Startup Guide
A step-by-step guide to develop your invention or technology for Tulane University Innovators
TULANE UNIVERSITY INNOVATION
E2E COMMERCIALIZATION ROADMAP
At universities, innovation to impact involves commercialization.
Commercialization isn't just about collecting patents. It's about transforming ideas into companies and inventions into market-ready products. This involves licensing university-owned intellectual property to external entities, including startups or established companies, who bring the technology to life to benefit society and the university community.
The Tulane University Innovation Institute (TUII) End-To-End Commercialization Process helps usher Tulane inventors through the process of ideation to licensed technology.
KEY DEFINITIONS
Spinout | A startup that commercializes intellectual property licensed or optioned from Tulane.
Startup | A new business venture created to develop and market an innovative product, service, or solution, which may or may not involve Tulane IP.
ABOUT OUR PROCESS
Establishing a transparent, principled, data-driven process to advance technologies was one of the Institute's first strategic priorities. This comprehensive process was developed as a first draft leveraging the internal expertise of the Institute and Office of Intellectual Property Management (OIPM), drawing on more than four decades of collective scientific, legal, and innovation expertise. Following initial development, TUII solicited feedback through targeted outreach by inviting the Tulane Community to open comment sessions and a showcase with Tulane academic leadership (all Deans and Deans of Research, advertised through the Office of the Provost). Feedback was also solicited from the Faculty Innovation Council, representing all 9 Tulane schools, and Faculty Innovation Ambassadors. The expert stakeholder and user input was incorporated into the final process, as presented in this guide.
INSTITUTE PROCESS
The ten sections outlined in the process can be summarized into four areas of focus:
RESEARCH, ASSESS, DEVELOP, LAUNCH
RESEARCH (Scout)
During this first stage, promising pre-disclosure ideas and discoveries, many of which are at the proposal stage, are reviewed informally by TUII to gain an understanding of faculty/student work that may be translated into new products and services. Faculty are encouraged to engage with TUII early on about commercial viability.
ASSESS (Intake, Triage, Evaluate)
The formal technology intake process usually begins with an invention or disclosure. TUII will seek internal and external feedback on disclosed inventions, generally after the initial filing. This involves "black boxing" the idea of an innovation that has not yet been protected, and identifying potential partners and licensees.
Inventors will receive deeper feedback on disclosed inventions, informing the next steps. This process should take 8-12 weeks to complete.
DEVELOP (Protect, Discover & Deliver, Convert)
The Office of Intellectual Property Management (OIPM) will protect technology for a provisional period. At the same time, the commercialization team will incorporate customer discovery inputs into the invention and guide de-risking technical aspects of the technology. The TUII team will consult with inventors and determine the technology’s most appropriate development and strategy.
LAUNCH (Cultivate, Nationalize, Exit)
The TUII team will seek to identify potential external partners for technology development. When appropriate, the TUII team will provide resources for forming a startup company. The product or service will launch according to the exit strategy defined in previous steps
For market assessment, commercial viability, and startup formation questions, please contact Clay Christian, Ph.D., Executive Director, Commercialization, at christian@tulane.edu. For company engagement or outreach assistance, please contact John Scott, Ph.D., Associate Director of OIPM, at jscott37@tulane.edu. For patentability assessments and specific invention management questions, please contact John Scott, Ph.D. (Uptown) or Samuel Jativa, JD at sjativa@tulane.edu (Downtown and Primate Center). For licensing questions, please contact Matt Koenig, JD, CLP, Executive Director, OIPM, at mkoenig@tulane.edu.
