Glue™ and ChannelCart™ – US Patent No. 7,436,290
Sure, my first startup got across the finish line with US$8.3mm in Series A funding; but, I still remember my wake-up call during the disclosure phase when I had to answer “N/A” in the protected intellectual property section.
I’ve made it my goal since then to capture what I think are my most innovative ideas as patent filings in the US and, sometimes, overseas. I currently have more than a half-dozen patents filed, issued or pending.
The patent process turns-out to be a great way to really organize an invention that could otherwise slog through months of exploratory development. Learning how to write and prosecute a patent has helped me focus on actualization after the fun ideation is done – the “realized” part of innovation realized.