The51 Founder Community Launch — Part II: Panel Insights on Intellectual Property
The51 Founder Community connects founders with resources and an engaged ecosystem to transform the early-stage venture landscape. A key component of creating this environment is bridging founders with investors to provide them with opportunities to learn strategies to activate capital and create a marketplace of ideas, products, and opportunities that propel the Financial Feminist future.
During our live launch event in March 2024, we were excited to share a sneak peek of what that will look like within The51 Founder Community.
Check out Part I of the launch event recap here.
Get an exclusive recap of the panel takeaways and what this brings to our community.
Enhancing Founder & Investor Success Through IP Strategies
Doubling down on our commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive environment where all founders can thrive, we are excited to discuss specialized topics and leverage our network of experts and partners. Our goal is to provide founders with unparalleled access to resources and support, helping them cross the chasm from Pre-Seed to Series A and beyond.
A pivotal aspect of any startup's journey is safeguarding its intellectual property, so our panel on 'Founder's Roadmap: IP Strategies for Long-Term Growth and Investor Confidence' was a great starting point for sharing practical approaches to help founders succeed in their VC journey—marking a full-circle moment as we enter the next era of our founder ecosystem.
Who It’s For: Diverse Founders Driving Innovation
But before unpacking the panel takeaways, let us frame who was there and why that’s important.
With our mission at the forefront, the launch event attracted a wide array of attendees, including investors, community builders, ecosystem supporters, and, of course, founders at various stages of scaling their ventures—creating a rich environment for discussion and networking.
Of the founders who joined us, they were at different phases of their fundraising journey:
Pre-seed stage: 57.14%
Seed stage: 28.57%
Series A: 11.43%
Series B and beyond: 2.86%
Understanding that founders need support at every stage, we loved seeing the diversity among the founders in our community.
The importance of this? This snapshot of data helps us intimately understand our founders' businesses. It enables us to champion them effectively, build a robust partner resource hub, tailor educational resources, and support them not just with financial capital but also by leveraging our human capital.
10 Key Barriers Founders Face with Intellectual Property
To drive an impactful discussion, when attendees registered for the event, we asked them to share challenges, barriers, or gaps unique to their community related to IP. Themes we heard included:
1. AI-First Strategy Development
Challenges such as navigating data privacy regulations, accessing diverse datasets, and protecting AI algorithms as intellectual property.
2. Nonprofit Sector Lag
The nonprofit sector often fails to recognize and leverage IP and innovation effectively.
3. Funding and Resources for Unbiased Data
Securing funding and expert resources for unbiased data, particularly for marginalized users, remains a significant challenge.
4. Uncertainty in the Innovation Process
Many aspiring founders face uncertainty about the right questions to ask and the process from ideation to seed funding.
5. Lack of IP Knowledge
There is a lack of understanding about the benefits of IP and its inclusion in business planning, which adds to the challenges in leveraging intellectual property effectively.
6. Accessibility Issues
Socioeconomic factors impact participation in innovation and IP development, creating barriers to entry.
7. Safeguarding Intellectual Property
This is critical in fields like agriculture and nutrition, where there is a risk of replication of molecular structures and production processes.
8. Limited Access to Grants
Limited access to pre-seed and kick-started grants further hampers innovation efforts.
9. High Capital Requirements
These hinder innovation, particularly in efforts to modernize ancient cosmetics for North American women.
10. Niche IP and Innovation
Unique challenges in specialized industries, including concerns about novelty, enablement, and the high associated costs.
Meet the Speakers of ‘Founder's Roadmap: IP Strategies for Long-Term Growth and Investor Confidence’
Addressing the underscored challenges the founders and community members shared around IP, the panel featured renowned experts such as:
Stephanie Curcio: IP lawyer, CEO & Co-Founder of NLPatent
One of our most recent portfolio founders (check out NLPatent’s news on raising $1.5m in Seed funding!), Stephanie flew in from Toronto and shed light on her IP law background to highlight the intersection of IP and AI in startups.
Anita Ludwar: Principal, The51 Food & AgTech Fund
With a career rooted in deep science and technology innovation, Anita spoke on the impact of IP strategies and acting as a startup’s moat.
Roger Kuypers: Partner at Fasken
Joining us from Vancouver, Roger is an experienced lawyer in emerging technology who offered his perspective on legal aspects.
Jordana Armstrong: Founding Director of the Social Innovation Hub, Director of the UCeed Social Impact
Jordana brought expertise in social impact fund management and entrepreneurship support to the panel.
And expertly moderated by:
Arielle Land: Program Director of Movement51
Leaning on her strategic background and scaling and enablement experience, Arielle facilitated an engaging conversation.
