Georgina Wilkins is Head of IP Strategy at Hitachi Energy. Over a number of years she has been involved in due diligence around IP before investing in or acquiring a tech business. Georgina tells us how to build your IP portfolio and present it in due diligence to maximise your valuation. Do you understand what your investor/acquirer wants? Do you know what IP you have? Do you know its value? Does you IP align with the value in your business? What if you’ve done nothing with your IP? Is IP respe...
Apr 19, 2023•42 min•Ep. 12
Kelvin King is an IP valuation expert of some experience. He has been valuing intangible assets for around 40 years and is one of the foremost experts in the world. In this episode of Where's the Exit, I ask Kelvin about What is IP valuation? Why should SMEs be bothered with it? How do we go about valuing IP? Does the valuation depend on who it’s for? If you want to talk more about any of the points raised in the podcast then you can contact me via LinkedIn and I'll put you in touch with Kelvin,...
Mar 08, 2023•48 min•Ep. 11
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the legal sector in Europe and the USA. Many partnerships are dominated by white males, are not reflective of the diversity that we see in the world around us and they can also create cultures where it's harder for non-dominant groups to get ahead. The legal sector has struggled with this more than most and has been sluggish to see real change. IP firms are no exception. In this episode of Where's the Exit,...
Feb 13, 2023•56 min•Ep. 10
Donal, one of the world's foremost experts on trade secrets, takes us through practical tips on how tech companies can unearth and manage their trade secrets effectively to generate value for their businesses. Donal takes us through What are trade secrets? Business information that is secret, has commercial value and that you've made reasonable efforts to keep secret Where will you find them in your business? Why should tech leaders bother with trade secrets? What's the risk if you don't manage ...
Jan 31, 2023•47 min•Ep. 9
Alan has worked as in-house Intellectual Property and Patent Counsel for a number of different businesses, both large multinationals and UK start-ups. He is currently in-house IP Counsel with a large UK e-commerce business. He's also worked in different firms of Patent Attorneys both large and small. That breadth of experience gives a unique perspective on the role of IP Counsel and external IP providers and what it makes sense to do with your IP as a tech start-up. Topics discussed include The ...
Dec 12, 2022•46 min•Ep. 8
If you're an IP rich business and looking to secure investment then this episode is loaded with value for you. Sandy is an investor with a lot of experience and was also the other side of the deal when she founded and scaled her own IP rich business from a university spin-out - a business that is still going strong today. Among other things, we cover: How to access Mercia, whether through their website applications process or getting live feedback over the phone through the hugely popular 'Meet ...
Nov 28, 2022•39 min•Ep. 7
In this episode I discuss the landscape of UK government funded advice and support for tech SMEs with Jane Galsworthy. It's a complicated world but Jane has been around it for a long time and understands it better than anyone. She has designed support programs for business and helped shape national policy - always providing insightful comment on LinkedIn. We talk about what good should look like for government support and identify 3 key areas Good business and strategic planning Help with innova...
Nov 14, 2022•46 min•Ep. 6
Matt Sammon has a heap of experience advising all sorts of clients about effective protection and enforcement of their trademarks. In this episode of "Where's the exit?" Matt takes us through everything that a tech business needs to consider from before launch, right up to a more mature trademark strategy that prepares your business for exit. What does it make sense to do and what can you safely leave till later. Main points Trademarks are as much about making sure you can use your brands as it ...
Oct 31, 2022•49 min•Ep. 5
R&D Tax Credits is one of those things that a lot of businesses think they have sorted, but they actually don't. And Patent Box seems never to have taken off and provided the benefits it was supposed to for all but a few businesses. As a tech SME you need to get proper advice to submit the most effective claims in both of these areas, but there are some things that you need to know as the leader of the business so that you make sure you're managing things well. Angela takes us through that. ...
Oct 17, 2022•54 min•Ep. 4
Professor David Park is Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation within the University of Nottingham's Business School where he lectures and mentors in entrepreneurship, IP commercialisation and innovation. He has first-hand experience raising start-up funds, growing effective, multi-disciplinary teams, and completing £multi-million licensing deals with a FTSE100 plc. In this episode of "Where's the exit?" David talks to Stephen about what he's learned during his time starting and running ...
Oct 03, 2022•55 min•Ep. 3
Whether it's trade secrets, patents, NDAs, trademarks, designs, agreements, know-how, data or anything else, intangible assets and the IP that they give rise to are very broad and cover all departments of your business. Getting a handle on all these different assets and managing them centrally cannot be done without some sort of register. Donal O'Connell was previously VP of IPR at Nokia and now runs his own IP firm that provides one such register specifically aimed at the SME market. In this ep...
Sep 19, 2022•43 min•Ep. 2
Will Chelton has been an in-house IP attorney for over a decade, working in large tech businesses that are household names and that How to manage IP in yopur tech business: the basicsfile thousands of patents. More recently he was Chief Legal Officer at a large blockchain business in central London. We get Will's perspective on some of the things tech businesses can do themselves to get a better handle on their IP and manage it effectively.
Aug 31, 2022•52 min•Ep. 1
