Securing Your Business - Developing an intellectual property strategy for growth

In today's fast-paced world, start-ups, scale-ups, and SMEs often find themselves navigating turbulent waters. These "speedboat" businesses, characterized by agility, innovation and limited resources, face unique challenges in securing their business models with adequate IP strategies.
An Cosaert's new book is a groundbreaking guide that equips those small companies with cost-effective tools to turn innovative ideas into scalable businesses, ready to thrive in a competitive landscape.

• A forward-thinking approach to IP instead of a traditional, defensive one;
• Practical, cost-effective tools tailored to startups, scale-ups, and SMEs;
• A shift in mindset-from merely defending to strategically securing intellectual assets-that positions businesses for sustainable growth from the start.

As an essential resource for entrepreneurs looking to transform ideas into thriving, future-proof enterprises, the book demystifies IP management, making sophisticated strategies accessible and affordable for everyone. Ultimately, it provides vital advice for speedboat businesses to navigate the challenges of growth and maintain competitiveness in their markets.

About the author

Throughout her career, An Cosaert has worked at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property. Fascinated by technology and the way new ideas can transform industries, she first set out to pursue a degree in industrial engineering electromechanics. Thus equipped with a strong analytical mindset and a broad technical foundation, she started her professional journey at KU Leuven, where she conducted research on textile composites.


Switching the academic world for R&D at various international corporates, she gained hands-on experience in material applications and learned how technology translates into real-world industrial solutions. This environment allowed her to refine her ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear and accessible knowledge.


In 2007, she took a pivotal step in her career by becoming an innovation consultant and expert, first at the West Flanders Innovation Centre and later on at Antwerp Management School. Here, she discovered her passion for guiding start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs through their innovation processes. She gained deep insights into the strategic importance of IP and developed methods to make IP more accessible and actionable for entrepreneurs (in the making), thus bridging the gap between innovative ideas and scalable business models.


Since 2018, she is teaching Intellectual Property Strategy at Antwerp Management School (Master programme Sustainable Innovation & Entrepreneurship).


In 2019, she started her own consultancy agency Inquirendi (Latin for “on a discovery”) bringing together innovation, entrepreneurship, and IP. Since then, she has been helping companies futureproof their innovation and IP strategies and support them in building scalable, sustainable, technology-driven businesses.


Recently, she expanded her ventures with Scalendi (Latin for “scaling”), an agency that focuses on developing IP strategies that support the scaling or growth of companies, through business model


alignment and IP due diligence preparation. 


It is not only her mission, but also her passion to make intellectual property both achievable and strategically valuable for businesses navigating an ever-evolving world.

Summary

In today‘s fast-paced world, start-ups, scale-ups, and SMEs often find


themselves navigating turbulent waters. These “speedboat” businesses,


characterised by agility, innovation and limited resources, face unique


challenges in securing their business models with adequate IP  strategies.


An Cosaert’s new book is a groundbreaking guide that equips those


small companies with cost-effective tools to turn innovative ideas into


scalable businesses, ready to thrive in a competitive landscape.


· A forward-thinking approach to IP instead of a traditional, defensive


one;


· Practical, cost-effective tools tailored to start-ups, scale-ups, and SMEs;


· A shift in mindset—from merely defending to strategically securing


intellectual assets—that positions businesses for sustainable growth


from the start.


As an essential resource for entrepreneurs looking to transform ideas


into thriving, future-proof enterprises, the book demystifies IP management, making sophisticated strategies accessible and affordable for everyone. Ultimately, it provides vital advice for speedboat businesses to navigate the challenges of growth and maintain competitiveness in their markets.

Report

"In the dynamic world of start-ups and scale-ups, intellectual property is often overlooked until it's too late. This book offers a refreshingly pragmatic and accessible guide to integrating IP into the strategic roadmap of growing ventures. What makes it particularly valuable is its direct relevance to founders and early-stage teams navigating the scale-up journey, investor conversations, and due diligence processes. By demystifying IP and anchoring it within the broader startup ecosystem-including funding, and acquisition readiness-it provides a critical toolset that too few early-stage entrepreneurs fully leverage. A must-read for anyone serious about building a secure and scalable business."
Omar Mohout - Scaleup Director, Deloitte

Product details

• Authors: An Cosaert
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.01.2026
• EAN: 9783111673066
• ISBN: 978-3-11-167306-6
• No. of pages: 120
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 10 mm x 230 mm
• Weight: 239 g
• Illustrations: 45 col. ill.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Business administration; Innovation, Strategisches Management, optimieren, growth, BUS060000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Small Business, BUS063000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Strategic Planning, scalability, cost-effectiveness, BUS098000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Knowledge Capital, IP strategy