Instead of fearing competitors who copy their product, Synthesia's founder sees them as a net positive. The increased competition generates more market iterations and signals, helping them discover the most valuable use cases for the new technology faster than they could alone, while also sharpening their focus.

Product managers often wait too long to engage IP counsel. The ideal time for a patentability study is before incurring major, non-recoverable production costs, like creating specialized molds. This prevents sinking significant capital into a product that might infringe on an existing patent and require a costly redesign.

Startups often fail by making a slightly better version of an incumbent's product. This is a losing strategy because the incumbent can easily adapt. The key is to build something so fundamentally different in structure that competitors have a very hard time copying it, ensuring a durable advantage.

Luba Greenwood reframes competition in biotech as a positive force. When multiple companies pursue the same biological target, it validates the target's importance and accelerates discovery. This collaborative mindset benefits the entire field and, ultimately, patients, as the best and safest drug will prevail.

The value of a patent extends beyond simple protection. It allows a company to escape commoditization and command higher prices. For startups, patents are tangible assets that justify higher valuations. In legal disputes, they provide crucial leverage for negotiating settlements with competitors.

In MedTech, the regulatory environment neutralizes a startup's key advantage: speed. Intellectual property becomes the critical defense, protecting the company's innovation from larger competitors while it navigates the mandatory, slow-moving approval process required for market entry.

Successful MedTech innovation starts by identifying a pressing, real-world clinical problem and then developing a solution. This 'problem-first' approach is more effective than creating a technology and searching for an application, a common pitfall for founders with academic backgrounds.

The choice between a patent and a trade secret is a strategic decision based on vulnerability. If a product can be purchased and deconstructed to reveal its innovation, a patent is the necessary path. Trade secrets are only viable for innovations that are impossible to discover through reverse engineering.

Don't shy away from competitors. A powerful customer discovery tactic is to present competing solutions directly to prospects and ask them specifically what they dislike or what's missing. This method surfaces critical product gaps and unmet needs you can build your solution around.