Case Study: Unstuck (Hydrophobic Coating Applications)
The Problem
Hydrophobic coatings are everywhere we look. They are applied to everything from our surgical tools and medical equipment to make up and the undersides of the world’s largest ships. With countless existing hydrophobic coating applications, the licensing team at a global industrial manufacturer challenged themselves to uncover untapped uses for their hydrophobic coating technology, and needed help to explore potential licensing opportunities that their team didn’t already know about. Without on-the-ground perspectives from the coating and adhesive industry, the team risked losing out on possible opportunities to license their coating technology, or novel applications to apply hydrophobic coating to enhance their existing products.
Critical Issues
Niche Scientific Perspective Broad Market Knowledge Licensing Insights Needed
The Solution
Maven launched a Telephone Consultation inquiry that fielded dozens of responses from adhesives experts, coating formulators, chemists, and researchers. Within 48 hours, the team spoke with professionals in multiple disciplines regarding the properties and potential uses for hydrophobic coatings. Through the conversations, the team was able to learn more about the unmet needs in various industries where hydrophobic coatings would be useful, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of using hydrophobic coatings in certain applications. Within the week, a list of potential licensing opportunities had been generated for the licensing group to consider. In addition, the team identified a number of products in their product portfolio where their coating technology could be used to enhance their existing products.
“Before coming to Maven, our team was stuck and did not know where to start. Thanks to these conversations, we were able to learn everything we needed, top to bottom. Our team moved forward faster than we ever thought possible. ” –Executive Manager, P&L
