IP Launch, Inc., a company I co-founded in 2001, is offering its own stimulus package - how does $50,000 of free consulting sound? This isn’t just any old consulting, either. This is a certified valuation of either your business or your technology plus our suggested strategy for making that valuation number become a reality.
On October 10, 2008, Innovative Economy announced an Innovative Business Contest. We thought it would encourage people to recognize those who might inspire us and lead us through this difficult economy by way of innovation. With two weeks to go in the contest, we have one entrant. I’m not buying that is representative of a free world. However, there is strong suspicion it could be related to the lack of a robust prize package.
We talked amongst ourselves and decided the normal prizes were not enough for our goal. Company leaders need to look at their inventory of innovations - even those they may have previously dismissed - and realize all the power that may lie in those innovations to create an economic survival kit for the company. That message needs to sink in at decision-making levels. It’s time to get bold.
We decided to put our money where our mouth is by setting the bar for a valuable prize, and we’ll even connect it to the objective of the contest. IP Launch will agree to value the winning selection plus prescribe a strategy for monetizing it at its highest and best use. The normal price tag for professional fees associated with this combination of deliverables is $50,000.
IP Launch is waving all professional fees for the winner of the contest. We’ll even give you a full page on our blog to tell us about your innovation and why you should win. Voters can express support of your submission through the comment feature on your particular page.
Why would you want a valuation of your technology or your business? Here are ten powerful reasons and ways to use this kind of valuation. Don’t be surprised if you find something here that you didn’t realize could help you in whatever circumstance you find yourself in today. Many people do not realize all that can be done to advance their business by valuing and monetizing all their innovation.
If you have all the cash you could ever want in the bank and more customers than you can service; if your shareholders are delirious with delight over their profits and begging you to take more of their capital; if competitors exit the industry at just the mention of your name; then you really don’t need to win. You might need rehab, but you don’t need to win.
If you need cash, customers, capital or competitive power, it is imperative that you know the value of your innovations and the best ways to extract that value in today’s economic climate. You need to know how to use your innovation to compensate for lost resources in other areas. Just as the human body compensates for loss of one sense by becoming more powerful in other senses, innovation can - and should - be used by companies to compensate for diminished capacities for attracting capital, customers or creating competitive momentum.
Rather than preach, we’ll show you, and we’ll put our time and money on the line to help you get the vision of what is possible. That is powerful because knowing the value and knowing how best to extract the value can be two very different levels of knowledge. This isn’t really about $50,000. It’s about discovering a value much higher than that and developing a road map to retrieve that value. The actual value could be well into the millions of dollars, even in this environment.
This is for big companies, small companies, solo inventors, Fortune 500 and everything in between. It is international, too. After all, we live in a global economy. So how can David compete with Goliath and win here? Let me give you some tips on how to do well, and some insight as to what will kill your submission fast:
1. Go to the new Contest Registration Form at the bottom of this page. You will be asked to register as a contestant and tell us why you should win. Each contest entry will be posted as a separate post on InnovativeEconomy.com. We will not edit or format the information we receive from you. It will be posted in the same condition in which we receive it. Carefully consider the length of the information you submit. Messaging is just as important as innovation. If you overwhelm with a long contest entry post, we may not publish it or the votes and final outcome may reflect the verbosity. Give us your best communication.
2. Get people to vote for you. Use your blog, website or however you reach your constituency and provide people with a link back to your contest entry post, where they can vote for your innovation in the comment section. We will send you an appealing graphic icon you can display on your blog or website. When someone clicks your icon, they will be taken directly to your contest entry post where they can enter their vote comment. We will also update a master contestant list daily where all the links to all contestants are provided. Your voters can use this to reach your site too. But we suggest making it easy for them.
The number of votes a submission receives is a factor, but we consider relative effort. For example, a Fortune 500 company gets 500 people in a division to vote for their submission. Joe The Inventor is using his lay-off severance pay to fund his new venture. Joe may not be able to come up with 501 votes. We look at relative effort, not just absolute numbers. Votes are not the only factor. The final decision will be made by a panel of judges considering a variety of factors relative to their own expertise. It is not merely a popularity contest.
However, votes are crucial. You need to show us that people believe in what you are doing. If no one believes in you, you’ve missed the boat on innovation. Relationships matter as much as the next big cure, fix, trend or gadget. Get your message out and ask those who believe your message to say so by voting for you.
3. In order to participate as a candidate we need to be able to contact you. Registration requires that we have your name, email, website (if you have one), address and phone number. The purpose of the contest is to create value for a valid company or innovator. Entering cloaked contact information will hurt, if not kill, your chances of being published as a contestant, not to mention winning.
4. Balance disclosure. We need to know enough to appreciate the magnitude of what you have or are doing, but you don’t want to submit confidential information - and we don’t want your confidential information. You be the judge, but please understand that until we have an Non-Disclosure Agreement in place, anything you share with us is deemed acceptable for publication on our site, with the exception of your contact information.
5. Respect other contestants. If you compete with someone else participating in this contest, be professional and show them respect. It is important to remember that you are convincing us not only that you have the competitive magic (innovation, technology, business model, etc.), but that you also have the leadership and relationship skills to at least get it in the right hands and not get in your own way. Innovators typically make bad CEOs for large ventures. The skill sets are different. You don’t have to convince us you are the next Michael Dell or Steve Jobs. But don’t convince us you’ll be the biggest barrier to your own success, either.
6. Be prepared to prove anything you claim. If you say you have patents, be prepared to show the patent numbers. If you say you have sales and customers are dying for your innovation, be prepared to prove it. Final selection of the winner may be impacted by a contestant’s ability to support their claims.
Additional important information concerning terms and conditions for participation may be found here.
Special Notes: The winner must sign an IP Launch, Inc. engagement letter for the valuation and strategy services in order to receive that prize. The professional service fees due will be listed at “$0.” There are no hidden fees.
IP Launch will determine whether the engagement is focused on valuing a particular technology or an entire business enterprise. Our goal is to add the greatest value. For example, if you are Fortune 500, you don’t need our enterprise valuation. If you are just starting out, the business may not have any value beyond the technology. If you are a mid-size company with 250 products and you want us to look at your killer new innovation that would be #251, that may be best too.
We hope our decision to offer this prize will inspire other companies to join us in offering great prizes to a deserving winner(s). (If your company wants to contribute to the prizes, please use the Contact Us form to let me know.) But even if it doesn’t, we are fired up to do this and consider it a great honor to recognize and serve someone who may be remembered as making a powerful difference in a difficult time.
Begin by submitting your contest entry here, and look for the message below the form after you click submit for further information and instructions:
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