Voting in Chicago?  Yes, that should be "early and often."  Patents?  Not so much.  Filing lots and lots of patents without the data to support the investment is not a good idea.

The best patents come later in the process.

As an investor, I will not finance the first patent for a startup because it represents the highest risk.  I am comfortable to wait until we have more customer input, more product development, and more knowledge of the market.

You are much better off waiting to get a patent, than spend your money when 95% of the patents are worthless.