LaunchPad Lab

**BACKGROUND** Please provide a description of your organization. A few years ago, I had the idea to gather and crowdsource information generated by federal laboratories regarding their intellectual property. I believed this data had significant commercial potential, so I decided to establish a business based on this concept. What is your role? I am a cofounder along with another key individual. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What business problem were you aiming to solve with kohactive? We engaged kohactive to create a platform for collecting and integrating intellectual property, which we eventually aim to transition to the private sector. We sought to improve efficiency and accessibility. Our work heavily involves the Department of Defense and the Air Force, which are often perceived as opaque by their communities. As taxpayers, we invest billions in research and development. While much of this research supports military objectives, there’s substantial economic value in those innovations. Kohactive has enabled us to illuminate this information and collaborate with local incubators, accelerators, universities, serial entrepreneurs, and investors to enhance market knowledge about these repurposable inventions. **SOLUTION** Please detail the extent of their involvement. I provided the software architecture, outlining how I envisioned it functioning. Kohactive began developing it in sprints, which we then deployed to our customers and users. They engaged in design work as well as extensive back-end development. The software is quite complex, with various user roles and permissions, catering to a diverse group of stakeholders. They assisted in creating the optimal user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) tailored to our needs at that time. As we expanded the user base, they also worked on front-end design to ensure it looked more inviting than a mere minimum viable product. They did not provide software training; I managed that aspect myself. [Editor's Note: The project included UX/UI work and was developed using Ruby on Rails, Angular, and Heroku.] How did you come to collaborate with kohactive? I had previously worked with some freelance developers who were unsatisfactory. The project requirements I assigned to them often resulted in subpar outcomes. One freelancer, in particular, was fraudulent; we invested funds without receiving any updates. That was the tipping point. My business partner suggested hiring a development firm, as we realized the project was larger than we initially anticipated. In March 2015, I began searching Google for web development companies and found that kohactive had received accolades the year before. After spending hours on their website, reviewing testimonials and past projects, I was impressed by their experience with startups and their concept of "minimum lovable products.” That resonated with me, as I wanted the platform to be user-friendly. I reached out to them on a Sunday afternoon, not expecting a reply, but received a response that same night and had a meeting scheduled for the following morning. Upon learning about John [Koht, principal and creative director of kohactive], I discovered he was a whiskey enthusiast, so I brought a bottle of Chicago Whiskey to our meeting, expressing my dire need for their help. We reached an agreement and signed a contract the next day. Could you provide a financial overview of this initiative? To date, we have invested approximately $70,000 to $80,000 into the project. What is the current status of this engagement? We commenced our collaboration in April 2015, and the partnership is continuing. We have kohactive on a monthly retainer. We now have a minimum viable product that is actively used, and kohactive’s contributions have drawn significant recognition within the federal lab system. Our platform has won several national awards, and demand is growing. Kohactive continues to enhance existing features and introduce new ones. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any statistics or metrics from this collaboration? The Air Force Research Lab is our largest client, and they operate under an unconventional legal framework for federal transactions. We work with various partnership intermediaries nationwide. Last year, one lab we collaborated with received multiple awards for the process we implemented together, which laid the groundwork for much of our software. This year, the executive director of the Air Force Research Lab, Doug Ebersole, who oversees about $8 billion to $9 billion in R&D, endorsed our platform for adoption across multiple labs in 2016. We’re also gaining traction within various Department of Defense labs, promoting our platform among universities and surrounding communities. This field may not seem glamorous; we're cataloging intellectual property and analyzing inventions, a task often tedious when managed with Excel spreadsheets. However, kohactive has made the process enjoyable. I have several platform administrators who add inventions, labs, and edit invention features; they appreciate the system. We are transforming a previously tedious task into an engaging one. The labs we collaborate with were initially resistant to these efforts. How has kohactive performed in terms of project management? We utilize Trello for project management, and I have access to the codebase, allowing me to make modifications, so I manage the project alongside John and his team. This gives me a sense of control over our software, which we've heavily invested in. I value their processes and tools that help me achieve the desired outcomes. What sets kohactive apart from other providers? They invest significant time with me and have implemented the right tools and processes. I require rapid deployments, and they have established necessary steps for every phase. I converse with John weekly and meet with him in person. He allocates ample time for me to express any concerns, focusing on my project goals and ensuring I stay on track with my timeline and budget. His team is adept at resolving any issues. Communication is always effective, and I appreciate the dedication of John and his team. This business is heavily people-oriented, and many engineers and developers tend to focus on their tasks without seeking to understand what clients are trying to achieve. John has devoted considerable time to ensure they are building exactly what I need, and he even challenges me on certain features. We sometimes have to reassess the necessity of certain costly features and prioritize options that may be more beneficial for users. Kohactive possesses a deeper understanding of the technical side, helping me reach my objectives, which I have grown to value immensely.