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Jan 25, 2018 · 16m · top-founders

915 He Hunts Down University IP and Figures Out How to Commercialize at Scale

Cliff Gross · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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Nathan Latka interviews Tech Capital CEO Cliff Gross, exploring how the publicly listed firm systematically sources, evaluates, and commercializes underutilized university intellectual property into profitable global enterprises.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 38.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.6 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.6 Nathan pushing back 3.6
05100:0010:000:49–3:44 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Cliff Gross and Tech Capital's Business Model Nathan presses Cliff to clarify how acquiring medical devices from a corporation relates to university IP, and asks how Tech Capital navigates ownership percentages. Cliff calmly explains their electronic database model indexing over 4,500 universities and their due diligence process.3:44–6:26 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Investment Focus Areas and Intellectual Property Deal Structures Nathan assumes Tech Capital gets intellectual property essentially for free and wonders why universities wouldn't sell directly to tech giants like Google or Apple. Cliff corrects him on deal costs and explains the massive chasm and inventory overload of uncommercialized university patents.6:28–9:14 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Sponsor Break: Meeting Efficiency with Acuity Scheduling The segment starts with a standard mid-roll sponsor ad for Acuity Scheduling. Nathan then returns to the interview, clarifying deal costs and fundraising history while Cliff gently corrects the university name to University of Central Florida.9:15–12:40 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Commercial Services Revenue and Portfolio Valuation Breakdown Nathan drills into the breakdown of the $3.8M half-year revenue and prices charged for bespoke invention discovery reports. Cliff walks through their three distinct commercial service lines and notes that the majority of revenue stems from portfolio equity appreciation.12:41–15:13 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Team Structure, Science Advisors, and Global Footprint Cliff details team headcounts and global offices before moving through the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. The exchange is lighthearted and conversational.0:49–3:44 · Guest teaching 4/10 Introducing Cliff Gross and Tech Capital's Business Model Nathan presses Cliff to clarify how acquiring medical devices from a corporation relates to university IP, and asks how Tech Capital navigates ownership percentages. Cliff calmly explains their electronic database model indexing over 4,500 universities and their due diligence process.3:44–6:26 · Guest teaching 4/10 Investment Focus Areas and Intellectual Property Deal Structures Nathan assumes Tech Capital gets intellectual property essentially for free and wonders why universities wouldn't sell directly to tech giants like Google or Apple. Cliff corrects him on deal costs and explains the massive chasm and inventory overload of uncommercialized university patents.6:28–9:14 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sponsor Break: Meeting Efficiency with Acuity Scheduling The segment starts with a standard mid-roll sponsor ad for Acuity Scheduling. Nathan then returns to the interview, clarifying deal costs and fundraising history while Cliff gently corrects the university name to University of Central Florida.9:15–12:40 · Guest teaching 3/10 Commercial Services Revenue and Portfolio Valuation Breakdown Nathan drills into the breakdown of the $3.8M half-year revenue and prices charged for bespoke invention discovery reports. Cliff walks through their three distinct commercial service lines and notes that the majority of revenue stems from portfolio equity appreciation.12:41–15:13 · Guest teaching 1/10 Team Structure, Science Advisors, and Global Footprint Cliff details team headcounts and global offices before moving through the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. The exchange is lighthearted and conversational.0:49–3:44 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Cliff Gross and Tech Capital's Business Model Nathan presses Cliff to clarify how acquiring medical devices from a corporation relates to university IP, and asks how Tech Capital navigates ownership percentages. Cliff calmly explains their electronic database model indexing over 4,500 universities and their due diligence process.3:44–6:26 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Investment Focus Areas and Intellectual Property Deal Structures Nathan assumes Tech Capital gets intellectual property essentially for free and wonders why universities wouldn't sell directly to tech giants like Google or Apple. Cliff corrects him on deal costs and explains the massive chasm and inventory overload of uncommercialized university patents.6:28–9:14 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Break: Meeting Efficiency with Acuity Scheduling The segment starts with a standard mid-roll sponsor ad for Acuity Scheduling. Nathan then returns to the interview, clarifying deal costs and fundraising history while Cliff gently corrects the university name to University of Central Florida.9:15–12:40 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Commercial Services Revenue and Portfolio Valuation Breakdown Nathan drills into the breakdown of the $3.8M half-year revenue and prices charged for bespoke invention discovery reports. Cliff walks through their three distinct commercial service lines and notes that the majority of revenue stems from portfolio equity appreciation.12:41–15:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Team Structure, Science Advisors, and Global Footprint Cliff details team headcounts and global offices before moving through the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. The exchange is lighthearted and conversational.0:49–3:44 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Cliff Gross and Tech Capital's Business Model Nathan presses Cliff to clarify how acquiring medical devices from a corporation relates to university IP, and asks how Tech Capital navigates ownership percentages. Cliff calmly explains their electronic database model indexing over 4,500 universities and their due diligence process.3:44–6:26 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Investment Focus Areas and Intellectual Property Deal Structures Nathan assumes Tech Capital gets intellectual property essentially for free and wonders why universities wouldn't sell directly to tech giants like Google or Apple. Cliff corrects him on deal costs and explains the massive chasm and inventory overload of uncommercialized university patents.6:28–9:14 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Break: Meeting Efficiency with Acuity Scheduling The segment starts with a standard mid-roll sponsor ad for Acuity Scheduling. Nathan then returns to the interview, clarifying deal costs and fundraising history while Cliff gently corrects the university name to University of Central Florida.9:15–12:40 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Commercial Services Revenue and Portfolio Valuation Breakdown Nathan drills into the breakdown of the $3.8M half-year revenue and prices charged for bespoke invention discovery reports. Cliff walks through their three distinct commercial service lines and notes that the majority of revenue stems from portfolio equity appreciation.12:41–15:13 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Team Structure, Science Advisors, and Global Footprint Cliff details team headcounts and global offices before moving through the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. The exchange is lighthearted and conversational.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 51.5% · guest 48.5%0:00 · Nathan 51.5% · guest 48.5%3:00 · Nathan 19.3% · guest 80.7%3:00 · Nathan 19.3% · guest 80.7%6:00 · Nathan 60.1% · guest 39.9%6:00 · Nathan 60.1% · guest 39.9%9:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%9:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%12:00 · Nathan 29.7% · guest 70.3%12:00 · Nathan 29.7% · guest 70.3%15:00 · Nathan 85.8% · guest 14.2%15:00 · Nathan 85.8% · guest 14.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:58 Cliff pushes back against 'free' IP assumption

