One year already… save the date for our Summer BBQ @The Impactory on July 10th

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Check the event page to register for the party ! 

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Yesterday Pierre Kihn from Office Freylinger hosted a workshop on Intellectual Property at the Impactory. It was a great session taking the participants through all the different types of intellectual property and the laws that regulate them.

Pierre, knows his trade very well, and also how to explain it. Using a simple ball point pen as a case study or example he went through all the main components such as trade secrets, design protection, patent and copyright.

Some highlights were the daunting fact that over a ten year period the share of company values derived from intellectual property has grown from 8% to 80%. This is based on a study by Arthur D Little looking at companies on the S&P 500 list.

Looking at the top 10 list of the most valuable companies in the world one can clearly see that these are companies valued on their intellectual property. Pierre quoted the former head of Coca-Cola who once said that if every plant and bottling operation burnt down he could still rebuild the company based on the high value the brand has.

After the session Pierre spent time with members who had specific questions around their own business and intellectual property. On top of that he also offered a special rate plan exclusive to Impactory members which is of great value to the community. In a start-up situation every cent counts and it is important to get incentives to still make some investments in things that really matter. Intellectual property protection is one of them.

Last night at the CYEL awards Myriam Klein from Luxembourgeois.net claimed the Coup de Coeur award for her passion and dedication. Great work Myriam from all your peers at the Impactory! We’re proud of you!

Some 60 attendants spent the day exploring this in two main sessions. In the morning a more traditional lecturing format, we heard from Mme Chillon from the Department for Solidarity Economy at the Ministry of Economy, Mme Georges and M. Schmit from Caritas sharing data and real life stories they meet in their work with people in poverty or the risk zone of poverty her in Luxembourg (see the graph below for the details on numbers around poverty in Luxembourg).

The afternoon session set things in motion and changed tempo drastically. First all participants received a crash course in the  Business Model Canvas from Sophie Raquez from The Idea Monopoly. This was then used as the framework to pick up the ideas that had been submitted throughout the morning by participants. A quick vote and prioritisation produced seven poverty problems or challenges, that the self-organised groups attacked and tried to find a solution to. It was intense and tough work since it’s not that many who have the experience from looking at entrepreneurial and self-sustainable solutions to solve poverty problems.

Overall the groups did well above their own expectations. The final pitches done by the groups using the the Business Model Canvas as the framework were very inspiring. During this segment there were also some external visitors. Some came as coaches to do speed coaching for the teams participating in the 123GO Social business plan competition which was the last thing that took place before a well deserved evening snack and drinks.