Invention to Innovation (i2I)

Congratulations Nafiseh Nafissi - Ph.D. !

Congratulations Yang Liu

Always wonderful to hear what our i2I alums are doing like Lisa Chen, MMM who is making "waves" with her social enterprise, Oceanic Impact, on reducing and eliminating marine debris through education, outreach and technological development. Check out their 2024 highlights below - congratulations! https://lnkd.in/gUN52jC6

Give yourself a gift for the holidays and register for the Celebrating the Success of Women in STEM Symposium! Engaging discussions on leadership, equity, and innovation; interactive workshops; networking opportunities; and more. FREE registration at: https://lnkd.in/ecx5vGV9

Congratulations Jayesh Kulkarni and NanoVation Therapeutics™ !

1 month left to apply to the 2025 MIT Climate & Energy Prize (CEP)! Open to all university students and postdocs from around the world! - Compete for over $100k in non-dilutive prize money - Gain access to mentorship, bootcamps, and additional coaching to help launch your startup  - Network with industry leaders, corporate partners, investors, and other like-minded entrepreneurs like you We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis up to January 10, 2025. Applicants that fulfill CEP's eligibility criteria and submit a complete application will receive immediate access to MIT AI tools and resources to improve their business plan and pitch before pitching at the virtual round. Maximize your chances of success by applying now! Apply now at https://cep.mit.edu/apply

𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟭% 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹—𝘄𝗵𝘆? The difference lies in the details founders often overlook. Sequoia Capital’s legendary pitch deck template outlines the must-have slides that make investors say “yes”: 1️⃣ 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Define your company’s mission with clarity. 2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: Address the issue your customers face with insight. 3️⃣ 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Show your product as the game-changing answer. 4️⃣ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄: Prove the timing is right. 5️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲: Demonstrate your TAM, SAM, and SOM potential. 6️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Highlight your edge over competitors. 7️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: Showcase its brilliance and roadmap. 8️⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: Make your revenue model compelling. 9️⃣ 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Present the people building your vision. This isn’t just about data or charts—it’s about crafting a narrative that resonates with investors. As Chris Tottman emphasizes, “Every great pitch deck connects a bold vision with a clear path forward. Investors don’t just want numbers—they want to see your story.” Start with why. End with how. What’s your take on this structure? Follow Rubén D. for more. You can also join 100,000+ founders and VCs who receive these insights in my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dtifw4mC

Ignite Awardee Spotlight 🎥 Viridis Research Inc + Neil Branda of Simon Fraser University were awarded $300,000 for their project tackling textile #wastewater with a new #watertreatment technology that fully mineralizes pollutants, enabling #waterrecycling, while preserving resources and protecting the environment ♻️💧 “The only way to stop #climatechange is with new technologies – hard tech and deep tech – and unfortunately, there is not a lot of funding for these kind of projects. So, with the help of the #Ignite program, we are bringing our technology to life, and we are going to be able to save water sources.” – Dr. Macarena Cataldo-Hernandez, PHD, Co-Founder + CEO, Viridis Research Inc. 👉 Learn more about this year's recipients: https://loom.ly/0GiDLlY #InnovateBC

If you are following the debate around the value of intellectual property, you have probably come across the idea that intangible assets now make up 90% of the value of the S&P 500. While that number is not very useful in practice, the conclusion derived from it—that a more thoughtful approach to intangible asset management is key to overcoming Canada’s productivity woes—is sound. Coming to that conclusion in a way that provides actionable insight requires a more detailed, bottom-up approach to defining intangible assets. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 [1] 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. The 90% figure is estimated by summing the value of the tangible assets of all the companies in the S&P 500 list and subtracting it from the sum of their market caps. The definition of intangible assets as “the sum of everything that isn’t a tangible asset” is not useful, since it provides us no insight into the components of intangible value and therefore no actionable means by which to optimize it. Two papers written by Andrew Park, Elicia Maine, and their team attempt to do exactly this in the context of university spinouts. Enroute, the authors provide a wealth of actionable insight into how to think about intangible assets, including several kinds that are not often part of the discourse; the roles best played by academics in the spinout process; methods by which university-sourced IP can be turned into economic and societal benefit; and a suggestions for effective metrics to assess long-term economic impact arising from commercialization of early-stage IP portfolios. Both papers are open access and can be found at links [2,3]. These papers take a bottom up approach toward this goal, first providing a useful definition from which to work. That definition alone deserves some consideration as the basis for ongoing discussions around the value of intangible assets. “𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘯-­𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳.” [2] This is already an obvious improvement in that the requirement for long life excludes market noise from the calculation. These papers also highlight that there is a complex relationship between intangible assets and firm performance. Unlike the word “asset” implies by itself, mere ownership is not enough for value generation. There are additional mediating variables, relating to the ability to operationalize the asset, that enables the potential of an intangible asset to be converted to any sort of value.