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“I have definitely encountered frustration with the pace,” he said. “A six-month delay can mean the difference between a multi-million dollar company that’s first to market and an also-ran.”

Some institutions claim all the equity and most of the revenue of any resulting business. Others lay claim to none, or leave it up to founders to decide whether they want help commercializing their ideas in exchange for a piece of the business.

In Agarawala’s case, the University of Toronto claimed a cut of his future sales since he came up with the idea in the course of his studies. He said the school’s tech transfer office, the department involved in commercializing ideas that come out of the university, also offered some well-intentioned help, which was useful since he didn’t have any experience running a company.

“I needed advice,” he recalls of his 24-year-old self. “It was definitely fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I felt like I was thrown to the wolves.”

Things turned out well for Agarawala, who negotiated a revenue-sharing deal with the University of Toronto that didn’t involve giving up any equity. He later sold his company BumpTop to Google Inc. in 2010, an achievement the university used to promote a fundraising campaign by erecting life-sized banners of him alongside other notable alumni on campus.