Assessment

During this stage, the potential value, market and applicability of the invention is assessed. Inventors are encouraged to reach out to coworkers, colleagues, friends, potential customers and industry contacts to gauge feedback on their early business proposals. This step is extremely important, and the inventor performing an assessment should be diligent in performing technology analysis, market analysis, market segmentation, and identifying paths to market. 

If the technology has been assigned to the university, then the TTS team will complete the assessment (covering applicable costs) and build an IP strategy after assessment is complete. 

If the inventor has gone ‘independent', then the inventor is responsible for performing an assessment and is responsible for the costs associated. Additionally, for independent spinoffs, the TTS team does not define strategy, but information and services are provided which enable inventors to develop their own strategies.

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External Resources

Futurpreneur offers a toolkit with free business idea assessment tools for entrepreneurs that include market research and competitor analysis guides.

The TechStars Startup Toolkit offers detailed learning modules for business assessment and early-stage planning.