A growing UK-based software development company that has developed an end-to-end solution aimed at streamlining the graduate recruitment market, particularly in the US. Having committed more than $600k in software development over 3 years, the Company launched its unique software platform offering a highly efficient and focused recruitment tool.
We were engaged to value the Company’s IP portfolio to inform its strategy for imminent fundraising. It also supported the Company’s ongoing joint venture negotiations with a large public US university, that was renowned for placing its graduates with tech giants from around the US and was an ideal target for the Company’s US product launch.
Adopting our Metisology® approach, we performed detailed analysis on the extent and quality of the Company’s IP assets, identifying which of the assets underpinned each of the revenue streams, and appraising the extent to which they were helping to create a competitive moat around the business.
We discovered that the Company owned a portfolio that included software, brand and patents. The structure was complex, however and due to a shift in the Company’s business model, the IP assets underpinning historic revenue were materially different to those underpinning the forecast revenue. Our diligence confirmed, however, that the scalable software platform would be a critical IP asset in achieving the waterfall-style business model that the Company was pursuing. In addition, the software was critical to securing a joint venture with the US university and was likely to make the cost of penetrating the US recruitment market significantly lower.
Our IP valuation demonstrated how the key IP assets underpin revenue and how the innovative, scalable software platform, in particular, was creating a competitive moat around the business. Our IP commentary narrated how the critical IP mapped directly to the business model and would be key to capturing market share.
The Company can now confidently negotiate with its joint venture partner, as has clarity over the value of the IP assets it is committing. In addition, the Company is now armed with an IP narrative that provides additional transparency for lenders and investors ahead of its planned fundraise.
IP Assets Appraised: Software, Brand, Patents
