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Spinouts, because of the nature of their assets, the make up of their shareholders and the academic (rather than business) background of their managers, face particular problems in becoming successful enterprises. Some would say that their track record in overcoming these problems has not been good.

The problems we have identified in this article centre on capital-raising and achieving a successful exit, and the reasons we have suggested for the problems are lack of management expertise, confusion over the value of IP, inability to attract funding from investor institutions and inability to maintain sound relations with their investors.

Some universities, notably Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College, appear to have been more successful with their spinouts than others in both capital raising and successful exits (and, probably, by other measures also, such as income and employment generation), but even they appear to lag behind the more successful American universities.

Inventor groups often count patent attorneys, patent agents, prototype professionals, offshore manufacturing specialists and marketing specialists among their members. While it is true that all of these individuals undoubtedly belong to the groups in order to solicit business, it is also true that they give freely of their knowledge and expertise at the meetings. At an inventor group meeting you will have the opportunity to visit with these valuable resources.

Most inventor groups allow visitors to attend at least one meeting as a guest, free of charge. Membership fees are generally fairly low. Some groups only charge $10-$15 dollars per year for membership. The most expensive group we know of charges $125 for a lifetime membership. The average cost of membership is probably in the $30-$50 range. When you consider the contacts and resources you gain by joining an inventor group you will realize that the membership fee will be money well spent.

If you do not have a local inventor club, start one! The United Inventors Association offers a book on how to start your own group. There are undoubtedly other independent inventors as well as intellectual property attorneys, patent agents and professionals of various types in your area who would welcome the establishment of such a group.