b"PARTNER CONTENTGrowing From One to PortfolioBy: Sam CloeteO ccasionally, one is lucky enough to have a conversation with someone whose perspectives capture and summa-rize your own experiences. Recently, I had an in-depth conversation with a seasoned global patent portfolio managerIts easy to get lost in the weeds of innovation or to who beautifully articulated and clarified what Ive learned overbecome biased towards one product or another in the multiple years regarding agricultural innovations. These perspec-tives are so important that Id like to share them with you too: pipeline, both of which can blind one to opportunities.We all recognize and esteem a company who manages toThe right team is critical to keeping a business on track. take an innovation to market. But, when that very company tries to repeat the same initial success again and againessentially moving from a one-hit-wonder to a diversified portfolio of income producing assetstheres a complication factor that needs to be recognized, understood, and meticulously managed.Achieving the optimal team who builds out the intellectual The truth is that its relatively easy to manage one or twoproperty portfolio also requires a variety of perspectives who products in development, one or two patents, one or two strategicask important and specifically the right questions. Its easy to get relationships, contracts and licensing agreements. But, if you'relost in the weeds of innovation or to become biased towards one going to manage multiple layers of technologies or products or in- product or another in the pipeline, both of which can blind one to novations, you not only need to know your industry and offering,opportunities. The right team is critical to keeping a business on you need to know the limits of your internal and external exper- track.tise. As your intellectual property portfolio expands, there comes In short, building a portfolio requires a very different mindset a point that a company needs experienced support to help leadthan being successful with a single or even a couple of products the way in each of the various disciplines required to develop andand technologies.bring to market agricultural innovations. These subject matter At Kannar, weve been incredibly lucky to build and foster a experts range from human resources experts to patent protectiondiverse, highly skilled and - equally importantlypassionately legal advisors to scientists and innovation specialists to market- committed team. Ive always known that our team is key to our ing gurus: a team who works in very different areas to achieve asuccess, but my conversation about portfolio building last week single goal - the most profitable commercialization possible. underscored just how lucky Kannar is to have the team we do! JANUARY 2023 SEEDWORLD.COM /15"