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David Hulston FRSA is Inngot’s chairman. He is an IP industry veteran with a licensing specialism that includes experience of working with some of the world’s largest companies, through his work as a founder-director of both Scipher plc and QED Intellectual Property.
A qualified accountant by training, David is a seasoned angel investor and business mentor who has held senior management roles in Australia, UK, South-East Asia, USA, Japan and South Korea.
He is a regular speaker at technology conferences. David has also been an advisor on technology commercialisation strategy to Governments in Malaysia, Australia and Wales.
How did you first get involved in IP?
I worked at EMI prior to the demerger from Thorn and became FD at the Central Research Laboratories, the group’s technology and intellectual property division.
We did an MBO for £3.3m and renamed the division Scipher, later listing it on the LSE at a value of £330m.
At that time, I led Scipher’s technology licensing arm, QED Intellectual Property, which was a pioneer in proactively licensing and enforcing patents on behalf of large corporations around the world. We worked with BT and with many of the large Japanese technology companies, amongst others.
I was deeply involved in financing and commercialising R&D and have always felt the importance and true value of IP has been misunderstood, particularly in how that value is expressed in accounts.
At QED, I spent some time exploring opportunities with insurers looking at different IP insurance products. The issue we all struggled with was the complexity and economics of IP valuations at scale.
What first interested you about Inngot?
I heard Martin Brassell present at an investment forum, talking about Inngot’s valuation tools as a solution for investors looking for a fast and cost-effective way to value IP and intangibles. I was instantly intrigued, but aware that the financial markets still lacked an understanding of IP.
Recalling my earlier discussions with insurers, I realised Inngot may have cracked that nut.
I was impressed with the global potential and wanted to help Martin realise this.
Why do you think Inngot is important?
Globally, there’s a $5 trillion gap in SME lending requirements and available funds.
Many of these companies are good businesses; but, because of the inadequacy of accounting statements in recognising intangibles as securable assets, banks are unfamiliar with IP as an asset class and feel unable to support them. If their intangible assets were recognised and understood, the valuable parts could be used as reliable and predictable collateral.
That comes back to the valuation problem. Banks can’t do that at scale, it requires automation. That’s what Inngot delivers: identification and valuation of intangibles with tools that integrate to a bank’s standard application process.
Inngot has unique understanding of the issues across intellectual property, finance and insurance. This has been demonstrated in the important research and policy work that Inngot has done for the UK and Singapore Intellectual Property Offices, UK Treasury and the OECD, to name just a few partners.
What’s your vision for Inngot?
Inngot’s tools have been built on rigorous research and validation by banks and IP institutions. The team has developed what will become the global standard for identifying and describing intangibles. Their valuation methodology is firmly based on globally accepted standards.
There are some exciting developments ahead around the development of IP insurance underwriting products linked to Inngot’s valuations that will give lenders the comfort needed to open this area up. This will lead to rapid deployment of funds to intangible asset-based businesses which tend to be higher growth and more successful.
Inngot’s work will be essential in the world’s economic recovery post-pandemic.