Sharing their diverse experiences, skills, and backgrounds, each panelist's expertise covered various facets of IP protection and commercialization, with insights ranging from debunking misconceptions about patenting research to emphasizing the importance of comprehensive IP strategies encompassing patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Expert Advice on 11 Effective IP Strategies for Startups
The panel focused on diving into actionable IP strategies for startups to secure growth and build investor confidence. The jam-packed hour was all about exploring best practices for leveraging IP assets to drive innovation and market differentiation
Stephanie, Anita, Roger, and Jordana provided valuable insights that offered practical solutions and innovative ideas for addressing the challenges reported by the attendees. Key takeaways included:
1. Misconceptions About Patenting Research
Stephanie shed light on a common pitfall among startup founders: the rush to patent research. She emphasized the importance of commercializing and monetizing innovations before filing for IP protection. Discussing new ideas without IP protection, particularly trade secrets, can jeopardize a startup's competitive edge.
2. Comprehensive IP Strategy
The panelists unanimously stressed the need for a comprehensive IP strategy encompassing patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Roger compared tech commercialization to a relay race, highlighting the need for clear exit strategies for potential acquisitions. He explained the roles of copyrights and trademarks in protecting ideas and brand identity, noting that trademarks serve as promises and accrue rights through usage before formal registration.
3. Trade Secrets vs. Patents
Stephanie touched on the strategic advantage of trade secrets, which offer indefinite protection if maintained properly, unlike patents that require public disclosure for a limited period of exclusivity. This distinction is crucial for startups deciding how to protect their innovations.
4. Jurisdictional and Cost Considerations
The panel covered the jurisdictional aspects of patents and the enforcement responsibilities they entail. For early-stage businesses, the cost of patenting can be prohibitive. Strategic patent drafting is essential to ensure comprehensive protection without unnecessary expenses.
5. Early and Strategic IP Protection
Roger advised startups to consider IP protection early, leveraging international treaties to expand their reach. Additionally, the panelists discussed the relevance of an IP strategy to different stages of startup development and its appeal to investors, as well as how vital it is to align strategy with a startup's goals and technological domain.
6. Investor Perspectives on IP
Anita pointed out that investors scrutinize IP strategies within the context of the startup's moat—AKA its sustainable competitive advantage. IP strategy should be integral to the broader business strategy, and startups should be open to expert guidance to refine their approach.
7. Building Competitive Advantage
Beyond patents, the panel explored various elements that contribute to building a competitive edge. Stephanie, Anita, Roger, and Jordana discussed the idea of evergreening in patenting and future-proofing IP to maintain long-term value. Global market considerations are crucial when planning an IP strategy.
8. Expert Advice and Practical Measures
The importance of seeking advice from a diverse range of experts, including patent agents, was highlighted. Practical measures such as implementing trade secret policies, controlling access to sensitive information, and using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are essential for robust IP protection.
9. Non-Tech IP Protection
For non-tech firms, copyright protection for consulting frameworks and other intellectual assets is important. Roger explained the benefits of copyright registration, especially before litigation.
10. Balancing Information Sharing
The panelists discussed the balance between sharing information and protecting it with NDAs. Jordana suggested sharing non-confidential information initially and reserving NDAs for critical discussions—an approach that helps maintain confidentiality without stifling early collaboration.
11. Alternative Proofs of IP Value
To wrap up, the panel emphasized the importance of traction and customer validation as alternative proofs of IP value for investors. Demonstrating market interest and user adoption can be as compelling as formal IP protection when attracting investment.
Feedback and the Future of the Founder Community
Cue the applause: the panel received an overwhelmingly positive response, and the impact of these insights was reflected in the feedback from attendees.
The crowd appreciated the abundance of valuable information shared by our expert speakers, who made the complex topic of intellectual property better understood through the engaging panel format. Many guests expressed a keen interest in learning more about IP strategies, recognizing the depth of knowledge and practical insights provided.
And we’re excited to bring that—and much more—to The51 Founder Community. Stay tuned for more updates and upcoming panels!
What’s Next?
As we mentioned in Part I of revisiting the launch of The51 Founder Community: the evening's events showcased what mixing community and collaboration can do for entrepreneurship.
We chalked this launch up as a success and look forward to continuing the momentum as we open our always-on virtual community space this summer and gear up for more in-person events across Canada in the latter half of the year.
And we hope you’ll join us!
Be sure to get on the waitlist so you’re the first to know when we’re headed to your city and access resources, support, and insider perks as soon as we officially unlock the (online) doors to The51 Founder Virtual Community.