>

Startup-Friendly Transactions

CTTC is committed to supporting entrepreneurs and the startup experience on campus. For faculty entrepreneurs, part of that experience involves licensing technology from the university into their startups. Our startup-friendly approach is intended to streamline this process while recognizing the unique challenges each startup company faces.

CTTC uses standardized option and startup license templates for transactions with affiliated new ventures. These templates are designed to minimize negotiation time and complexity while providing the flexibility to address each startup's unique needs.

The process begins with a stakeholder meeting where startup founders are encouraged to ask questions about Vanderbilt's expectations, standard licensing terms and conditions, conflicts of interest, investment considerations, and the services provided by CTTC's New Ventures Team.

CTTC provides founders with access to Vanderbilt licensing guidelines, term sheet and licensing templates, and the Vanderbilt Startup Licensing Guide to explain the licensing process and standard terms and conditions. Our goal is to ensure the startup licensing process is straightforward, transparent, and results in a timely, startup-friendly agreement that is investable by the venture community.

Additional startup-friendly licensing features are outlined below.

Startup-Friendly Licensing Features

  • Cashless Transactions

    Vanderbilt does not require startups to part with any cash up front for access to Vanderbilt technology.  Option agreements and licenses agreements are “cashless”, meaning that the company provides equity as an up-front license fee in lieu of cash licensing payments, and provides diligent efforts and market information to Vanderbilt in lieu of any cash option payments.  Further, up to $25k of past and accrued patent expenses are delayed for a year after the license is signed to allow the company time to raise capital for its business (and after that, a payment plan is put in place – there is no balloon payment obligation).

  • Local Presence Abatements

    As an incentive to remain local, most Vanderbilt-affiliated startups receive a royalty reduction and other reduced fees (and/or options for paying certain fees with equity) for so long as the startup is primarily located in the greater Nashville region.  Keeping our companies local is important for market segment cluster-building/economic effects, to provide employment opportunities for graduating students, and to facilitate capital investments in the region. 

  • Favorable Terms & Conditions

    Generally startup companies receive all IP rights associated with a licensed technology on an exclusive basis, along with access for some time to improvements to such technology, to prohibit competition and to provide investors with confidence in making capital investments.  Though promises to diligently develop the technology into a useful product remain important in all licenses, Vanderbilt provides diligence terms, and protections for when they are not met, that recognize development efforts often take longer than originally anticipated. 

Startup-friendly licensing terms and conditions are consistent with Vanderbilt's licensing policies and practices. Learn more by visiting our Licensing Policies page.

View Licensing Policies

Questions?

If you have questions about licensing technology for a startup company, please contact the New Ventures Team.