There are five universities in Argentina that have projects developed within their cloisters and that are currently in talks with private companies, interested in acquiring ideas. Like a dating club, those conversations are taking place in the same place: a marketplace, Trampoline Network, dedicated to bringing researchers and companies together.
Trampoline was founded last year by Ginés Perea, an entrepreneur who 20 years ago had already created and sold his first development (Imagoo) and who now focused on making "Tinder" between innovation and companies looking to buy that intellectual property instead of investing in a research and development department.
"What we seek is to be a platform for linking companies, governments, universities and other actors that produce potentially applicable knowledge," Perea told Clarín. "We already have agreements closed with 25 universities throughout the country, both public and private, and we also have legal status in Spain and the United States."
Trampoline team with the former Minister of Science and Technology, Lino Barañao.
Perea presented this new development on Thursday, in a room of a hotel in Recoleta that was small, both for the number of guests and for those who came to support the project. They ranged from businessman Santiago Soldati, who was in the background, to former Science Minister Lino Barañao, who was one of those who acted as presenter.
Among its sponsors is the network of universities Scholas Ocurrentes, the organization promoted by Pope Francis. The project also added as a "tutor" a specialist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
-How are you going to sustain the business of the platform? Clarín asked Perea.
-We charge 5% of each transaction, only if it is specified, if it is a success story. In addition, if the transfer of technology has a social purpose and is carried out free of charge, we do not charge either.
-Are there already transactions underway?
-We currently have 5 open conversations between universities and companies, in full negotiations to acquire these ideas, which are within Trampoline. We cannot give further information for reasons of confidentiality. We can say that these businesses take between 3 and 6 months to materialize.
One of the axes of the business, Perea added, is the enormous number of small and medium-sized companies that do not have the resources, both financial and human, to dedicate themselves to research and development tasks, but that on many occasions could acquire technology from third parties to improve their processes or launch new products.
"We know that SMEs do not have R+D centers and that large companies are increasingly betting on open innovation to enhance their own R+D areas, strengthening their alliances with universities," added the entrepreneur. "In this sense, Trampoline is presented as a great facilitator for disruptive ideas to become innovation."
What other sites or marketplaces are you competing against?
-With none. We are the first marketplace dedicated to innovation worldwide. And we develop it here in Buenos Aires.