Faculty Entrepreneurs
The following pages outline important information for the University inventor interested in entrepreneurship. These pages outline useful links and University of Florida resources for faculty start-up companies.
New Inventors
Congratulations on your new invention! The University of Florida believes your work is vital to its mission and strongly supports efforts to make your research a commercial success. It does so for the following reasons:
- To transfer technology to the private sector for the public good
- To enhance the likelihood of commercial success
- To create jobs for students and the local community
The University of Florida is responsible for protecting and commercializing its intellectual property and has created the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) for this purpose. When an invention is successfully commercialized, the inventor, relevant academic units, and the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) share in the proceeds.
Every UF inventor should understand federal and state rules that pertain to University inventions and how UF manages intellectual property. But before getting into the details, please remember something important; though following these regulations is sometimes difficult, the reason you need to do so is because you have succeeded in creating an invention of real value to your community. Again, congratulations!
Process Overview
Process Details
- Invention Disclosure
- Conflict of Interest
- Patent Policy
- Keeping Lab Notes
- Copyright Policy
- Licensing
- Material Transfer Agreement
- Revenue Distribution
- Invention Evaluation
New Ventures
The University of Florida believes entrepreneurship is vital to its mission and strongly supports efforts to commercialize your invention. It does so for the following reasons:
- To transfer technology to the private sector for public good
- To enhance the likelihood of commercial success
- To create jobs for students and the local community
The University of Florida policy states that the inventor and all those who helped the inventor within the University should benefit from successful commercialization. When an invention is successfully commercialized, the inventor, relevant academic units, and the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) share in the proceeds.
Remember, there are many ways UF may seek to commercialize your technology and launching a start-up company is one. In most start-up companies, the faculty inventor plays an important role which may often include acting as CEO, chief researcher or occasional advisor. To a large extent, that choice is up to you.
The following pages will help you weigh whether or not entrepreneurship is right for you and if so, help you understand what is required to make a successful venture.
Evaluating and Planning
- The Entrpreneur: To Be Or Not To Be
- The Business Plan
- Market Research
- Competitive Intelligence
- Business Model
Legal and Administrative
Business Finance
- Business Finance
- Self Financing
- Angel Investors
- Venture Capital
- Loans
- Grants
- Florida Venture Blog, Dan Rua’s venture capital blog
