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Frequently Asked Questions
Skip to: FAQ's From Entrepreneurs
FAQ’s From Corporations
1.
How does my company benefit from Progeny Ventures’ Services?
2.
What is different about Progeny Ventures?
3.
Why the name “Progeny Ventures”?
4.
Sounds great! How do I get
started with Progeny Ventures?
5.
How long does the process take?
6.
What are my alternatives for achieving the same
commercialization success?
FAQ’s From the Entrepreneurs
1.
I work for a corporation and I have an idea for a product
or company. What do I do now?
2.
I do not work for a corporation and I want to submit a business plan.
What do I do now?
3.
What will happen to my corporate benefits and compensation?
4.
Will I still be an Employee?
5.
How is the IP treated that I developed while at the corporation?
Answers to FAQ’s From Corporations
1.
Q: How
does my company benefit from Progeny Ventures’ Services?
A: Progeny Ventures services employ alternative as well as traditional methods of commercialization for new-to-the-world products and services. With a network of commercialization specialists to draw upon, Progeny Ventures consultants are able to apply the most appropriate methods of commercialization for each situation.
The main benefit that this provides your company is the ability to grow into new markets and introduce new-to-the-world products and services in a manner competitive with nimble startups.
2.
Q: What
is different about Progeny Ventures?
A: Progeny Ventures consults on the best method of commercialization for new-to-the-world products and service, employing alternative approaches such as spinouts, mixtures of external and internal capital, and mixed management teams of entrepreneurs and corporate technologists.
·
Progeny
Ventures’ structure allows entrepreneurial-like growth while allowing
corporations to retain ownership
·
Progeny
Ventures’ manager has expertise in IT Spinouts and VC Start-up structures, as
well as many years of experience in commercializing high technology in corporate
settings
·
Progeny
Ventures has a network of private Venture Capitalists willing to review any
investment proposal that may fit within their investment specialization or
focus.
·
By
bridging the gap between the private VC world and corporate world, Progeny
Ventures offers a new way to commercialize certain innovations that would
otherwise be neglected because the innovations
1.
do not contribute to current revenue;
2.
do not fall within the strategic intent of the parent corporation; or
3.
the innovations are creating new markets and do not have a
ready-to-purchase customer base at the inception of the idea.
·
The
result of Progeny Ventures’ structure allows large corporations to
create ventures that act like new companies in producing the
products of the future with the speed and agility of startups.
3.
Q: Why
the name “Progeny Ventures”?
A: Progeny Ventures is named with the concept of the corporate “parent” producing “progeny” that, under the Progeny Ventures model and with Progeny Professional Services, will grow up or mature into corporations that are able to stand on their own.
4.
Q: Sounds
great! How do I get started with
Progeny Ventures?
A: Contact Progeny Ventures at info@progenyvc.com. We will work with you to organize a first engagement meeting, which aims at introducing the Progeny approach to the CEO/CFO/CIO/Partners and determine if possible opportunities exist. If that meeting is successful, we will work with the right people in your company to proceed to the second stage of Progeny’s engagement process.
5.
Q: How
long does the process take?
A: The first step, the engagement meeting, should determine an approximate time table for identification of project and the different options of commercialization.
6.
Q: What
are my alternatives for achieving the same commercialization success?
A: The options that a corporation faces when commercializing a new technology or developing products and services for a new market are:
·
Developing
the new product or service in an existing business unit using standard corporate
financing, project controls, compensation, and staffing processes
·
Creating
a new business unit or venture, but still under the standard corporate
financing, project controls, compensation, and staffing processes
·
Creating
a new business venture, but with startup/venture capital type financing, project
controls, compensation, and staffing processes
·
Selling
the technology to an entrepreneurial company in exchange for equity
·
Licensing
the technology to an entrepreneurial company in exchange for licenses fees
Where there is a strong strategic fit, the target market is well understood and stable, the technology risk is low, the company has good operational capabilities, the need for external investment does not exist, and the management autonomy needed is low, the first alternative is the best choice. Where any of these conditions are not true, the remaining four alternatives will be the most successful. The second alternative has proven to work well in some situations. But where the risks are highest and the markets most volatile, history indicates that one must choose from the last three to have any chance of success.
Progeny Ventures focuses on working with companies to implement the best
approach with the opportunity for the highest returns, both
financially and strategically.
Answers to FAQ’s From the Entrepreneurs
1.
Q: I work
for a corporation and I have an idea for a product or company. What do I do now?
A: Please visit http://www.progenyvc.com/proposal.htm to submit your idea and get the process started. Since you developed the idea while working for a corporation, you almost certainly signed an agreement assigning your IP rights to your employer. So the first step in our process is to organize an engagement meeting with senior level executives at your corporation to explain the advantages of the Progeny approach of creating a spinout corporation to commercialize your idea, and to obtain their buy-in. From the meeting, we will be able to determine if your project can be a candidate to spinout and how to proceed.
2. Q: I do not work for a corporation and I want to submit a business plan. What do I do now?
A: Currently, Progeny Ventures is not seeking new investments.
3.
Q: What
will happen to my corporate benefits and compensation?
A: If Progeny determines that your project is a candidate for spinning out into a new venture, and your employer agrees tow working with Progeny on creating a spinout, a few things will happen. You will work for a new corporation (the spun-off progeny), not your existing employer. If your salary is competitive to the market, you will retain your current salary, but your bonus and stock option plans will be replaced by stock options in the new company. Typically, in creating the spinout, we set aside 20% of the stock for employee stock options. Most start-ups decide to subscribe to a basic medical benefits plan, and implement a 401K plan for retirement saving purposes. The bottom line is that your compensation will be directly tied to the success of the spinout.
4.
Q: Will I
still be an Employee?
A: It is important for the new company to be structured as independently as possible as history dictates this increases the chances of survival. For this reason, the employees of the corporation must become employees of the new ventures, acting as entrepreneurs.
5.
Q: How is
the IP treated that I developed while at the corporation?
A: The IP rights are transferred to the start-up company.
