Another Look at Crowd Funding

Roger Tipple at Sheffield Inventors' Group 7 Oct 2013

The speaker at Sheffield Inventors Group on 7 Oct 2013 was Roger Tipple of Tipple Associates. Roger is Sheffield Central Library's innovator in residence and the title of his talk was "Getting your Product to Market". One of the topics he discussed was funding and one of his suggestions for raising seed capital was crowd funding.

Crowd funding is appealing for funds from the public over the Internet.  As it has become harder to raise investment or borrow from conventional investors and lenders and indeed harder for investors to invest and lenders to lend a new type of financial institution has evolved that puts entrepreneurs and investors and lenders in touch with each other.  One of those institutions is Bloom VC which I discussed in "Crowd Funding: No Waffle" on 12 May 2011.  Since I wrote that article Bloom claims in its "About" page to have raised a total of £269,000 for such businesses as "Bonnie Bling" (a bespoke jewellery company) and "The Ecosse Candle Company" (which makes candles).

Nesta (the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) has published "An Introduction to Crowdfunding" and "Working the Crowd, a short guide to crowdfunding and how it can work for you". It has also set up a website called CrowdingIn at http://www.crowdingin.com which has a searchable database of crowdfunding institutions or platforms in the UK.

There are a number of obvious legal difficulties with crowdfunding such as s.755 of the Companies Act 2006 which prohibits private companies offering securities to the public and s.19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 which requires most financial services to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"). In its note on Crowdfunding of 4 June 2013 the FCA expressed the view that:

"most crowdfunding should be targeted at sophisticated investors who know how to value a startup business, understand the risks involved and that investors could lose all of their money."

It warned that

"investors in a crowdfund have little or no protection if the business or project fails, and that they will probably lose all their investment if it does."

The FCA also expressed concern that

"some firms involved in crowdfunding may be handling client money without our permission or authorisation, and therefore may not have adequate protection in place for investors."

However, some crowdfunding platforms have sought and been granted such authorization from the FCA, The Business Secretary appears to be encouraging crowdfunding (see Michael McDowell "CBI and Vince Cable encourage businesses to look to crowdfunding" 22 May 2013 The MoneyLab Blog). Finally there is now a UK Crowd Funding Association.

As always, send me a message through my contact form or call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal office hours if you want to discuss this article. You can also tweet me, write on my wall or send me a message through G+, Linkedin or Xing.

Identifying your USP - the Overlap between Design and Invention

Pat Ross "Finding your Unique Selling Points"

Pat Ross is managing director of Genie Creative, a brand and marketing consultancy in Sheffield. 

On Monday 8 July 2013 he introduced Sheffield Inventors Group to the Unique Selling Point ("USP") which he defined as "a pre-defined difference (uniqueness)".that "sets you apart from your competitors and tells your customers what is special about you." He added "it is a key reason why those customers do business with you rather your competitors."

He then suggested a "few established and fairly simple ways" by which a business owner might find his or her USP:

• Using his or her own personality
• Exploring the intersection of ideas
• Narrowing the target audience, and
• Narrowing the topic.

He then presented his work for Bradfield Brewery as a case study.

Exploring the intersection of ideas is of course something that inventors do all the time. The example that Pat gave was the design of an office block in Harare that kept cool without air conditioning. The architect adapted the technique used by termites used to keep their mounds at an ambient temperature,   There are other overlaps between USPs and invention such as "narrowing the target audience" which is equivalent to "identifying the technical need" and "narrowing the topic" which is akin to developing the solution.

After the talk two of the Group's members presented their inventions to Pat and asked his advice on marketime them.  Pat gave other practical advice such as UK Steel Enterprise as a source of funding for innovation in South Yorkshire.  Pat invites inventors to contact him. An initial interview with him is free and his charges for subsequent work are flexible and affordable,  His number is 0114 234 8423 and his email is  pat@geniecreative.org.uk.

Forthcoming Events - Sheffield and Carlisle

Two great events you will not want to miss.

Sheffield 5 March 2012

James Wallbank of Access Space will talk about Refab-Space which provides many of the facilities that are offered by the FabLabs around the world.   I heard James speak at Integreatplus's Learning Lunch  and he is a really inspiring speaker.

The talk takes place at Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 1XZ at 18:00 on 5 Match 2012.   If the talk is anything like the last one it will be standing room only.  Admission is free but you are strongly advised to book your place in advance. Call or email Lynne Hichcliffe on 0114 273 4736 to let her know you are coming.  See today's post  "Refab - a fabrication laboratory for Sheffield" in IP Yorkshire.