When Nathan asserts that Tech Capital gets IP from universities basically for free, Cliff politely but firmly rejects the assertion, noting they pay modest upfront fees along with downstream royalties.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:08 Nathan demands a concrete price range

When Cliff gives a vague answer about bespoke scope for discovery assignments, Nathan forces concrete bracket bounds between $10,000 and $10 million.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:47 Cliff details the massive chasm in university tech transfer

Cliff educates Nathan on why big tech companies do not just buy all university IP, citing over 100k annual discoveries and over 1M unsold patents creating a buyer's market.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 2:06 Nathan challenges university IP relevance

Nathan quickly catches an inconsistency when Cliff mentions acquiring devices from a medical corporation, immediately pressing him on what that has to do with universities.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Cliff Gross and Tech Capital's Business Model 4424 Nathan presses Cliff to clarify how acquiring medical devices from a corporation relates to university IP, and asks how Tech Capital navigates ownership percentages. Cliff calmly explains their electronic database model indexing over 4,500 universities and their due diligence process.
Investment Focus Areas and Intellectual Property Deal Structures 4424 Nathan assumes Tech Capital gets intellectual property essentially for free and wonders why universities wouldn't sell directly to tech giants like Google or Apple. Cliff corrects him on deal costs and explains the massive chasm and inventory overload of uncommercialized university patents.
Sponsor Break: Meeting Efficiency with Acuity Scheduling 3313 The segment starts with a standard mid-roll sponsor ad for Acuity Scheduling. Nathan then returns to the interview, clarifying deal costs and fundraising history while Cliff gently corrects the university name to University of Central Florida.
Commercial Services Revenue and Portfolio Valuation Breakdown 5325 Nathan drills into the breakdown of the $3.8M half-year revenue and prices charged for bespoke invention discovery reports. Cliff walks through their three distinct commercial service lines and notes that the majority of revenue stems from portfolio equity appreciation.
Team Structure, Science Advisors, and Global Footprint 2112 Cliff details team headcounts and global offices before moving through the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. The exchange is lighthearted and conversational.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
Gross: Belloscura is Tekcapital's top success story after 18 months
“One of the technologies that we've invested in was actually in the category of medical devices, and we set up a portfolio company called Belloscura, and we acquired a range of medical devices from a leading medical device company, and Belloscura has been doing…”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 1:40
Disclosure
Gross: Tekcapital network captures university IP across 160 countries
“Well, we built an electronic network where we capture the intellectual properties available for license from universities in 160 countries.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 2:41
Disclosure
Tekcapital acquired salt manufacturing IP from University of Arkansas with 78% less sodium
“One was from the University of Arkansas. We've acquired two technologies. One is actually a new form of salt, a new way of manufacturing table salt that has, in the table salt version of it has 78% less sodium, so it's healthier for the users.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 3:57
Disclosure
Tekcapital acquired 13 optics patents from UCF for augmented reality glasses
“We've acquired a portfolio of 13 optics patents from the University of Central Florida. That allow you to make freeform optics designs in glasses that are lightweight, not bulky, and should look like normal glasses.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 4:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gross: Universities worldwide produce over 100k IPs yearly, with 1M unsold
“If you look at the, if you step back and look at the universities worldwide, they're producing more than a 100,000 intellectual properties a year, and they have perhaps a million in inventory that have gone unsold or licensed.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 5:56
Assertion Supported
Gross: Tekcapital acquired UCF optics patents for under $1M
“Less than a million. And it's the university of central Florida.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 7:52
Assertion Not yet assessed · timeframe Jan 2018
Gross: Tekcapital made $1.5M profit on $3.8M sales in H1 2017
“You know, in the first six months of this year we did 3.8 million in sales, and we made about a million and a half dollars.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 8:41
Assertion Supported
Gross: Tekcapital provided Invention Evaluator to ~250 global universities
“We have an invention evaluator service, which is a terrific service that we provided to around 250 universities around the world and a few large companies.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 11:20
Disclosure
Gross: Tekcapital employs 15 full-time staff and 60 part-time scientists
“We have 15 people inside full-time, and we have 60 people part-time, which are scientists that do the deep-dive due diligence on the technologies.”
Cliff Gross Jan 25, 2018 ▶ 12:47
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