The Napkin Ideas system is PIPE’s optional first step — designed for the pub, the commute, or the shower moment. Post a high-level idea, get it fingerprinted, and let the PIPE community tell you if it’s worth taking further. No inventive step. No commitment. No judgement.
The Napkin stage is completely optional. You can bypass it and go straight to a full Disclose & Validate submission at any time.
You do not need a business plan, a patent, or even a polished concept. A Napkin Idea needs just three things: a title, a problem you are trying to solve, and a rough sense of your approach. Post it. Get your fingerprint receipt. Then watch what the community thinks.
Give it a title and explain the problem you are trying to solve in plain language, as if you were explaining it over a drink. Describe your approach and why it is better than existing solutions. Problem description is shown publicly. Solution is private to PAN members.
Your submission is hashed with a passphrase you choose, creating a unique fingerprint that proves the idea was yours at that moment, without disclosing anything publicly. Timestamped ownership record.
PIPE Associates, investors, and Corporate Innovation Network members with matching sector preferences can like, dislike, or back your idea financially. Anonymous reviewers see only the problem description. Verified PAN members see your approach too.
Each financial backer puts real money behind the idea — refundable if it does not progress, converted to early-stage equity if it does. Ideas bubble up through the ranking based on likes and backing combined.
When an idea reaches a threshold of community support, PIPE will contact you to progress to a full Disclose & Validate submission — the standard Stage 1 process, at no cost to you. From there, the full Lab to IPO Pathway opens up.
Ideas are ranked automatically by a combination of community signals — no panel, no gatekeepers, no bias. The most compelling problems rise to the top through genuine support.
Any registered user can like or dislike an idea. Likes signal that the problem resonates. No gaming: each reviewer gets one vote.
Backers put real money behind ideas they believe in. Backing is fully refundable if the idea does not progress, or converts to early equity if it does. Backing weight amplifies an idea’s ranking.
Corporate Innovation Network members who match the idea’s sector receive automatic alerts and can register interest. Corporate attention is one of the strongest possible signals that a problem is real.
Your submission is timestamped and fingerprinted, creating a provable ownership record without any public disclosure of your inventive step. The fingerprint provides a useful prior-art reference, though it is not a substitute for a patent application. We always recommend speaking to your TTO before any disclosure.
Yes. Reviewers see the idea, not the author. You provide an email address to receive your receipt and to be notified when your idea gains traction — but this is not visible to the community.
The passphrase is mixed into the fingerprint hash — it is never stored on our systems. It provides an additional layer of proof of ownership. Keep it safe: you will need it if you ever need to verify that the idea was yours. Think of it like a seed phrase: memorable but not obvious.
Your backing is fully refundable — either withdrawn (minus any transaction costs) or transferred to a different idea. If an idea you back reaches Stage 1 and eventually progresses through the PIPE pathway, your backing converts to early-stage participation at the earliest possible valuation.
No. The Napkin stage is entirely optional. If your idea is well developed, you have your institution’s support, and you are ready to commit to a full disclosure, go straight to Stage 1. The Napkin system is for ideas that are not yet at that point, or for testing whether a problem resonates before investing further effort.
The Napkin Ideas submission form lives on the PIPE Lab to IPO Platform. Click below and you will be taken directly to the submission form.
You will be redirected to the PIPE platform at labtoipo.com to complete your submission.
✦ Submit my Napkin Idea →Ready to skip straight to a full disclosure? Submit a Full Stage 1 Disclosure → · Contact the team instead