SECURE YOUR SPEEDBOAT

I derived the term Speedboat from how it is used in the context of “corporate venturing”.

The concept of the speedboat analogy comes from the idea of large companies being compared to large, slow-moving ships, while smaller, more agile startups are likened to nimble speedboats. The speedboat approach aims to inject the entrepreneurial spirit and agility of startups into the corporate environment to drive innovation and capture new market opportunities.

Some key characteristics and principles associated with this speedboat:

1. Autonomy: Speedboats are given a certain level of autonomy. They operate with a degree of independence, allowing them to act quickly and make decisions without being hindered by bureaucratic processes.
2. Agility and Speed: Speedboats are designed to move swiftly and respond rapidly to market changes. They focus on quick experimentation, iterative development, and rapid prototyping to validate ideas and concepts.
3. Entrepreneurial Mindset: The speedboat approach encourages an entrepreneurial mindset. It fosters risk-taking, creativity, and a willingness to challenge established norms.
4. Lean Resources: Speedboats typically operate with lean resources, both in terms of finances and personnel. This constraint forces them to be resourceful, efficient, and focused on achieving results with limited means.
5. External Engagement: Speedboats actively seek external engagement with their ecosystem. This helps to bring in external ideas, talent, and technologies.
6. Experimentation and Learning: Speedboats embrace a culture of experimentation and continuous learning. They are willing to take calculated risks, learn from failures, and iterate on their strategies to achieve breakthrough innovations.

Within “corporate venturing” the goal of the speedboat approach is to enable large corporations to harness the agility and innovation potential of startups while leveraging their own resources, market presence, and industry expertise. By adopting this approach, companies can navigate market disruptions, identify emerging trends, and seize new growth.

It is clear that these characteristics apply for many startups, scaleups or smes as well.  Over the years I had many conversation with companies about their endeavors and their challenges and it became clear to me that for these companies, learning to detect the speedboat inside their business will help them fully understand their strengths and their (even scalable) potential.

There are so many elements of a speedboat that are applicable to their ideas, their plans. But in many cases they are just focused on the hull (application) and the bow (customer centricity).  A speedboat is so much more than its hull and its bow, it is also about how the speedboat is built.  Often the importance of the engine (technology basis) is overseen although every second speedboat will be another hull but with the same engine.  Even the fuel (knowhow/expertise) plays an important role.

A speedboat business has not landed yet.  It needs to be exploring, experimenting with the same agility for the coming years while being LEAN with its resources.

The budget for intellectual property for a speedboat is certainly not at the same level as the budget established companies can spend.  A lean approach is needed here.

A mindset of protection, which is common in intellectual property, will not help you here because protection in its nature is blocking all freedom to further explore, experiment or being agile.  Protecting means keeping your speedboat ashore or in a hangar with double locks on it.

Securing on the other hand, is making choices with your limited IP budget to allow you to further explore, experiment or just being agile which is crucial for the stage your business is in.

Let’s be honest, patents do cost a lot of money (approx. 100k€ for a worldwide patent the first 5 years, just saying).  But there is more to IP than patents….

Securing your speedboat, is about defining a Intellectual Property strategy for your business that allows you your continuity and helps you to make the right choices within your given budget.

It is about contracts (captain, crew,..), about trade secret/knowhow (fuel), about freedom to operate (open or rough sea), of course about patents (hull, ship,..)  and so many more elements.

The keynote can be booked as standalone event, but for incubators or accelerators it can also be booked in combination with 1 to 1 talks with the residing companies.

If as a company, you are eager to know your speedboat business and interested in a proper IP strategy plan, you can book the workshop. During 2 half day workshops, we explore and translate your business into a speedboat (1) and define a proper IP strategy (2)

Workshops in classroom setting can only be given as a general introduction because of the confidential nature of the talks. If however the group of participants is bound to secrecy, than a classroom workshop is possible.

Inquirendi does not act as a patent attorney nor as a legal IP advisor.  The strength of Inquirendi is that it connects Intellectual Property strategy to your business value and potential, allowing you to make the right choices within a limited budget.  For all Intellectual Property registrations (contracts included), Inquirendi collaborates with the appropriate partners.