Carlisle, 8 March 2012

On the other side of the Pennines IP North West will present an Introduction to Intellectual Property Law to Freerange Artists in Carlisle on 8 March 2012 between 10:30 and 13:30.  Speakers include patent attorney Tom Hutchinson of Hutchinson IP and David Flint of MacRoberts one of the leading intellectual property lawyers in the United Kingdom.  As a Scottish solicitor, David can give some insight into some of the features of Scots law that differ from those of England and Wales.  He can obviously assist creative entrepreneurs  immediately to the North of Carlisle wall but he can also alert those in Cumbria and Westmorland with customers and suppliers to the North who prefer their own legal system of the pitfalls and advantages of Scots law.   I shall chair the meeting, introduce the topic generally and speak on enforcement.  Call or email Hannah Stewart on 01228 401324 for further information.

If anybody has any questions or comments, he or she can contact me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0800 862 0055.

Straight from the Horse's Mouth:"Filing a UK patent application - process and procedures"

When you apply for a British patent you have to satisfy the Intellectual Property Office  that your invention is new, involves an inventive step, is capable of industrial application, does not fall within any of the statutory exclusions and meets all the other requirements of the Patents Act 1977. The official who considers your application is called an examiner. The photo shows a group of them to the left. Very brainy people as you can imagine. Albert Einstein once did that job for the Swiss federal intellectual property office.

It's not often that you actually get a chance to meet a patent examiner but this opportunity will arise on Monday 6 Feb 2012 in Sheffield and Wednesday 15 Feb 2012 in Leeds.

Sheffield and Leeds inventors groups are delighted to welcome Kalim Yasseen, an examiner of the UK Intellectual Property Office to our February meetings. Kalim will talk about  "Filing a UK patent application - process and procedures".

These talks are important not just for inventors but also for patent agents, entrepreneurs, business advisers, bankers, angels and venture capital investors and just about everyone involved in the patenting process.

The Sheffield talk will take place at Sheffield Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 1XZ on 6 Feb at 18:00.

The Leeds talk will take place at Leeds Central Library, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 3AB  on 15 Feb at 18:00.

Both events are free.

Product Design Consultants in Yorkshire

By coincidence both the Sheffield and Leeds Inventors Groups had excellent presentations from product designers in November 2011.

John Biddleston of The Big Consultant spoke to Sheffield on 7 Nov. He has posted his slides to his blog which you can view and download here.

Alex Smith of TRIG Creative spoke to Leeds on 16 Nov 2011 and you can download his talk "Cost Effective Product Development" here.

John and Alex represent just two of many excellent design consultancies in Yorkshire. Others include Matthew Conley of HJC Design of Barnsley and Richard Hall of Pd-m International of Harrogate.

All of them are friends of the Leeds and Sheffield clubs.

FabLabs - Jane Keats on "Factories of the Future"

On 5 Aug 2011 I wrote about the Manchester FabLab and the global FabLab network in my IP North West blog. On 21 Sept and 3 Oct 2011 the Leeds and Sheffield Inventors Groups heard from a FabLab user.

Jane Keats, a young New Zealand designer who is principal of Studio 52, presented "Factories of the Future", an introduction to the FabLab movement and additive manufacturing. Jane's slides cover the following topics:

1. FabLabs

2. The next industrial revolution

3. Factory of the Future

4. Open Innovation, and

5. Her Personal Experiences.

Here is a review of her talk to the Leeds Group on the 21 Sept 2011 in the LIG blog.

We in the Inventors Club are very supportive of the FabLab movement and I have advised and assisted the Manchester FabLab on a pro bono basis. On 12 Oct 2011 I chaired an Introduction to Intellectual Property and Licensing where patent attorney Tom Hutchinson, intellectual property solicitor Michael Sandys and I gave presentations. I shall upload our slides to Slideshare and make them accessible through this blog in the next few days.

As the Leeds review states, Bradford City Council and others have plans to set up a FabLab in Keighley and I have been in touch with the local authority to offer it our support. I brought the FabLab movement to the attention of Councillor Mehboob Khan, deputy chair of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, at the LEP Summit on 9 Sept 2011 so there is every chance that the project will get the support it needs. I will keep you posted.

