[tomlor]

I've started a hardware company before and went down the patent route. What we did, with success, was to file a provisional patent before raising money - which is far cheaper and less time consuming. That satisfied investor questions regarding IP protection and then we used investor money to file the actual patent itself.

Regarding your proposed step four - if you truly intend to have a limited role for yourself in the future, disclosing this to investors (as you should) might make fundraising more difficult. If you are the visionary behind the tech/company - they'll want to see your continued involvement.

[6stringmerc]

Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts, I truly appreciate the individual contribution. My understanding of the patent system is still limited, but I definitely follow the logic of How and Why your venture went with Provisional. The goal of IP protection has, without question, been my #1 priority and testing of patience.

Also, I appreciate your commenting on Step 4, and can clarify: From a lot of articles / testimonials through HN and other places, I've seen a lot of caution regarding "Trying to do everything / be everything / resist giving up control" in a Start Up environment. I'd love for my venture to breed more ventures long-term. As in, if I could be successful once I'd like to use that success to cautiously expand my portfolio (get back to work inventing things) and participate in business management on a prudent level. I certainly don't want to project a flighty here-today-gone-tomorrow type of attitude, because I wouldn't want to invest in such an approach either. Thus, a big thank you for noting the expectation within the field regarding ongoing involvement.