A New Way to Monetize IP Assets

An asset properly defined is not an arbitrary thing. For far too long, however, the assets and markets we rely upon in our economy have been defined arbitrarily. The same can be said about credit ratings and risk profiles. Risk-averse investors often overlook perfectly viable opportunities due to bad credit data and cognitive bias when, in fact, a risk-neutral approach would better serve their interests. This often leads to imbalances in the marketplace from which the economy often struggles to recover. That’s exactly what’s happening in Silicon Valley at the moment as VCs continue to pay lip service to black founders without actually transferring funds. It really is their loss.

We often forget that fiat money is a government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or silver, but rather by the government that issues it. Assets such as Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Databases, Music Royalties, and even Trade Secrets (IP Assets) would make far more reliable and tangible sources of value and income. That’s where the majority of the market value is anyway. For example, a 2017 study found that intangible assets accounted for 84% of the S&P 500’s total market value, whereas tangible assets were only 16%. The same was true for the CSI 300 Index. Indeed, intangible assets are responsible for 84% of all business value. Hence the old saying, wealth is in the mind. Yet there’s still no easy way for everyday consumers to take advantage of the inherent value of their IP Assets. Until now.

Enter Pommel, a new platform for monetizing IP Assets. Pommel is a platform and marketplace for converting intellectual property assets into tangible capital assets. Our goal is to make it easier to buy and sell goods and services by determining the true market value of intellectual property, thereby creating a virtuous cycle between IP owners and merchants. Our hope is that someday soon, everyone will be able to do things like make purchases, buy real estate, improve their credit, and pay tuition with their IP Assets alone. We believe this is the future of finance. Click here to sign up and learn more about Pommel and Zen Ventures.