Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider Stacy Spikes, a long-time client of Attorney Barbara Courtney and Martensen IP, has documented his experience “at the intersection of power, technology, and race” in an engaging and insightful book.
A Trailblazing Visionary’s Unique Perspective on Success
Stacy Spikes is an award-winning entrepreneur that USA Today named one of the 21 most influential Black people in technology. Still, he has had to overcome many obstacles in his career that other business visionaries don’t have to face.
Being an outsider who defies the stereotypes associated with tech entrepreneurs isn’t easy. However, Stacy has always chosen to view that status not as a factor that can impede his progress but as something that can power his success.
Partnering With an IP Leader to Protect His Intellectual Property
Stacy notes in Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider that his faith in himself and confidence in his abilities have been essential to achieving his business goals. That includes founding, growing, selling and subsequently reacquiring the much-talked-about company MoviePass and, more recently, developing a company called PreShow.
Martensen IP’s Barbara Courtney has supported Stacy’s confident approach to business through the years, going back to when she built the valuable patent portfolio for MoviePass. At the dawn of the “fintech” era—when it was unclear whether software could be patented—she scored a significant victory for the company, and her work became part of the foundation for the countless software industry patents that have followed.
Today, Barbara is doing the same for the intellectual property (IP) assets of PreShow, which Stacy describes as “the world’s first attention exchange platform that allows you the ability to convert your attention into in-game virtual currency and more.”
Looking Ahead
From his beginnings as a film studio “gopher” to his role as a business leader, Stacy has inspired outsiders everywhere. He has demonstrated that the path to success not only involves leveraging their skills and passions but also protecting the IP assets they create on their journey.
Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider surely will be considered “required reading” in the years ahead for anyone looking to turn seemingly insurmountable obstacles into the fuel that drives their business.
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"Keen ability to target and successfully capture IP concepts for further development."David Bruemmer, 5D Robotics
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We Maintain A Record of Success in Achieving Patent CoverageEvery attorney has 20+ years of experience and has drafted and prosecuted hundreds of successful patent applications.
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We Function At The Intersection Of Business, Law And Technology
Our experience and knowledge converge at the intersection of intellectual property and government contracting. We are uniquely positioned not just as a provider of technical counsel, but also as part of business advisory teams.
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We Develop Strategies to Enhance Competitive AdvantageWe come up with great IP strategies to enhance our client’s competitive advantage but recognize that the technology will change, the environment will change, the competition will change and so will our plan; we’re ready.
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