Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer

Achieve Success By Taking a Business Approach to Technology Transfer

Wesley D. Blakeslee Executive Director Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer 410-516-8300 wdb@jhu.edu
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What Does It Mean A Business Minded Approach

Understanding that operating the tech transfer office is running a business Adopting the attitudes, systems, analyses and practices of successful businesses KNOW THE NUMBERS
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JHTT

$5.1 Million Operating Budget $6.6 Million Patent Spend $12.2 Million Earnings1 $3.6 Million Patent Reimbursement $4.1 Million Net Profit
1. Not including equity sales

Writing About It Is Not Doing It

SWOT analysis Business Plan Operations Manual

Doing It

Last 3 years created the best and most useful data and financial management system anywhere Result: Financial and metric budgeting and predictions have been data-based and dead on last 2 years
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Understand Your Business and Business Focus

Is it: Faculty Service Revenue Production Public Service Advance Technologies For Public Benefit Service /Accessibility to Industry Economic Development
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Its All Of Those And Maybe Others

The Driving Force: Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People Peter Schutz

So, What Do Businesses Do, How Do They Operate?

Common Business Focus

Human Resources Financials Business Metrics Data Mining And Analysis Supply Chain Branding Marketing Sales

Human Resources People Your Most Important Asset

Old GE Slogan: "People are our most important product" "Good to Great"; Jim Collins: "The Right People"
Get the right people on the bus Get the wrong people off the bus
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Know Your People

Strengths and weaknesses Desires, likes and dislikes Source of information

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Motivate Your People

People don't care what you know, they want to know how much you care Can't win with a team "busting rocks" need your team "building a temple"

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Incentive Compensation

Very necessary at JHTT Keep the best people Attract new people

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Financials

Income Expenses
Office operating expenses Patent costs

Accounts Receivable Licensee Obligations

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Financials JHTT specific

Patent backlog 500 cases burning $$, w/o active marketing or sales
One effect of continuous understaffing

Patent costs reduced firms, negotiated substantial fee reductions and $$ caps per tasks Created first class financial system for accounts receivable, licensee obligations due
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Business Metrics

If you don't track it you can't measure or predict it If you can't measure or predict it you can't improve it If you don't track, measure or predict it, you can't understand it If you don't understand it you can't sell it
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Business Metrics

Upfront $$$ Total Contract Value Age to License Conversion % # Licenses/Licensing Associate
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Data Mining and Analysis

Upfront $$$ - Predict revenues Total Contract Value demonstrate long term value of JHTT; return/$$ Age to License Patent decisions Conversion % - Potential licenses # Licenses/Licensing Associate staffing needed
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Supply Chain

Need to increase # of disclosures

Metrics predict JHU should be about 1 disclosure per $3.25 3.5 Million in research dollars

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Supply Chain

Faculty Service
Immediate response to Disclosure Face to face w/in 4 weeks Online Disclosure submission Faculty portal access to invention-specific info on line Programs, programs, programs

Invention to Venture Entrepreneur's Boot Camp Company meetings and events Vine and Venture series
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Branding

Before Internal:
Hard to deal with Non-communicative/secretive Couldn't get technology out Questionable value added Process more trouble than it was worth

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Branding

Before External:
Arrogant/Hard to deal with Non-responsive Inflexible Overpriced Time to close deal too long No understanding of business issues Not "in the game"
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Improving Branding

Understanding
Honest assessment Info from outsiders Understand the metrics

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Improving Branding

Education
Internal and external Metrics critical Highlight the good Recognize the bad

Project the fix

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Improving Branding

Services
All constituent groups

Delivery
Walk the walk, not just talk the talk Face to face Tackle the specifics Practice

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Improving Branding JHTT Specifics

First 6 months continuous personal presentations to faculty/management

"JHTT not as bad as you thought"

Increased staffing, re-organized Fixed delay problem Open books and activities Sold the sizzle
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Improving Branding JHTT Specifics

