Title: The case for actively seeking startup companies for “technology-push” inventions from universities: A research agenda
Abstract: Google Inc. began as a startup when all the large players in the industry turned down the opportunity to license the technology from Stanford University; Google has since become the leader in the industry with nearly 20,000 employees and a market value of about $150 Billion as of August 2009. Startup companies, using university technologies, have the potential to become a major economic force in the economy. But, it takes additional skills and effort on the part of University Offices of Technology Transfer (UOTT) to license an invention to a startup company compared to the effort needed to license to an established company; such additional skills are often not found in most UOTTs. Data indicate that startups bring large revenues (in excess of $500K per invention) 6.4 more often to Stanford University than licenses to established companies. Inventions that bring large revenues to the universities, by implication, are successful, create more employment, and are big contributors to the economy and the society. “Technology-pull” inventions from university labs often are the result of prior ties of the inventor with industry. Such inventions need little marketing by the UOTTs since they are often licensed by the research-sponsoring private firm. On the other hand, “technology-push” inventions from universities (often sponsored by federal funds) do not have ready markets/licensees. This paper addresses the need for new ways of actively marketing of technology-push innovations from universities to potential startups to increase the total impact of university inventions on the society, and the number of successfully commercialized inventions from university labs. Investors in startup companies based on university technologies are likely to be attracted by the projected cash flow and ROI, and not by the technology itself. Therefore, to sell technology-push inventions to investors in startup businesses, UOTTs need the skill to develop believable business plans with cash flows to attract investors. A case study illustrates how intense marketing of a university technology using a business-plan attracted a licensee interested in a startup. A research agenda is included.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 2
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