This one’s personal. And it’s a good one.
After weeks of back-and-forth with a Fortune 500 company, the InspireIP team was invited for a face-to-face business proposal meeting in Atlanta.
To our surprise, we were one of the two chosen ones to potentially lead their IP journey. And our competition? None other than Anaqua, the legacy giant in IP management.
We were neck-and-neck until the final round. Our CEO, Sam Zellner, flew out to Atlanta himself to make our case in person.
Spoiler alert: We won!
We asked why.
“Your flow made sense. You were flexible where others were rigid. And honestly, the client didn’t need more complexity, just a system that works.”
So, it wasn’t because we were bigger. Or louder. Or backed by decades of legacy marketing.
But because we were faster. More collaborative. Because we could say “yes” to their must-have customizations without six layers of engineering calls. And, frankly, because our UI doesn’t need training just to begin.
And how did we even land this opportunity in the first place? We impressed the fractional counsel hired by that Fortune 500 company.
That same story has played out time and again.
Moments like this made us pause and reflect: why are so many fractional counsels and interim legal leads making InspireIP their go-to recommendation?
Because when you step into a company as a fractional counsel or interim IP chief, you’re not there to maintain the status quo.
You’re there to solve problems, fast.
And these companies rely on you to assess the mess, simplify the chaos, and leave behind a system that works.
That means every recommendation you make, especially when it comes to tools and platforms, reflects directly on your ability to deliver value.
So naturally, what you choose matters.
And since that choice has been InspireIP, we knew we had to share the story with you.
So why are interim legal leaders opting for InspireIP over legacy giants?
#1 Customization without the complexity
You’ve probably walked into companies where processes are duct-taped together across spreadsheets, emails, and outdated tools.
Your job is to bring structure, but not break the system while doing it.
That’s where InspireIP delivers.
Its IP Assist solution adapts to your client’s reality, whether it’s a lean startup or a Fortune 500 subsidiary.
You don’t need to overhaul the entire org to get it working. You just plug it in, configure quickly, and get results.
“I didn’t want a complex system to manage. I needed something that my client could actually keep using after I left.”
— A Fractional Counsel who chose InspireIP over Anaqua for a mid-sized law firm client.
Find out more about how customization works.
#2 A user experience you don’t have to explain
Your credibility relies on how fast your recommendations start showing value.
If the team hates the tool, you’ll hear about it. Or, they simply won’t use it.
InspireIP’s clean UI and logical flows make onboarding nearly frictionless. Every non-IP folk can navigate it confidently.
‘Cause trying to get engineers or product managers to fill out a 14-field invention disclosure form they don’t understand. Not happening.
With InspireIP, the form is customizable, but more importantly, it’s human.
One client shortened the process to a simple 3-question intake that the R&D team actually uses because they helped design it.
That’s a win not just for your client, but for you. Because when the tool works intuitively, you are the one responsible for it.
Another one of our users, a fractional legal advisor to a large law firm, chose IP Assist because, in her words:
“They didn’t need ‘advanced analytics’ or patent portfolio heatmaps. They just needed a damn good way to collect disclosures and track them. InspireIP let them do that, no fluff.”
That’s really it. InspireIP works because it doesn’t try to be everything.
It focuses on what actually moves the needle:
- Capturing ideas and disclosures easily
- Giving you a clean dashboard to track them
- Helping legal, R&D, and leadership stay on the same page
It’s not rocket science. It’s just smart.
#3 You can move fast without enterprise bloat
You don’t have 3 months to get going. You’re on a tight engagement timeline and expected to deliver results in 30–90 days.
And legacy tools often come with long sales cycles, extended implementation timelines, and endless configurations.
That doesn’t work for interim roles where timelines are tight and board expectations are even tighter.
One interim IP chief at a growing Fortune 500 company shared how InspireIP helped them launch a working disclosure intake system in under a week whereas the legacy platform they had scoped would’ve taken 3+ months and heavy IT intervention.
People don’t want bloated software anymore.
Legacy tools are packed with features no one uses. And, they need full-time admins just to keep them running.
