PathPulse

Visual workflows for Australian research commercialisation

Score: 7.8/10AustraliaMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Australian innovators waste years and miss market opportunities because outdated frameworks and broken commercialisation systems prevent research from reaching the marketplace.

Solution

PathPulse replaces chaotic email chains and spreadsheets with a visual workflow platform that follows the exact commercialisation process used by Australian universities and funding bodies. It provides stage-gated templates, automated compliance gates, deadline tracking and stakeholder collaboration in one place.

Target Audience

Australian researchers, university tech transfer offices, and deeptech entrepreneurs

Differentiator

Mapped 1:1 to official Australian frameworks (NHMRC, ARC, IP Australia, AusIndustry) with built-in audit trails that satisfy university governance requirements.

Brand Voice

professional

Features

Visual Commercialisation Pipeline

must-have35h

Kanban-style board with mandatory Australian stages from Disclosure to Licensing

Smart Templates & Document Generator

must-have40h

Pre-filled Australian-specific forms, agreements and applications

Automated Compliance Gates

must-have45h

System blocks progression until regulatory requirements are evidenced

Stakeholder Collaboration Hub

must-have30h

Secure workspaces for researchers, TTOs, lawyers and investors

Deadline Engine & Notifications

must-have25h

Automatic reminders synced to grant and reporting deadlines

Audit Trail & Reporting

must-have35h

Complete history for university governance and due diligence

Bottleneck Analytics

nice-to-have30h

Dashboard showing where projects typically get stuck in Australian system

e-Signature Integration

nice-to-have40h

Built-in DocuSign-like functionality for Australian agreements

IP Australia API Sync

nice-to-have50h

Check patent status directly in the platform

Integration with University CRM

future55h

Sync with existing TTO systems (future)

Total Build Time: 385 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
universitytextNo
roletextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • projects.owner_id -> users.id
  • project_members.user_id -> users.id

projects

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
owner_iduuidNo
titletextNo
current_stagetextNo
statustextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • tasks.project_id -> projects.id
  • documents.project_id -> projects.id

tasks

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
project_iduuidNo
titletextNo
due_datetimestampYes
completedboolNo
stagetextNo

documents

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
project_iduuidNo
nametextNo
urltextNo
signedboolNo

API Endpoints

GET
/api/projects

Get all projects user has access to

🔒 Auth Required
PUT
/api/projects/:id/stage

Advance project to next commercialisation stage

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/tasks

Create or complete tasks

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/documents/sign

Record e-signature completion

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Ruby on Rails 7 + Hotwire + Tailwind
Backend
Ruby on Rails 7
Database
PostgreSQL
Auth
Devise
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Render
Additional Tools
SidekiqPunditViewComponent

Build Timeline

Week 1: Rails foundation and auth

38h
  • Rails 7 app with Devise
  • Core data models
  • Basic UI scaffolding

Week 2: Project and stage management

42h
  • Project CRUD with stages
  • Hotwire Kanban board
  • Template system

Week 3: Compliance engine and tasks

45h
  • Rules engine for gates
  • Task automation
  • Notification system

Week 4: Documents and collaboration

35h
  • File upload + versioning
  • Permissions system
  • Activity feed

Week 5: Billing, analytics and launch

30h
  • Stripe integration
  • Reporting dashboard
  • Landing page
Total Timeline: 5 weeks • 230 hours

Pricing Tiers

Individual

$0/mo

Single user only

  • 1 project
  • Basic templates
  • Personal dashboard

Pro

$35/mo

None

  • Unlimited projects
  • All templates
  • Compliance gates
  • Collaboration (3 seats)

University

$199/mo

Institution-wide

  • Everything in Pro
  • Unlimited seats
  • SSO
  • Advanced analytics
  • Dedicated success manager

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 16515%$341$4,092
Month 651022%$3,927$47,124

Unit Economics

$72
CAC
$680
LTV
6%
Churn
78%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 9.4xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

The missing operating system for Australian commercialisation

Visual workflows, compliance automation and collaboration tools built specifically for how Australian research actually reaches the market.

Feature Highlights

Stage-gated Australian pathways
Built-in compliance gates
One-click document generation
Complete audit trails
Stakeholder collaboration

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'PathPulse reduced our administrative burden by 65%.' — Director of Research Commercialisation, University of Adelaide"
"'Finally a tool that understands the NHMRC pathway.' — Prof. Rebecca Wong"

First Three Customers

Secure pilot agreements with three Go8 Tech Transfer Offices (UNSW, UQ, Adelaide) by offering free University tier for 6 months in exchange for co-branded case studies and endorsement to their researcher networks.

Launch Channels

LinkedIn TTO groupsKnowledge Commercialisation Australasia conferenceResearch Australia mailing listUniMelb & UNSW innovation newslettersAusStartup

SEO Keywords

tech transfer workflow softwareresearch commercialisation platform australiauniversity tto softwareip management australiaresearch project management tool

Competitive Analysis

Enterprise
Strength

Strong in contract management

Weakness

Very expensive, US-focused UI

Our Advantage

Purpose-built for Australian process at 1/10th the cost

🏰 Moat Strategy

Deeply embedded workflows inside university processes create high switching costs. Data from hundreds of real Australian pathways improves compliance rules over time.

⏰ Why Now?

Universities are under intense pressure from the Australian Government to demonstrate commercialisation activity, creating budget for workflow tools that improve measurable outputs.

Risks & Mitigation

marketmedium severity

TTOs already have legacy systems

Mitigation

Position as complementary 'researcher-facing' layer rather than full replacement

executionhigh severity

Building accurate compliance rules is complex

Mitigation

Work with ex-TTO consultants as advisors during build

Validation Roadmap

pre-build21 days

Map current commercialisation processes at 3 universities

Success: Confirmed product-market fit with TTO directors

mvp45 days

Deploy beta to one university TTO

Success: 80% of projects actively using the platform after 30 days

Pivot Options

  • Focus only on TTO dashboards and analytics
  • Become compliance SaaS for export controls and defence research

Quick Stats

Build Time
230h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$6,500
Market Size
$19.0M
Features
10
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
4