Technology transfer is a gateway to technological progress and innovation; however, even in the information age, there can be a disconnect between a technology’s value to society and its ability to reach those who can benefit from it most.  Enter seedsprint, the platform that makes it easier for emerging technologies to forge relationships with corporate partners. These relationships can help expedite product testing, in-kind resources, market entry assistance, and more.

Here at seedsprint, our goal is to understand pain points in the tech transfer process, and build software to make it easier. In 2018, we administered a survey to academic institutions, research labs, startups and others operating in the tech transfer space. The survey attracted over 100 responses primarily representing academic institutions in the United States or Canada. Here are some of our findings!

Licensing, new ventures, and more

• 91% of respondents said licensing was part of their professional responsibilities. We asked what activities were the most time-consuming, and here’s what we learned:

• 60% said negotiating licenses
• 40% said working on other legal agreements
• 36% said new university research-based ventures
• 35% said reviewing invention disclosures

Technology summaries

• 74% of respondents were personally responsible for creating and maintaining technology summaries and generally updated technology summaries on a quarterly or yearly basis. We wanted to know what was the most time-intensive aspect of creating these summaries:
  • 61% said collecting information for technology summaries
  • 42% said writing technology summaries for their website
• Almost 52% of respondents said their institution’s invention disclosure process does not yield all the information they need to create technology summaries for marketing purposes. Of these, most (69%) indicated that it is a moderate to heavy burden to gather this additional information.

Showcase your ecosystem & build better business relationships

Our survey results confirm that tech transfer professionals invest a great deal of time creating and updating technology summaries, identifying prospective licensees and industry partners, and maintaining these relationships. seedsprint streamlines networking and relationship management and helps you market your technologies more efficiently. With our easy-to-use API, you can upload your non-confidential technology summaries into industry-vetted profile templates in just a few clicks.  You can use our keyword search function to search for industry partners who are looking for the tech in your portfolio or message corporations you’re interested in partnering with directly.  Think you’ve made a match? Use our integrated workflow tools for due diligence to negotiate an NDA and share confidential information in our encrypted, auditable data room.

Networking: bridging the gap in the age of information

So you’ve uploaded your technologies to seedsprint and you’re already making new connections with prospective licensees and even have an NDA negotiation in the works.  What are the best ways to maintain these relationships?

• Keep your technology profiles up-to-date. Have a new technology in your portfolio that’s sure to change the world? Use our API to upload it to seedsprint and share it with prospective partners you think would be interested via our secure messaging feature.
• Stay engaged with prospective partners both online (via email LinkedIn, or seedsprint) and offline (via phone calls and in-person meetings). Starting the conversation may seem daunting but reaching out could lead to a deal or longstanding partnership. 
• Attend networking events with potential partners.This includes conferences, using local university alliances, and actively engaging with alumni communities to identify potential licensees.

See you on seedsprint!