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Book Cover
E-book
Author Juszczak, Mark, author

Title "Don't Take My Baby!" : trust issues between inventors and seed investors / Mark Juszczak
Published London : SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals, 2023

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Description 1 online resource
Series SAGE business cases
SAGE business cases
Summary This case is presented from the point of view of Jacob Solak, an inventor in Slovenia. He has developed a proprietary technology for manufacturing a liquid biofuel using a new micro-reactor-based refinery system. He has also secured USD 5 million in seed capital from a sole investor based in Finland. Part of the micro-reactor consists of a set of a highly unusual reactor spin blades. These spin blades are a critical part of the mixing technology and Jacob has worked with a friend of his, an aerospace engineer, for months to develop the blades. Everything is running smoothly until the investor asks Jacob to send the spin blades to a 3-D modeling company in the United States, based in Texas. Jacob feels that there is no need to do this, since the blades work exactly as they are supposed to. The investor feels that having an external evaluator independently test the blades through 3-D modeling in a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) environment is critical to bringing them to market. They may need to be modified in some way--e.g. slightly enlarged or made smaller. Jacob is concerned that if an external company gets their hands on the blades they will steal his technology, and he finds the request from the investor unusual. He consults with his friend, and the friend points out that the American company is most likely trying to steal the design. They are a small company that no one has ever heard off. They might even be a front for the investor. Jacob decides to send the 3-D company a pair of blades that look similar but have a different curve profile--i.e. he knows these blades do not work. He reasons with his friend: if it's a front or if they are trying to steal the technology, then we will know right away because they won't notice that these are the wrong blades. If they are a real company, then any fluid dynamics engineer would immediately recognize that the curve profile doesn't match the expected outcomes. In this case, Jacob could simply tell the investor there was a mix-up in shipping and the right blades will be shipped immediately. Did Jacob do the right thing?
Notes Description based on XML content
Subject Trusts and trustees -- Case studies
Stockholders -- Case studies
Stockholders
Trusts and trustees
Genre/Form Case studies
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781529621709
1529621704