When you’re only around for a few months and need to make a meaningful impact, you don’t have time for three-day training sessions or mile-long implementation guides.
You need something that clicks fast.
#4 A platform that makes you look good
As an interim IP chief, you’re not just recommending software. You’re making a strategic call that reflects on your reputation. And InspireIP understands that.
Our team works directly with fractional leaders, giving you:
- Fast response times
- Configuration support
- The ability to tailor language, fields, and flows to your client’s context
When things click into place quickly, you get the credit. And when your client’s innovation or legal head asks, “How did we not know about this earlier?” you’ve done your job right.
Bonus: Your clients will thank you for the cost sanity
Here’s a stat that might surprise you: Legal teams waste more than an average of 40% of their software budget on underused or overly complex tools.
Fractional leaders are usually brought in when the company is scaling or cleaning house. You’re expected to trim the fat, not add to it. Choosing InspireIP often means:
- No heavy setup or onboarding costs
- No locked-in multi-year contracts
- No expensive IT lift
InspireIP pricing is transparent, usage-based, and doesn’t nickel-and-dime you for every new user or feature.
It’s one of the reasons we’ve been preferred by firms managing clients across pharma, deep tech, hardware, and enterprise SaaS.
Ask us about Pricing
Here’s how you can win your client. Step by step.
Step 1: Walk in, diagnose fast, don’t overthink
You walk into a company that says:
“We’ve been meaning to fix our innovation management and invention disclosure process. We’re just not there yet.”
What they usually mean:
- No central system or an inadequate system
- Forms no one understands
- Lack of inventor participation
- No active collaboration within teams or across departments
In your first 1–2 weeks, you don’t start pitching solutions. You:
- Interview stakeholders (Legal, Innovation, R&D, Inventors)
- Ask: “What’s the most annoying thing about your current IP intake?”
- Look at the current form and flow (if any)
Step 2: Use InspireIP as a no-fuss pilot that works out of the box
No one has the patience for a 90-day rollout. InspireIP can be set up in weeks, not months.
Here’s how real interim leaders do it:
- Start with the IP Assist solution
- Customize just 3–5 key fields on the invention disclosure form (no legalese, use inventor-friendly language)
- Set up email or Slack-based integration triggers if needed
- Start with an innovation challenge
- Share with the team
- Get more invention disclosures
One interim IP chief lead told us:
“I asked two engineers to submit their last invention using our new InspireIP platform. They shared the initial form it in 5 minutes, without pinging me once.”
Watch IP Assist Live in Action
Step 3: Turn it into a working disclosure process (not just a tool)
This is where interim IP chiefs shine, you don’t just plug in software, you build process muscle.
Here’s what successful ones do after the tool’s live:
- Set up a monthly disclosure review workflow between Legal & inventors (use InspireIP’s dashboard + comments)
- Add basic status stages: Received → Under Review → Filed → Abandoned
- Share a 1-page guide with R&D called: “How we handle invention ideas now”
Pro tip: Ask the internal lead to co-author the process doc. This gives them ownership, makes it stick even after you exit.
Step 4: Hand off something the client can actually maintain
The biggest fear when bringing in new software as a fractional or interim lead? That everything falls apart when you leave.
With InspireIP, here’s what others hand off:
- A configured system
- A named internal champion
- A 90-day roadmap doc: who reviews disclosures, how often, and what next
Want your own 90-day handoff plan? Let’s create one for you.
Wrapping Up: Simple Wins. Strategic Impact.
Fractional counsels and interim IP chief are hired to make systems better, fast. But you shouldn’t have to wrestle with tools that delay you more than they help you.
InspireIP isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. We just ensure the wheel actually turns.
- Built for speed, not bureaucracy
- Flexible enough to fit your client’s existing workflows
- Intuitive enough that inventors actually use it
- Reliable enough to hand off when your engagement ends
We’re not here to replace the Anaquas or the big names.
We’re here for the 80% of teams who just want something that works without the training manuals, red tape, or vendor lock-ins.
If you’re stepping into a new engagement, or about to hand one off, let InspireIP be the one thing you don’t have to worry about.
Start with an interactive conversation: Schedule a call