Sheffield Inventors Group: A Link with Hallam

Sheffield Hallam University is literally just across the road from Sheffield Central Library which hosts the Sheffield Inventors Group. Yesterday we welcomed Heath Reed one of its principal industrial designers.

Heath specializes in

• design research
• industrial design
• ergonomics
• product development, and
• design for manufacture.

He works in designfutures, the product and packaging innovation service of the University, and its Art and Design Research Centre.

In a wide ranging two way discussion Heath introduced us to the work of the University as a whole, its excellence in research and teaching and consultancy, its comprehensive Enterprise Centre, designfutures consultancy, the design process and how it fits into the innovation process and his own work. What made his talk particularly interesting is that Heath is himself an inventor and thus had first hand experience of the issues facing individual inventors.

The University has a massive array of expertise ranging from active lifestyles to workplace development. Anybody who wishes to get in touch with the Centre should call on 0114 225 5000.

Sheffield Inventors Group: Taking Products to Market

The guest speaker at Sheffield Inventors Group on 4 July 2011 was Mr. Richard Campos of Richard Camps Business Support Ltd. The title of his talk was Taking Products to Market. Here are his slides:

Richard illustrated his talk with a case study. He brandished a sheet of plain white plastic leaving us to guess what it was. It turned out to be a board to place under doors, skirting boards and other edges while painting. That simple invention had been turned into a successful product by successful placing on a home shopping channel.

Everyone gained a wealth of tips from that talk on:

• market research - particularly the use of focus groups
• tailoring IP protection to a specific need
• adequate terms and conditions

and many other topics.

The Sheffield Inventors Group meets at Sheffield Central Library in Surrey Street on the first Monday of every month. Click here if you want to be notified of future events.

Patent Ownership Co-Ownership and Corporate Ownership

This was the title of Roger Lowe's talk to Sheffield Inventors Group on Monday. Roger is proprietor of ip4all, an intellectual property consultancy in Huddersfield.

He began his talk by quoting Mark Getty:

"Intellectual property is the oil of the 21 century. Look at the richest men a hundred years ago; they all made their money extracting natural resources or moving them around. All today’s richest men have made their money out of intellectual property."

Roger then discussed patents as property rights, something that can be bought, sold or charged. He considered ownership and warned that:

"The mere suggestion of co-ownership of patents makes the blood of IP practitioners run cold."

Co-ownership must be adopted only as a last resort.

Too true. He then explained why. Having told us why co-ownership is a bad thing he considered some of the alternatives such as licensing and corporate ownership. The best time to consider these issues is before the application for a patent but not every patent agent tells you that.

There will be no Inventors' Group meeting for May because the first Monday falls on the Mayday Bank Holiday but there will be an exhibition at Central Library to celebrate World IP Day on 26 April 2011. If you want to join the club or set up an inventors' club in your own area call us on 0800 862 0055 or complete our contact form.

Sheffield and Manchester Inventors Clubs

Two interesting events that dovetail very well together:

• Sheffield Inventors Group will present a talk by Roger Lowe of IP4All on patenting and making sure that you have title to your invention at Sheffield Central Library at 18:00 tomorrow (see my article in IP Yorkshire for details).
• Manchester Inventors Group will present a talk by Steve Reece of the Rich Inventor programme on the top 11 mistakes inventors make in selling their inventions at Manchester City Library at 19:00 on Tuesday, 5 April 2011 (see my article in IP North West for further information).

I shall be chairing the Sheffield event and I hope to get along to the Manchester talk. I will certainly blog Roger's talk and I hope to write something about the Steve's too.

Sheffield Inventors Group

The next meeting of Sheffield Inventors' Group is on Monday 1 Nov, 18:00 to 19:45.

The guest speaker will be Gail Cherry of Torchlight Coaching, who will be running an interactive session entitled ' Make a commercial opportunity happen'.

Her theme will be: "How the process of business planning helps balance the strong attachment to your invention, to gain focus on the business of getting it to the right people, in the right place, at the right time, for the right price."

As always, the venue for the meeting is

Reference and Information Library
Central Library
Surrey Street
Sheffield
S1 1XZ

Contact Pat Weston on 0114 2734736
Email: information.library@sheffield.gov.uk

Sheffield Inventors Club, 2 March 2009, 18:00

Just a reminder of the meeting of the Sheffield Inventors' Club on Monday 2 March at 18:00..   

Prof Ron Jones will give the talk on how to bring your invention to market that he was prevented form giving last month by the  weather.   

The meeting will take place at Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield as usual.