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- How long will this take?
We expect you to make 2 to 5 one day visits over an 8 to 10 week period but the precise time input is not fixed. It is largely up to you. The Initiative itself will last a number of months or years incidentally, and involve the work of a series of Entrepreneurs like you in a continuous ongoing program.
- What are we looking for - what metrics will we use?
We are looking for technologies, IP, research programs or other research that has generated results of value to industry or might be expected to do so within the next two years. We are looking for opportunities to create such outputs if specific further work could be completed or if specific additional IP or know-how could be combined with the technology in question. We expect that the majority of interesting technologies will only be of value in terms of demand when combined with technologies from elsewhere - inside or outside the university - and we consider the definition of "a project" to be defined by the demand and not by the university definition of a project from a single academic or lab.
Metrics:
- what is the demand to which this technology has value, if any?
- what could limits development of the technology to its full commercial potential?
- what other technology is needed?
Note: it is important to avoid the typical Venture Capital mindset here, namely "is this a disruptive technology?". We are not looking for potential venture capital investments and will not be assessing opportunities as such. Instead we are seeking out the hidden technologies for which the demand is clear to an expert from the market.
- Documentation: what is recorded by whom?
Documentation will remain the responsibility of IPSO, led by your IPSO assistant. We will collate the documentation, including details of metrics for each technology considered by an Entrepreneur to be potentially interesting. You will of course have some work to do to make sure we understand what you find but working closely with us will minimise the pain.
- Are we just looking for Spinout opportunities?
Absolutely not. Few of the technologies will be suitable for spinout, many will have potential for licensing in the near term, and others will have potential subject to further development. IPSO do not seek to invest in the output of the Initiative per se, though we may do so on occasion, and thus your brief is to assess the technology from the point of view of industry demand, without reference to the fundability of the technology as a venture capital backed company.
- What if a technology is not the complete solution, needing further development or additional IP from elsewhere?
We expect that in the majority of cases technologies will represent an incomplete picture or part of a solution and we will advise the university, with your input, on the nature of the missing pieces of the puzzle.
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