Loans & Finances Today

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 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.

Undeveloped land is for optimists. The idea is to buy the land, do absolutely nothing, and then cash out at a huge profit.

Overconfidence is an issue. The factors that will increase or decrease the value of your land are not predictable. Raw land has many uses or none.

The person who sold it to you knew more about the prospects than you do and he wanted out. The Realtor wanted you in as she collected a nice commission.

Laziness is another issue. Extensive research is required to prevent a huge loss. Land in a flood zone or on a fault line may be worthless. Welllocated land that cannot be subdivided into marketable lots has no value.

Environmental contamination has ruined millions of acres. Even if your land has none of these problems, you are powerless over the factors that will increase the value of your dirt. Cities grow in unpredictable directions and fall into recessions, depressions, even ghost towns. Vacation spots are hot and cold. Farm uses are not predictable. Meanwhile, taxes must be paid and assessments can come without warning. In addition, you have to keep the mortgage current, if you were able to find one.