Patents (and, before that, provisional patents, i.e. "patent pending") are also a ways to capitalize IP, that for a startup represents most of its initial value

Patents (and, before that, provisional patents, i.e. "patent pending") are also a ways to capitalize IP, that for a startup represents most of its initial value. The only other way I'm aware of is having research publications, that IMHO is way harder (at least compared to provisional patents).