Getting to the core IP

A few months ago I had conversations with experienced entrepreneurs and investors who challenged me on our approach to ...


A few months ago I had conversations with experienced entrepreneurs and investors who challenged me on our approach to get a product to market using available, off-the-shelf components. My thinking was/is that going from zero to one is difficult enough—let’s reduce technical risk wherever possible. Their feedback was that without our own differentiating IP, our company will be less competitive and less appealing to investors. Great food for thought, and has been on my mind since.

Soon after those conversations, we started using information gathered from customer interviews to drive solution testing. As we started to source technology for a prototype, we learned that the off-the-shelf components and services we thought existed didn’t quite measure up to our use case and our requirements. This new realization was quickly amplified as we engaged an ID firm to do a feasibility and design study on our product concept. Altogether, we learned a couple of key takeaways:

  1. Our hardware component options are far more limited than anticipated. The product is still deemed quite feasible, but we’re just going to have to work a little harder, smarter, and leaner to put it together.

  2. While there appears to be a commodity market for one of our fundamental software/service components, none are well suited for our particular use case. Further, we think Xander could be the company to develop it.

By continuing forward to build out the product, we may have found a great opportunity to develop differentiating and necessary IP that will benefit our customers and attract investors.


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