentability:+ derived advice
novelty (as opposed to, i.e. adding sthing to publicly described ‘state of the art’, incl. inventor’s own publications) –> first patent, then publish! –> be very careful in speculations last paragraph of papers–> confidentiality agreements are not enough, leaked info is not patentable
2 keys for successful startup:
- let each do their role
- let the best person be the product person, coz that’s the key role!
2nd requirement for patentability:+ def
inventiveness def: sthg that would not be obvious to someone ‘skilled in the art’, i.e. knowing a lot about it–> it often involves a creative combination of 2 things
Funding sources: the 3 to 7 Fs + 3 Xs
+ later sources
- General
- Family
- Friends
- Fools
- Typically Swiss:
- Founder –> expected to invest in CH
- Faculty
- Foundations –> cheap source
- Family offices –> very good source
Later sources (in order of decreasing officiality)
- Government Programs like the Commission for Technology Innovation
- Venture capital & private equity
- Crowdsourcing
3rd requirement for patentability:
sufficient disclosure
4 growth strategies compared
penetration => must push out competition
diversification => not very wise, usually
market & product dev
Avast:
Origin
BM
OpsMargin (in crowded space)
- in 80s Czech R by 2 researchers not joining Communists- free, uncrippled product for most consumers, w few paying for premium
- high level of automation
- 30% margin!!!
Best option among Co forms:
Joint stock Co = AG Req.: 100k CHF of which at least 50k or 20% in cash
Big Co & entrepreneurship: 2 ways
- startup program
- invest in corp venturing
CH tech ent problems:
- risk aversion (80% 5y survival rate < little risk taking) of Entrepreneurs- no seeding < investor’s risk aversion
Claesson’s availability to discuss new ventures for 1h:
Saturdays 15-18 - reserve via his assistant
Co valuation - cause
= price paid by last shareholder getting inReal share value <> nominal value!
code: which IP?
normally, copyright; you need to add some other element / feature to be able to patent, which protects you also against variations
equity crowdfunding def=
big advantage:
for who/what?
crowdfunding where equity, rather than products, are offered; not available in all jurisdictions
=> it lets you test your idea
for SW
estimated % of fake products in the world
10% !!!for trillions’ worth
estimated current weight of intellectual property on S&P500 Cos assets
80% !!!
How to get other partners on board
(Owners sell existing shares)typically: the Co issues new shares, setting the price
ideas VS implementation
(non patentable) ideas are cheap => share them to get help
value is in implementation
“if you build it, they will come” is…
True only in films!
incubators & accelerators
diff
+ common benefits
incubators when you still need to develop the idea
+ both provide an env of like-minded ppl who can help you
+ Prof. Claesson’s slides contain a very nice list of incubators & helpful orgs
- key to success…
- key to it…
- selling (ideas, etc.)
- what to sell? sell passion! –> esp. to investors, who professionally must be passionless
LLC / GmbH option plus:
Min capital is 20k CHF n the tax filing / accounting reqs are not heavy
Localisation of Co -
3(4) factors:
Countries:
Corp + Personal tax rate
Stability
Quality of life
US, Canada, Australia, Japan; UK, Germany, CH, Nordic countries, Western Europe
Methods in entrepreneurial marketing
- Reverse graffiti
- Viral marketing
- Guerilla marketing
sometimes you need to use forbidden methods!
mezzanine level
- def=
- benefit
- convertible loans, with conditions
- adds flexibility for investors & company
patents & diff. countries
it is a cost issue: you need to patent in diff. countries or groups of countries in US, but only in US, you can patent biz models, too
patents & innovativeness of a sector
the more innovative a sector is, the more patents are used there –> you must patent, otherwise others will do it all around your innovation
Reasons for (sometimes) not taking money from corp venture
(2 intentional + 1 anyway)
- they might want to take control (dilute also)
- they might want to kill your Co
- they might TAINT you vs other possible biz partners
4 reasons in favor of accepting Corp venturing money
- they can bring expertise
- brand
- clients
- volume
Rel bw tech & ValueAdded
mediated by BizStrat & BizModel (=Co’s DNA)
Startup pivot =
avg Nr of pivots for a startup =
= change of biz model
avg = 2.3 !!!
Total risk, 2 components:
Business Risk + Financial Risk
(where financial risk is seen as negative, in a balance-sheet assets-liabilities view)
1+4 ways that customers can kill your startup
- wanting their crowdsourcing money back
- bad reviews
- features creep
- suits & liability
- they do not pay in due time
what can / should be patented?
product: if patentable, then patent!
product use: if patentable & communicated, then patent!
process: if patentable & evident, then patent!
What does Co Startup Genome do?
They do comparisons bw a startup and its peers in terms of development stage.
what is a “one-trick pony” startup?+ what conseq?
it is a startup w only 1 prod
it is worth much less than one w 2-3+ products
When go to Venture Capitalists VS
strategic investors ~ corporate VCs?
High certainty in outcome > VCs (fast good exit)
Opposite: be the CVCs’ external R&D
Why would you ever want to be a sole proprietor?
Only to be able to start right now or if you are very rich
