Proof of tech without market traction
- publish258
- Mar 8, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 9
How Philipp Kramer used patents as a currency to start up Dyemansion, raise €20m and open a plant in the US
Dyemansion has raised €20m since it started seven years ago. As a 3D finisher, it now turns raw parts into high-value products, supplying systems from its plants in Munich and Texas. In raising an initial €1m in 2015, it relied on patents to prove its technology. ‘Our approach is to develop an idea pool, make a fast feasibility and then patent without development’, says Philipp Kramer, founder and chief technology officer at Dyemansion. ‘We always file at the German Patent Office and get an examination report within 12 months. So we know how likely and how broad a grant could be. Some applications we drop. Others we take into PCT. We go as long within the time limits as we can.’ So far, Dyemansion has developed 17 patent families. ‘Early on, you have a lot of ideas about different technologies. For patents, what we saw is that you don’t really have to develop them completely. There is value in defending yourself from competitors.’ After raising its seed capital, Dyemansion switched its focus for two years to creating the market traction to raise its Series A funding of €7m. ‘The question is whether we could have spent more on R&D to lock down the market. I don’t worry too much about our competitors. We have superior technology and market access. Ideally, you should land enough funding for R&D and IP. So don’t wait too long before raising further money.’ ‘In the early stages, it’s your technology and IP that counts. You usually don’t generate much revenue and you don’t have any customers. At Series A, you have to show the technology actually works and you have relevant revenue from customers. So for us, 2017 was about gaining market traction and making our first steps in the US.’ Kramer keeps the focus on his own products, building up the know-how in the company and recruiting chemists so patents are written in a way that competitors cannot work around. By maintaining all the company’s patents, the option for future licences is maintained, as well as the potential for pivoting into new innovations. After all, Dyemansion originally started making cases for smartphones, before its original patents led it into 3D printing. ▪ Philipp Kramer was speaking at the High-growth Technology Business Forum, the first in a series of regular events organized by the European Patent Office and the Licensing Executives Society International. Or follow on Linked In.
