Hey everyone,
I m Emad. In a few hours (8:01 AM BST), I m pushing the launch button on my first major solo SaaS, AI4IP.io. I m currently running on zero sleep and way too much coffee here in Libya, but I wanted to start a conversation about a massive blind spot I see in the startup world.
Throughout my PhD research and engineering career, I kept seeing brilliant hardware and deep-tech founders make the same fatal mistake: They ship fast, but they ignore the patent landscape.
Why? Because traditional law firms charge $30,000 to $50,000 for a "Freedom to Operate" (FTO) search and it takes three weeks. When you are bootstrapping, you don't have that kind of money or time. So founders just roll the dice, hoping they aren't stepping on an existing patent landmine.