Rob Rosenbaum
It can be hard for some entrepreneurs, particularly those living in rural areas of Maryland, to believe that tech transfer opportunities (the buying of patents from research universities to create new products) are a realistic prospect for them. Images of NASA breakthroughs handed over to large multinational corporations are the most typical stereotypes of how such transactions take place.
But that perception is what Rob Rosenbaum, as head of Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), has spent the last few years trying to change. For more than 14 years, TEDCO, created by the State Legislature to encourage tech transfers in Maryland, has shown that entrepreneurs, large or small, urban or rural, can play this sometimes very lucrative game of free enterprise.
Rosenbaum is not a newcomer to tech transfer. Before directing TEDOC, he led many technical projects from design through delivery and integration at places like Stride Rite Corporation and Eventra, an electronic commerce/EDI software company, as well as a general partner in Nobska Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund focused on technology and medical devices, and Argo Publishing.
“We start companies and we help accelerate other companies to commercially deploy intellectual property developed by Maryland’s universities to the market place,” said Rosenbaum. “TEDCO is in the business of helping the process of getting the inventor (principle investigator) or the entrepreneur to get a license, start a business, and get the product to market.”
Part of the problem is that entrepreneurs don’t immediately think about going to a tech transfer office first. Their interest needs to be “stimulated” by such TEDCO sponsored events like the Maryland Entrepreneur Expo starting on November 13 at the BWI Marriott, which has a special emphasis on tech transfer opportunities.
“The tech transfer offices are eager to work with anyone, regardless where they live, to make this happen. From Garrett County to the Eastern Shore, entrepreneurs are starting to make this happen in all sorts of locations. They follow capital, customers, CEOs, or a particular community, and if one of those seeds works in a small town, all the better,” said Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum is the first to warn that tech transfer opportunities are not for the impatient. “The challenge is the cost of getting a license, and securing capital—and the time it takes to do that can be painful along the way to ramping up business.”
TEDCO offers a way to make this process less painful. Rosenbaum and his team are professionals in navigating the complicated world of research universities, technology contracts, and seed and long term funding support to provide capital and also help guide entrepreneurs through the maze of the licensing process.
The ultimate goal of TEDCO is to create a tech transfer community in Maryland that can seriously compete with other states in getting innovative products to the market. From Rosenbaum’s experience, it’s a win-win for all. “Everyone in the state wins when we’re successful in tech transfer. The entrepreneur, the state’s research universities, the consumer, and, of course, the taxpayer. ”
For information about the Maryland Entrepreneur Expo, please click here
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