Interview with Amy Shim, Director of Client Services at Invention Evaluator
Amy Shim is the Director of Client Services at Invention Evaluator, an analysis service based in Seattle that is dedicated to assisting businesses and institutions in locating high-potential technologies by providing them with helpful, affordable analysis reports and prompt customer service. Invention Evaluator’s mission is to help companies and institutions identify high-potential technologies. During this interview, Amy will walk us through the process of Invention Evaluator and explain why the company’s customers are so satisfied with them.
1) Would you mind telling us your name and a little bit about yourself?
My name is Amy Shim, and I lead the client services department at Tekcapital, an intellectual property (IP) investment and services firm. Tekcapital’s Invention Evaluator is a subsidiary that assists startups, established businesses, and educational institutions in bringing their most innovative concepts to fruition.
In the past, I have held positions in the traditional capital markets, including operations in the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service in New York, as well as institutional client service and asset management for one of the largest bond managers in the world. My most recent position is in the alternative capital markets. My undergraduate degree in Economics is from Smith College, and my master’s degree in business administration is from the University of Oxford.
2) What exactly is an invention appraiser?
Invention Evaluator was initially established in 2010 in Sydney, Australia, with the intention of providing a solution to a problem that was being experienced by technology transfer agencies. Disclosures of innovation do not always undergo thorough scrutiny within a reasonable amount of time, if at all. It’s difficult to put a price on how much time and money are wasted as a result. Imagine if the next great idea or invention was lost because of a lack of communication. Invention Evaluator was developed specifically for this purpose. Anyone who is interested in commercialising a concept or technology can take advantage of our review process, which has objectivity, consistency, timeliness, and low costs.
The city of Seattle, in the state of Washington, is now home to the team. We are able to produce a comprehensive study on any idea or technology, which includes a discussion of its technological advantages, research into its intellectual property, and a market analysis, including a SWOT analysis, a competitive landscape, and possible business partners. Anyone who is interested in commercialising a new idea or business that is dependent on a particular technology or asset might benefit from the objective insights that we provide. It’s possible that the adventure will conclude with one of our reports, and that’s perfectly OK. Wouldn’t it be preferable to find out as soon as possible whether investing time, money, and effort into something is going to be worthwhile?
Our skilled analysts, in conjunction with our in-house developed research techniques, are what set us apart from the competition. Together, our group of fourteen highly trained scientific analysts as well as our research systems provide a comprehensive analysis of each new idea that may be put into effect. The majority of our analysts hold postgraduate degrees, and they have all received specialised training in intellectual property law and search engine optimization.
3) At Invention Evaluator, what sets you apart from other service providers, and who are some of your most important clients?
Invention Evaluator specialises on just one service, but we provide it in a way that is unparalleled in terms of quality, speed, and competitive pricing. Our completely objective and exhaustive reports are guaranteed to be delivered within 10 business days or less for less than $1,000. It’s a running joke that our analysts are trained to put an end to ideas, but occasionally I take it seriously. We aim to arm the reader with thought-provoking and impartial knowledge that is truly useful to them in order to make a decision, and we also want to get them ready for the road ahead in case they decide to advance. Feedback from within an organisation is beneficial, but there are several clear drawbacks to considering it. Would you be willing to declare your own child unattractive?
Over 250 academic institutes, government labs and agencies, private enterprises, and business accelerators and incubators all over the world are our customers. Our studies are requested by a wide variety of parties, including private investors, inventors, and people.
4) Please provide us with additional information regarding the technical aspects of your analysis system and explain how it operates.
The generation of our reports is handled by a bespoke software system that is operated by human operators. We would not be able to provide the client reports that we do if our analysts did not each possess their own unique body of specialised expertise. The first thing that the analysts do is go through the information that was submitted by our customers to get a feel for the essence of the idea. We get contributions ranging from a single sentence to four hundred pages long! From there, the analyst will work to develop a semantic map, which will serve as the foundation for the following searches: patent landscape and IP research for relevant literature using Google, Google Scholar Search, and/or Espacenet; market analysis including SWOT analysis, competitive landscape, potential partners, and other resources to assist in further commercialising the opportunity in the event that the client decides to move forward with the process.
5) Both your professional experience and your academic accomplishments speak very highly of you; nonetheless, could you tell us what interests you the most?
If you can call what I do a job, I couldn’t be happier with it since I get to be a part of the development of so many exciting innovations that have the potential to either save or enhance people’s lives, and I get to learn something new every day. That is something that I and the other founders of Tekcapital have in common: the desire to contribute to the development of inventions that improve people’s quality of life and provide value that is sustainable. Whether that be through medical gadgets or novel cancer therapies, enhanced nutritional value of foods, apps, or eyewear, I never know what’s going to come out of the woodwork the next day.
6) Since you have been working as a service and support provider for large technological businesses and institutional investors in the United States, could you tell us about some of the successes you’ve had in the past?
Reports from Invention Evaluator are commissioned by Tekcapital for the inventions in our portfolio that are under consideration for acquisition. Tekcapital requested that Invention Evaluator create a study for one of its portfolio firms, Lucyd, and Invention Evaluator complied. Lucyd is the leading manufacturer of next-generation smart glasses, and their eyewear eShop is currently in the process of opening its virtual doors. A year ago, Lucyd was nothing more than a notion on paper with 13 patents attached to it. Today, it has raised more than $6 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) to build its prototype; the eShop is launching, where you will be able to purchase prescription-ready next-gen eyewear; and it has applied for its 14th patent to protect a new mobile application for its glasses; all of this has occurred within a span of less than one year.
7) Based on your background in asset management, what are your thoughts on blockchain technology and other cryptocurrencies?
When dealing with any new asset class, but especially when dealing with a new one like blockchain and cryptocurrency, it is extremely important to have high-quality, objective information: whether that be verifying the jurisdiction and knowing what guidelines have to be followed (for example, you may be very familiar with the regulations that apply in the United States, but what about the regulations that apply in Singapore, Jersey, or the Isle of Man?), or whether that be determining the potential risks associated with the asset class. Be sure you do your research and come up with an accountable checklist before moving on to the real technology, management team, and business plan with milestones.
According to TechCrunch, initial coin offers (ICOs) raised more than $1.3 billion for cryptocurrency ventures in only one quarter of the previous year. This amount is about five times higher than the money that was raised through venture capital in the blockchain area. Due to the high volume of activity in this location, con artists are sure to focus their attention here in the hopes of making a fast cash.
8) How important is it to you that your customers’ information and transactions remain secure?
Security and the upholding of confidentiality are of the utmost importance to both our company and our customers. If our customers are unable to have faith that we will keep their personal information confidential, then we do not have a viable business. Everything is handled through our protected website and the client dashboards that are specific to each individual user. We never accept submissions or forward reports over email.
9) Please elaborate on your group of specialised scientific analysts and provide us with information on how to contact you.
We have more than a dozen expert analysts working out of our Seattle office who are responsible for producing the reports used by the Invention Evaluator. Each submission is given to a resident expert who is responsible for running the searches through the specialised software that we have developed. Over 5,000 studies have been conducted by our company in the fields of life science (including biotechnology and medical devices), physical science, engineering, and information and communication technology. You can get started right away by enrolling for this website or contacting me at contact@inventionevaluator.com.
10) Do you have any further information that might be helpful to our readers?
We are not a service that requires you to subscribe on a monthly or yearly basis, so you can easily test out just one report at a time. For customers that make heavy use of our services, we offer bulk alternatives with no time limits attached to them. I have faith that our team will be able to assist you in the upcoming assignment!
