The Path to Commercialization

The adventure starts here! To begin working with Venture Partners, you must disclose your invention to CU Boulder. Shortly after disclosing, a member of our team will meet with you to discuss your invention, available resources and how to bring your technology to market. You can also get early feedback on the commercial prospects for your invention by engaging with our network of experienced mentors.

To commercialize and bring your invention to the world, it can be essential to create market exclusivity. This is achieved through securing intellectual property (IP). IP is a key asset to partner your invention with industry or to build your own startup company, often in the form of patents and copyright. Your Venture Partners contact will discuss an IP strategy with you.

Whether you prefer that an established company commercializes your invention, or you want to start your own company, product-market fit is essential. Technical advances alone are insufficient for commercial viability and success – there must be compelling market fit and need.

CU Boulder is a leader of the I-Corps Hub: West Region to help innovators across the West test and establish a strong product-market fit. We strongly recommend all inventors complete our I-Corps programs: Starting Blocks (held quarterly) and Research to Market (held bi-annually).

As an invention is developed for commercialization, there can be a gap in available funding. This period follows funding for basic research and precedes private investment. The work needed to further advance the invention is too translational for basic research funding, but the invention remains too high-risk for corporate partnership or venture capital investment. To address the gap, Venture Partners runs the Lab Venture Challenge, a competitive annual program that awards grants to university researchers with the most commercially promising inventions. Similar funding can also be sought through Colorado’s Advanced Industries Proof of Concept program or NSF’s Partnerships for Innovation.

Innovators can take two paths: licensing university intellectual property (IP) to industry partners or founding a startup.

Once a compelling value proposition has been crafted, Venture Partners will reach out to candidate industry partners for commercial partnerships, including sponsored research and licensing. All licensing opportunities are also showcased to industry through our partnership with IN-PART.

A license is a long-term partnership that aligns the university’s and business partner’s shared interests in commercializing an innovation developed at the university. Venture Partners benchmarks our licenses nationally to ensure our license deal structures are business-friendly and below market average. Additionally, our Licensing Incentive program offers matching funds for sponsored research that advances newly licensed technology. Even though you as an inventor will not hold a role with the industry partner (unlike for a startup company), you will share in any licensing revenue received by the university.

Step 6: Startups

If taking the startup trail, there are almost boundless opportunities for your venture to participate in competitions. Not only can your venture win cash prizes, competitions are also excellent ways to refine your company’s pitch, meet mentors and make connections to new team members, prospective partners and investors. CU Boulder’s flagship startup competition is the annual New Venture Challenge.

Are you ready to go all-in and rapidly progress your startup? Accelerators are an excellent and highly recommended way to quickly meet major developmental milestones for your company. Venture Partners runs Ascent, a free deep tech accelerator specifically designed for research-based startups coming out of the university trying to enter established industries. Other local accelerators include Innosphere Ventures, the Rockies Venture Club HyperAccelerator, Techstars and Catalyze CU.

“Non-dilutive” funding means that shareholder equity is not reduced. In other words, the funder does not take a piece of your company. There are a number of sources of non-dilutive funding specifically geared toward startups, including Early-Stage Capital Retention grants from Colorado’s Advanced Industries program, and the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer grants awarded by federal agencies. CU Boulder’s Center for Translational Research can help with applying for these grants.

Startups obtain proprietary access to university-developed and owned IP through licensing agreements. Venture Partners has developed an investor-validated and startup-friendly set of licensing terms. Known as Licensing with EASE®, these pre-negotiated deal structures make securing a license fast, while positioning your startup for success. CU Boulder permits inventors to both hold an equity interest in their startup while also receiving a share of any licensing revenue the university receives from the startup.

Most university startups require private investment to build their business and commercialize their licensed innovations. To help with connections to investors, Venture Partners runs Destination Startup®, an annual event showcasing the top early-stage university spinouts to a national investor audience. Startups can also pitch for investment by the Buff Venture Fund, an independent venture capital firm that invests in startups from the CU Boulder community.

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The Path to Commercialization

Step 5: Industry Partnerships

Step 6: Startups

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Step 5: Industry Partnerships

Step 6: Startups

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