Conference Exhibits
Bio AUTM AACR NCETT LES ASCO

Events
Angel/Ventures Bioinvestors conference

Public relations
Articles Publications
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Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer

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Marketing

Don't confuse marketing with sales though related they are different activities for different purposes Marketing means presenting your organization or a particular technology in a favorable light to generate interest, increase value Branding is the general part of marketing
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Marketing JHTT specifics

Branding correction Website upgrade Marketing summaries Searchable and analyzable "technology available for licensing" spreadsheet created on demand through database Automated "push" marketing Technologies visible on numerous services
Ibridge; Spark IP; Tech Transfer Online; others
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Sales

Great Hairy Myth:

You can't sell university technology companies buy it

Like all myths a grain of truth

If you do virtually nothing but be open, you will do some business Some folks will find and buy some things without initial contact from you
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Sales

Truth: "Technology transfer is a contact sport" Jane Muir, U. FL.

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Sales JHTT Specifics

Work in progress seeking a sales director Sales Pipeline Report of matters in progress generated by data system Understand customers and customer product pipeline Company focused meetings and programs "Feet on the street"
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Industry Connections
Engineering Advisory Board Institute for Policy Studies Advisory Board Carey Business School Partnership Program

NanoBioTechnology Advisory Board Global Health Advisory Boards Hopkins BioTech Network Institute for Cell Engineering

Brain Sciences Institute Advisory Board

Medicine Scientific Advisory Board Brain Science Industry Advisory Board

The Art of the Deal: Myth of Getting Your Way

Tech Transfer is more than selling -its deal making One approach getting what you want
"Getting your way is the gateway to getting what you want"

- Jeffrey Gitomer, Little Green Book of Getting Your Way

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The Art of the Deal: Getting What You Need

You can't always get what you want -

But if you try sometime, yeah, You just might find you get what you need! -Rolling Stones
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The Art of the Deal: Give The Other Side What They Need

JHTT view The Art of the Deal is learning how to give the other side what they need "The more you give value, the more you will get your way" Jeffrey Gitomer , Little Green Book

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The Art of the Deal: Giving Value

Understand their business

Read their materials Ask business questions Don't give up on finding a solution

Biggest problem we have in our industry is looking in, not out

We understand our business, not theirs

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Value Proposition

Secret to sales: Creating the value proposition

We seldom do it Mostly we don't know how

How its done:

Understand company's business Know their product pipeline Know their focus Show them why they need our product Demonstrate the value to them
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Value Proposition

So What, Who Cares, Why You - Wendy Kennedy

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Sales - Creating Opportunities With Start-ups

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Changing Market For University Biotechnology

Big pharma have been reducing in-house research programs, closing labs Big pharma looks to acquire later stage technologies More and more early development being done by start-up and very small biotech companies

Emphasis On Start-up Companies

Some universities traditionally more inclined to start up companies

Faculty tend to be interested in creating a company and leaving the university Commercialism viewed positively, or at least not negatively E.g. Stanford, MIT

Necessary In Face Of Changing Biotech

So, we started a specific program to increase start-ups from JHU technology Always did some 3 4 per year but not initiated or by our efforts FY 08 did 12, last year, FY09 did 10

Start-ups JHTT specific

Changed attitudes programs and publicity regarding benefits and necessity Created specific programs to engage the angel and venture community Engaged the entrepreneur community
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Start-ups JHTT specific

Angel pitching events Investor opportunity programs Creating top 100 Maryland entrepreneur list "Speed dating" event Close cooperation with our regional players universities and state agencies
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Key Points

Tech Transfer is a business

Think Know like a business the numbers

Understand your business Understand theirs Brand, Market and Sell Value Proposition
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Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer

Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer: Building a World Class Office QUESTIONS?

Wesley D. Blakeslee Executive Director Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer 410-516-8300 wdb@jhu.edu

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