Thank you, Chair.
I thank the witnesses for being here today. I think you gave us a fairly accurate, apt--if not grim--picture of the problems that are facing innovation and new technologies.
It seems to me that in summation, it would be fair to say that not only do you have to be smart, innovative, and ahead of most in terms of new ideas, but you also have to be rich in order to get your products into market.
I will begin with Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Mothersill.
The National Angel Organization would put together groups that would ultimately provide funding for new ideas if those new ideas were worthy and had merit. In terms of the extent of the investment you would make, do you hear some concerns about how much is required up front, the percentage of ownership of the patent or the new idea? Is this a bit of a barrier?
In other words, if you were putting together a group that demands, for example, 75% ownership in order to get through the early seeding, the early, past-the-bootstrap level, how much of a disincentive would that be to someone who just says, “Well, I'm going to lose that anyway”?