Why Most University Spinout Boards Are Structured to Fail From Day One
Most university spinout boards are assembled for optics, not governance. Here's why the wrong structure kills promising companies before they scale.
A. Kovacs Commercializing Science
Blog
From Discovery to Market
A. Kovacs All Posts
Why Most Universities Negotiate License Royalty Stacking Clauses Into Oblivion
Royalty stacking provisions look like licensee protection but often destroy deal economics. Here's what universities get wrong and how to fix it.
A. KovacsWhy Most Co-Invention Disputes Destroy University-Industry Relationships Permanently
Co-invention disputes between universities and industry partners kill deals, poison relationships, and go unresolved for years. Here's why they happen and how to prevent them.
A. KovacsWhy Most Bayh-Dole Compliance Programs Miss the Point Entirely
Bayh-Dole compliance at most universities is a defensive legal exercise. Here's why that posture quietly destroys commercialization potential.
A. KovacsWhy Most Grant-to-Spinout Transitions Fail Before the Company Even Forms
The gap between a funded research project and a viable spinout company destroys more potential than bad science ever does. Here's what actually goes wrong.
A. KovacsWhy Most Commercialization Readiness Reviews Happen Too Late to Matter
Most university commercialization readiness reviews are scheduled at the wrong stage, asking the wrong questions, and missing the window where intervention actually changes outcomes.
A. KovacsWhy Most Patent Claim Drafting Strategies Leave Commercialization Value on the Table
Most patent claims are drafted to survive examination, not to support licensing deals. Here's what gets lost when prosecution strategy ignores commercial reality.
A. KovacsWhy Most Patent Priority Decisions Get Made by the Wrong People at the Wrong Time
University patent priority decisions are usually made by administrators, not commercialization strategists, and the timing guarantees bad outcomes. Here's what to fix.
A. KovacsWhy Most Reach-Through Royalty Claims Poison University-Industry Deals Before They Close
Reach-through royalty provisions look like smart IP protection but routinely kill university-industry deals. Here's what to do instead.
A. KovacsWhy Most Invention Valuation Methods Produce Numbers Nobody Actually Believes
Most invention valuation methods in tech transfer generate figures that satisfy spreadsheets but fail negotiations. Here's what actually works.
A. KovacsWhy Most Milestone Structures in License Agreements Reward the Wrong Behavior
Most license milestone structures protect universities from inaction but accidentally punish real development progress. Here's what to do instead.
A. KovacsWhy Most Sublicensing Provisions Quietly Transfer Your Leverage to Someone Else
Sublicensing provisions in university license agreements often hand control to licensees by default. Here's what to negotiate before it's too late.
A. KovacsWhy Most Patent Prosecution Strategies Ignore the Commercialization Window Entirely
Most university patent prosecution focuses on legal coverage, not commercial timing. Here's why that mismatch quietly kills licensing deals before they start.
A. KovacsWhy Most Confidentiality Agreements in Research Collaborations Backfire at the Worst Possible Moment
Most NDAs in university-industry research partnerships are written to protect everyone and end up protecting no one. Here's why, and what to do instead.
A. KovacsWhy Most Royalty Rate Negotiations Start From the Wrong Number
Most tech transfer royalty negotiations anchor on industry averages and gut feel. Here's why that produces bad deals and what to use instead.
A. KovacsWhy Most Material Transfer Agreements Quietly Kill Downstream Commercialization
MTAs look like administrative paperwork, but buried clauses routinely strip universities and startups of the IP rights they need to commercialize research.
A. KovacsWhy Most Field-of-Use Restrictions in License Agreements Create More Problems Than They Solve
Field-of-use restrictions in university license agreements promise focused commercialization but routinely strangle deal value and block better applications from reaching market.
A. KovacsWhy Most IP Assignment Clauses in Research Agreements Sabotage the Deal Later
Vague IP assignment language in sponsored research agreements creates ownership disputes that kill commercialization deals years after the science is done.
A. KovacsWhy Exclusive Licenses Destroy More Value Than They Create
Exclusive licenses feel like wins for everyone at signing. Here's why they quietly kill commercialization, and what to structure instead.
A. KovacsWhy Option Agreements Are the Most Misused Tool in Technology Transfer
Option agreements should de-risk early licensing deals, but most TTOs use them wrong. Here's what's broken and how to fix it.
A. KovacsWhy Most Invention Disclosure Forms Kill Commercialization Before It Starts
Invention disclosure forms are often the first step in tech transfer, and one of the most damaging. Here's what needs to change.
A. KovacsWhy Most Technology Readiness Level Assessments Lie to Everyone Involved
TRL scores feel objective but are routinely gamed or misread. Here's what's really happening and how to use them honestly.
A. KovacsWhy Most Startup Equity Structures Break University Spinouts Before They Launch
Equity splits between founders, universities, and early investors derail more spinouts than bad science. Here's what actually works.
A. KovacsWhy Sponsored Research Agreements Are Where Commercialization Actually Begins
Sponsored research agreements shape IP ownership, licensing rights, and spinout potential before a patent is ever filed. Here's what most researchers miss.
A. KovacsWhy Proof-of-Concept Funding Is the Leverage Point Nobody Talks About
Proof-of-concept funding is the missing bridge between lab discovery and licensable technology, here's why most institutions underinvest in it.
A. KovacsWhy Most Licensing Term Sheets Die in Negotiation (And How to Rescue Them)
Most university licensing deals collapse not because of bad science or bad intent, but because of preventable negotiation failures. Here's what actually goes wrong.
A. KovacsWhy Due Diligence Kills More University Spinouts Than Bad Science
How mismatched expectations between VCs and university spinouts create a death spiral during due diligence.
A. KovacsWhy Patent Licensing Revenue Is a Vanity Metric (And What Universities Should Track Instead)
Patent licensing revenue misleads universities about tech transfer success, here's what metrics actually predict commercial impact.
A. KovacsWhy Corporate Venture Arms Keep Missing the Best University Deals
Corporate VCs systematically lose out on promising university spinouts due to misaligned incentives and poor deal sourcing strategies.
A. KovacsWhy Industry-University Research Partnerships Fail (And the Three Models That Actually Work)
Most industry-university partnerships collapse within two years. Here's why most fail and three proven models that deliver results.
A. KovacsWhy Academic Inventors Make Terrible CEOs (And What to Do About It)
Most university spinouts fail because brilliant researchers become accidental executives without proper transition support.
A. KovacsWhy Most University Tech Transfer Offices Are Optimizing for the Wrong Metrics
University TTOs focus on licensing revenue and patent counts instead of startup success and economic impact.
A. KovacsThe Valley of Death Is Real and We're Still Not Talking About It Honestly
University research dies between the lab and the market at staggering rates. The reasons are structural, not accidental, and most proposed fixes miss the point entirely.
A. KovacsWhy SBIR/STTR Is the Most Underrated Funding Mechanism
SBIR and STTR grants offer non-dilutive funding with built-in customer discovery, yet most technical founders overlook them. That is a mistake.
A. Kovacs