Six ways Cincinnati can be more innovative
Elizabeth Edwards
1. Help fund university intellectual property work.
One metric we can easily improve upon is the number of patents issued to our universities. I checked to see how many patents applications are attributed to universities in San Francisco and Seattle, two cities where universities are doing a phenomenal job funding academic intellectual property work. San Francisco and Seattle universities have filed 5-6 times the number of patent applications as our local universities. But don't worry – this is a problem that is easily solved.
If you've visited any of our region's universities lately, you will find a phenomenal amount of research going on – over $350 million of research in fact - and all of that research desperately needs separate funding for patent work. Most universities just don't have funds to dedicate to patents, which can cost thousands of dollars each. This is because universities typically fund intellectual property work with revenue from existing royalties (unlike the research itself, which is usually funded through grants). While it works in theory, royalty streams are usually lumpy, creating years of budget gaps – and years of resource-constrained IP offices. In any given year, a university may miss out on millions in potential royalties because a deadline passed for a patent filing. Fortunately, a special committee at UC is working on a way to solve that problem at UC, creating a dedicated fund that will ensure that researchers don't miss out on patent opportunities due to budget gaps. This small fund will allow breakthrough technologies at our universities to be protected, creating enormous economic value for our region.
2. Don't be afraid to be a little bit weird.
There's a bumper sticker you may have seen out on the road "Keep Austin Weird". There must be some correlation between "weird" and "innovative" because Austin is doing a pretty great job of keeping it weird – and patenting their weird ideas. Austin actually ranked #1 in my random list of ten cities in terms of new innovation, with 32 patent applications per thousand population.
Inventions are by definition novel and many times odd – and they can come from the most unexpected places. The inventor of the Uno game was a barber from Reading. A great example from my own career is a Cincinnati dentist who invented an energy-efficient production process for biofuels. Who knows? The next great Cincinnati inventor may be… You.
3. Don't be afraid to fail.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Failure is absolutely fine. It means you tried. At the InOneWeekend kickoff this past July, Roy Gilbert, Global Director of Operations at Google, gave a great talk about innovation, entrepreneurship, and the keys to success that he's learned at Google. The idea that stuck with me the most is the way Google approaches failure. At Google, if you reach your goals more than 80% of the time, that means you're not setting the bar high enough for yourself. To their company, failure is not the end of the world; it's just another step towards ultimate success.
I believe our city is teeming with latent ideas. In my work, I hear ideas all day long – and I'm amazed at the ingenuity that exists here. To ensure our long term economic success in this region, we need to take a piece of advice from Google and get comfortable with a little more risk and a little more failure. We need to take our ideas and make them real.
4. Consult a patent attorney.
We have world-class intellectual property attorneys here in town. Take advantage of it! If you have a great idea, but not a lot of money to spend on a patent yet, a provisional patent (basically, a rough draft) may be for you. I checked with Taft, a very well-known firm downtown with a strong IP group, to see what a typical provisional patent generally costs. Depending on the complexity and nature of the subject matter, a provisional patent application can be prepared and filed for approximately $2,000-4,000. Non-provisional applications run any where between $6,000 and 8,000. Don't let the price tag discourage you. Depending on how novel and valuable your idea is, your patent attorney may be able to work with you to get the ball rolling while you raise capital.
5. Make connections with potential investors.
All are welcome to come mix and mingle at the monthly Greater Cincinnati Venture Association meetings www.newgcva.com where you will find inventors, entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, and others interested in start-ups drinking cocktails, pitching their ideas, and talking about innovation and entrepreneurship. If you're looking for investment, GCVA will connect you to CincyTech, Queen City Angels, Neyer Holdings, and a variety of venture capital firms. If you're thinking of making a pitch to investors, contact the GCVA board, who will help you refine your pitch before going in front of investors. You can register for the January 13th GCVA lunch event at the Contemporary Arts Center at www.newgcva.com.
6. Try out the start-up life for a weekend.
Transforming a good idea into a real, live start-up takes a lot of work, but the good news is – you can try it out for a weekend! In July, look out for InOneWeekend, an event where 100 people create a real start-up company in 3 days. Technology, design, and business professionals gather over a weekend to take part in a participant-driven event put on by venture capital investors and successful start-up entrepreneurs. On Friday, we brainstorm ideas and vote on the one we're going to build. Then on Saturday, we start building every aspect of the company: technology, design, business plan… everything. On Sunday, we launch! To get your name on the list, visit
www.inoneweekend.org.