If you are into patent tech, the Gaylord National Resort convention center was the place to be last week. Most of the extremely small number of patent tech startups in the world were represented at the AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association) national meeting, all in the 30 foot section of the convention center, “Startup Alley.”

Startup Alley provided a stage for patent tech companies. Many of the patent lawyer, conventioneers stopped by to see how our tech could improve their practices. I have a solid list of leads to follow-up with this week.

The total addressable market for patent tech tools is relatively small. Even though we are mainly solving different problems, we are all competing for these lawyers limited patent tech budgets. Nonetheless,my fellow patent tech founders were very open about their tech and their sales processes:

Coopetition

I learned a lot. I am hopeful I’ll be able to find ways to work with other founders to make both of our products better. It’s going to be an exciting year. I’m looking forward to discussing our progress next year.