- Discover: After years of work, researchers make a discovery that may have commercial potential. That’s the time to get in touch with Innovation Gateway, file an invention disclosure, and step into the world of technology transfer.
- Evaluate & Protect: Innovation Gateway experts gauge the invention’s market and patent potential. Intellectual property (IP) protection is initiated. Whether we license inventions to established companies that act as a bridge between researchers and the marketplace or assist researchers in forming startup companies to move technologies further down the commercial path, Innovation Gateway is here to help.
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- License to Market: Once Innovation Gateway has protected the IP, we share it with our vast network of industry contacts to see if the technology fits an existing commercial need. We also maintain a robust marketing program to grow our network, capitalizing on the reputation UGA has built through decades of IP licensing.
- Startup: If researchers go the startup route, Innovation Gateway trains and mentors them through programs like NSF I-Corps. We provide access to business expertise, funding, equipment and lab space. Once a technology is commercially viable, the company graduates from our accelerator or exits the market through acquisition by a larger company.
- Product to Market: Whether the IP has been licensed to an existing company, developed sufficiently through a startup to get that startup acquired, or taken all the way to its customers by the startup company, the technology has now moved into the market. Both the inventors and the university may begin earning royalties from product sales.
Startup 5-step process
| Activity | Success | Assistance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exploration | “What do we have here?” Let’s work out what your idea is and who it is relevant to. Specifically, let’s morph from a technology to a product. | A testable hypothesis of why your idea is valuable and to whom | Bootcamps Early-Stage Mentors IP Assistance Prototyping Quick Pitch Competition Startup Community |
| Evaluation | “Does Anyone Care?” Check with your target audience if the product idea is commercially relevant and valuable | Multiple independent interviews and confirmation of project relevance. First micro-funding of $3,000 | Customer discovery I-Corps Early-stage funding Office Hours Prototyping UGA Idea Accelerator |
| “What’s the plan?” First steps in laying out a commercialization plan | Commercialization plan with first early funding secured. Plan with milestones and a pitch | Company formation planning Grant Funding Assistance High Potential Projects Licensing Program Office Hours Sector-Specific Mentors Startup 101 |
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| Development | “Will it take off?” Where the rubber meets the road! Development of a commercial product by a dedicated team and delivery of milestones set by funding providers. Proof that the business model works. | Revenue! Credible team formation and Advisory Board creation. Milestone and regulatory plan. | Advisory Connections Commercial Realities Design Thinking Pitch Training Professional Introductions Regulatory Planning SBIR Assistance Senior Mentor Program Space Rental |
| Scale-Up | “Get to Independence.” Expansion of the business model to a self-sustaining viable organization | VC funding. Exit plan. | Funding Assistance Senior mentor program VC Contacts |