Quorvane Materials Seed
University spinout pitch deck: licence, team, first money
A university spinout pitch deck has to prove that the company owns what it needs to sell, that someone other than the inventor will run it, and that a customer has paid. Quorvane Materials, an invented spinout from a fictional engineering faculty, shows its licence terms, its CEO from industry and an 85,000 dollar paid pilot.
Every slide, in order
The whole deck as it renders, one slide after another. Read it the way the audience would.
The structure
What each slide is doing, so you can reuse the order even with different content.
- Slide 1cover
- Name the spinout and its university origin, since the licence and the inventor are what an investor checks first.
- Slide 2intro
- The problem and why precast is the place to start, before the science.
- Slide 3pillars
- The binder in three numbered points, written for a generalist investor.
- Slide 4framework
- The IP licence terms in plain words, four headings with two terms each, because spinout investors read the licence before the plan.
- Slide 5tree
- The team as a tree with the CEO at the top and the inventor beside her, since investors want to know who runs the company and who owns the science.
- Slide 6timeline
- From the lab prototype to the paid pilot customer, six steps, so progress since the spinout is visible.
- Slide 7metrics
- The three facts that de-risk a spinout: patents, a paying customer and non-dilutive money.
- Slide 8comparison
- The standard precast mix against the Quorvane mix on the five things a producer decides on.
- Slide 9investment
- The two million dollar seed in three lines, each tied to moving from one pilot to repeat orders.
- Slide 10closing
- Close with access to the licence and the lab data, the two documents a spinout investor diligences.
Slide by slide
Slide one names the spinout and its university origin. Slide two states the problem and why precast is the place to start. Slide three is the binder in three numbered points. Slide four is the licence in plain words. Slide five is the team as an org chart. Slide six runs from the first lab mix in 2022 to the paid pilot in October 2027. Slide seven is patents, the paid pilot and the grant. Slide eight is the pilot pour against a standard mix. Slide nine is the two million dollar ask in three lines. Slide ten offers the licence, patents and test certificates under a confidentiality agreement.
How to adapt this deck
A software spinout usually has copyright and know how rather than patents, so slide four should say what the university assigned or licensed and whether students contributed code. A medical spinout needs a regulatory pathway slide after the licence, because the investor will ask how long until it can be sold. A spinout whose inventor will be CEO should say so on slide five and name the commercial hire the round funds, rather than leave the question open.
What spinout investors ask for
Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia, the body for university technology transfer offices, and AUTM in North America both publish guidance on spinout licences, and the terms investors check are consistent: exclusivity and field of use, royalty and minimum payments, the university equity stake and any control rights, and who pays for patents. A licence with a board veto or a high royalty can make a spinout hard to fund, so investors read it first. IP Australia explains how patents are granted and maintained for an Australian filing.
What makes this deck work
The licence is read before the plan
Slide four sets out scope, payments, equity and patents, two terms each: exclusive and worldwide, a 3 percent royalty, a 15 percent university stake with no board veto, and 20 percent of sublicence income. Spinout investors look for these first, and here they are on one slide.
The CEO is not the inventor
Slide five puts a CEO from the precast industry at the top of the chart and the inventor as CTO beside her. The most common worry with a spinout is an academic founder running sales; the org chart answers it without a sentence of argument.
The pilot result is a table
Slide eight compares one cubic metre two ways: cement down from 380 to 228 kilograms, strength up from 50 to 52 MPa, cost up 6 dollars and carbon down from 410 to 270 kilograms. The six dollar rise is shown, not hidden.
Questions people ask
What licence terms should a university spinout deck show?
Exclusivity and field of use, territory, royalty and any minimum payments, the university equity stake and control rights, who pays patent costs, and sublicensing terms. Put them on one slide in plain words. Investors read the licence before the business plan, so leaving it out costs a meeting.
How much equity does a university usually take in a spinout?
It varies by university and field, so check the policy of your own institution rather than relying on a number. This example uses 15 percent of founding shares, diluted like everyone else, with an observer seat rather than a director, and says so on the licence slide.
Should the inventor be the CEO of a spinout?
Sometimes, but investors want evidence someone can sell. If the inventor is CEO, name the commercial hire the round funds. In this example a CEO from industry runs the company and the inventor is CTO, shown on an org chart so the split is clear.
How do I show traction for a spinout with no revenue?
Patents granted, a paid pilot or paid trial, and non dilutive funding such as a grant. Even one small paid pilot proves a customer will pay for it. This deck shows two patents, an 85,000 dollar pilot and a 400,000 dollar grant on one slide.
Can I show the team without photos?
Yes. The org chart on slide five uses names and one line roles in boxes, with reports underneath. Profile slides with headshots exist too, but a spinout team is judged on roles and experience, which an org chart shows more clearly than faces.
How long should a university spinout pitch deck be?
Ten to twelve slides. Put the technical depth in an appendix for the technical adviser on the investor side. The free plan generates up to six slides, enough to draft the licence, team, traction, comparison, ask and cover before expanding on a paid plan.
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