Technology Entrepreneurship

Michael A. Lechter, attorney, certified licensing professional emeritus & entrepreneur, was an Adjunct Professor in the Entrepreneurial Program in the Ira A Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University for over a decade and a half. He is the bestselling author of OPM, Other People's Money, How To Attract Other People's Money For Your Investments -- The Ultimate Leverage, (2005, 2nd Edition 2010) and Protecting Your #1 Asset, Creating Fortunes from Your Ideas (2001). An internationally known expert in the field of intellectual property, his clients have included everything from major software, semiconductor, medical device and alternative energy companies to breweries, fast food companies, casinos, cities and professional sports teams, and from startups to venture capitalists to Fortune 100 companies. When asked what he does for a living, he typically replies, “I built forts and fight pirates.” Michael has been the architect of strategies for building businesses -- using both conventional and unconventional forms and sources of “Other People's Money and Resources”. His experience in representing both venture capitalists and start up and emerging businesses, and experience as an angel investor himself, provides a unique perspective to the subject of building a business. Michael is also the author of The Intellectual Property Handbook, TechPress (1994), coordinating editor of Successful Patents and Patenting for Engineers and Scientists, IEEE Press (1995), and contributing author to the Encyclopedia Of Electrical And Electronics Engineering, Wiley (1999) and Licensing Best Practices: The LESI Guide To Strategic Issues and Contemporary Realities, Wiley (2002). Over the years he has also written monthly columns for INC.com, IEEE-USA Today’s Engineer, and Washington Technology. Michael has been an active member of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) USA/Canada, serving as a trustee, and as Computer and Electronics Industry Sector Chair. He has been a LES USA/Canada delegate to LES International, has served as chair or vice chair of a number of LESI committees and as counsel to the LESI board. He has lectured extensively throughout the world on intellectual property law and entrepreneurship. Upon request of the House Judiciary Committee he has submitted testimony to the Congress of the United States and has participated in various United Nations and foreign government proceedings on intellectual property law and technology transfer. Michael is also managing member of MS Capital LLC, which helps successful businesses become sustainable, scalable, and salable, and the owner of Cherry Creek Lodge LLC, a resort/dude ranch in the Tonto National Forest of Northern Arizona, a study in rustic elegance where modern comfort meets the old West. The Cherry Creek Lodge specializes in corporate and family retreats.