Balancing IP and Market Engagement: A Lean Playbook
Today I was grateful to be asked my view on an upcoming Lab to Market program for a startup incubator, and as always, I was excited to help out — these kinds of initiatives are where early ideas turn into real-world impact. But as the program organiser was finalising the cohort, a recurring theme started to surface in their conversations with applicants: How do I protect my IP while participating in something so collaborative?
It’s a fair concern. Especially for researchers or early-stage startups coming out of academia, their tech is often still raw. There’s uncertainty around what’s protectable, what’s valuable, and whether participating in a program might jeopardise future commercial potential. The obvious move is to ask everyone to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but most incubator mentors and investors won’t sign those…so we sat down to work through it—enter: the Lean IP Playbook.
This is a story about researchers and startups, but I think the messages apply to many deeply technical innovators out there.
Step One: The Patent Reality Check
Before worrying about competitors or confidentiality, it’s worth the startups asking: Is what they’ve built even patentable? For many early-stage researchers, the answer is may be no. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any value in it though.
That’s where a quick chat with a qualified patent attorney can make a world of difference (many offer a free intro call). Not just to protect something—but to determine if they even should. If they can, should, and understand the lifetime costs associated with it, it’s something to consider.
Sometimes, the most valuable thing isn’t the technical novelty—it’s the user insight, the business model, or just wearing out the shoe leather while they’re executing. Sometimes things just belong in the pitch, not the patent.
Step Two: Talk Benefits, Not Blueprints
Instead of focusing on technical features, I encourage founders and innovators to describe the benefits their innovation unlocks. Think: "We can reduce testing time by 80%," not "Our sensor uses dual-membrane ion selectivity."
This approach does two things:
It protects the tech’s secret sauce.
It speaks the language of partners, customers, and investors.
Will the cohort participants feel uncomfortable? You bet. Because now they’ve got to be fully empathetic with their customers, rather than focus on their own technical interests. But watch how better their customers will respond to them, because now the customer will understand the impact of the tech.
Step Three: Learn Before You Lock
Here’s the magic: By honing in on customer conversations, you pinpoint what’s truly valuable. This lean approach means you’re not wasting time or money on IP that doesn’t add value to your business model. When it’s time to patent, you’ll know exactly what’s worth protecting.
The lesson?
IP protection isn’t arguably about secrecy at its core — it’s about strategy. And when you use a lean, customer-first lens, you may even find that the real gold isn’t the tech itself — it might just be how the tech fits into a bigger solution.