Scientists and researchers of all sorts are naturally innovative people, trained to identify problems and find solutions. This often leads to many great ideas on how to perform their own work more effectively or more efficiently, at a lower cost or with greater effectiveness. However, bringing some of these ideas from a concept to a product or service is time consuming, often expensive, and requires a large array of skills and knowledge some of which may be outside a scientist’s knowledge and skill base. While many scientists may be capable of developing the knowledge or skills to successfully develop and commercialize a product or service, doing so make require derailing a career as a scientist. ALSAP can lead your idea from concept to commercialization, and may be able to do so with no up-front costs to you. We become more than mere service providers, but partners who are every bit as interested in the success of your invention as you are. What to Expect: When you approach ALSAP with an idea, the first thing we will do is ask about your idea or technology to get a feel for it – most importantly what you see its competitive advantages to be within its market space. If we think your idea is feasible and potentially has commercial merit, we will conduct a preliminary market research assessment to analyze the competitive landscape and revenue potential of your idea. From that stage, we will discuss with you the possible options for realizing profits from your idea. In general, we will discuss the benefits of three possible paths. 1) Licensing (and securing a long-term revenue stream) The most commonly preferred course of action. With little to no up-front cost, and very little time investment from you, we can help you develop and market a successful product that will provide years of revenue with little or no effort from you. ALSAP can handle the preliminary market research, through IP, licensing, product development project management, and product management. This method generally involves finding a partner to manufacture and market your product or market and provide the service you conceptualized. The licensing fees generated will provide you with revenues for many years, and ALSAP will remain in contact with the licensor to ensure proper attention is given to your invention over the entire product or service lifecycle. 2) Selling the Idea (and cashing out quickly) Selling an idea will often be less profitable for the seller in the long-term, but nevertheless there are sometimes reasons (personal for the inventor or business reasons) why it would make sense to try to sell the idea or technology and generate income that is not dependent on future product performance in the marketplace. This idea is also simpler to execute and generates income much faster. With this method, we would discuss what expectations you could have with regards to sale price, walk you through the IP process, find a buyer, and negotiate a final sale price. 3) Starting a Company (long-term commitment, biggest payout) Potentially, starting a company has the greatest potential to generate income, since your company would keep all of the revenues from the sales of the product. However, it is also the most time-consuming, difficult, complex, and risky. For those reasons, we generally do not recommend it unless the inventor has experience in starting up companies or has been deeply involved in start-up companies. Nonetheless, with ALSAP’ s experience working with start-up companies, we are uniquely able to help you start a company to commercialize not only the invention at-hand, but also any future ideas that you may have. We can help you through the entire process from drafting a business plan to establishing a lean organization to mitigating risk while providing the business and marketing services necessary to bring your product to market successfully. ALSAP can often do it with little to no up-front cost. How we can provide no-cost services: When your product is commercialized you will be receiving a licensing fee if licensed, a sale price if sold, or revenue if you start a company. ALSAP will generally take a percentage of this income, with the exact percentage being negotiated up-front. This not only allows us to defer your costs until after revenues are being generated, but by doing so gives us an inherent interest in making sure that your invention is successful and that your income is maximized as well. We are also willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement in most cases. |
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