Vice President of Intellectual Property  

Problem

A Silicon Valley company that was working on developing cutting edge hardware and software using quantum computing technology was facing increased legal costs. As a startup, they had aligned themselves with various law firms who helped them patent their technology. However, in a growth stage with funding from some premier VC funds, they were developing new technology almost daily and all of it needed patent protection. In order to control legal expenses, they decided to hire a Vice President of Intellectual Property. This person would be responsible for all the intellectual property of the company, handling the patent process in-house and only partnering with law firms when necessary.

The complex nature of the technology they were developing required the ideal candidate to not only be an attorney who is licensed in front of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but the candidate also needed to have a deep background in physics including an advanced degree and several years of technical and legal experience.

Solution

They turned to us after they were referred by their outside counsel law firm.

Our team worked closely with the client to develop a profile of the ideal candidate and learn more about the features, advantages and benefits of the client and their opportunity. The goal of this process was to identify areas of opportunity and help craft a message that would help our client’s story stand out amongst the crowd, helping to attract the best candidate. We also provided input into the client’s hiring process, and suggested changes that would make their compensation plan more competitive.

We proceeded to create a list of viable candidates around the country who had the experience and technical background to qualify for the position. We then systematically reached out to every candidate on that list, pitching our client’s opportunity. Each potential candidate was presented with a compelling message about why our client was conducting the search and how the candidate would fit on our client’s platform. This process led to multiple qualified candidates interviewing with the client.

Outcome

After a thorough search by our team, our client was able to hire a candidate who was licensed by the USPTO, had a Ph.D. in physics and most importantly had the temperament and personality to be an excellent fit.