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Creating spinouts to meet targets is a waste of effort: ‘If you want to do a spinout it is easy. You just start up a company and some academic sits around and draws a bit of money from it until the money runs out.’ Many spinouts fail because they do not attract sufficient outside finance and lack understanding of the rigours of the marketplace. Many of them will go bust because they are not solid enough to attract second-round funding.

Universities should pursue more licensing deals rather than concentrate on floating more companies. There should be a more balanced approach which would include spinouts, but also more effort to build licence fee income with existing businesses … licensing brings knowledge to the business economy.’

Some universities have high licensing levels, for example Oxford University has transferred more IP to the market than any other university in this country thanks to high licensing rates. Licensing is (ess resource intensive that spinning out new companies and has a higher probability of getting technology to market… it has the advantage of using existing expertise rather than building this from scratch.

There have been spinout successes, but ‘it is a mistake for universities to have to set a target for the number of spinouts that should be created, because you may hit the target, but you may not bring benefits.’

Inventor clubs can provide the resources, encouragement and contacts you will need as you move your product to market. The clubs are often populated with inventors who have successfully navigated the idea-tomarket maze. They are willing to share their experiences and the expertise they have gained along the way. The knowledge the members of these organizations share can help you to avoid many of the pitfalls in inventing.

It can also shorten the length of the process by teaching you the shortcuts they have learned. The inspiration club members offer can be as important as anything else can for keeping a new inventor motivated. Inventing is often discouraging, and just knowing a living, breathing person, not unlike yourself, who has invented successfully, can provide the encouragement you need to see you through the discouraging times.

Some of the successful inventors who belong to their local inventor support groups have licensed their products, others have chosen to build a business around their inventions, and still others have chosen countless other options such as catalog or infomercial sales for their products or patents. These individuals belong to the local inventor clubs because they wish to share their knowledge with others who are seeking success with their inventions.