Thomas Edison Failed 10,000 times…You have to Risk Failure to Succeed
Mar 9th
Are you afraid to fail? Most people are afraid of failure. The problem is if we don’t risk the possibility of failure, we won’t succeed
Most (probably really all) very successful people fail more often than they succeed. Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he got the light bulb to work.
Jack Canfield, author of “Chicken Soup More >
Naming Your Product Using A Parody On A Famous Tradename
Feb 23rd
Would you like a $48 million dollar advertising budget for your new product?
Haute Diggity Dog introduced a dog chew toy purse that looks strikingly similar to the famous (and very expensive) Louie Vuitton purses purchased by the rich and famous. The chew toy gained instant recognition, mostly based on the $48 million dollar More >
Creating effective prototypes.
Feb 22nd
First, let’s cover the basic kinds of prototypes:
• First proof of concept (functional; can be relatively crude).
• Second proof of concept (functional; refined to match market niche or segment).
• Looks-like model (used for photography or to show and tell).
• Looks-like/works-like (the final product “on the shelf”).
• Virtual prototype (computer-generated; used for very large, very complex, More >
North Face versus South Butt
Feb 18th
Choosing a trademark name for your product is an important factor in the success or failure of your product. James Winklemann, a University of Missouri freshman, started an apparel company to help fund his education. He choose a trademark name that brought his product to the brink of high rolling success before it was put More >
Replay Available: 5 Things You Must Have Before You Approach A Retailer
Feb 16th
If you missed our call where we laid out the “5 Things You Must Have Before You Approach A Retailer” you can listen to the replay by choosing Teleseminars or by clicking here
Early sales: catalyst of licensing.
Feb 8th
I watched Shark Tank a few nights ago. Reluctantly. I’ve been turned off by inventor shows since one of the first shows a couple of years ago. Its judges not only lacked an understanding of the business of inventing, but they insulted the intelligence of the viewer.
But the Shark Tank panel, although brutal More >
Do big corporations really exploit inventors?
Feb 2nd
The feedback I get from agents and inventors who have negotiated a licensing deal is that the vast majority of corporations deal fairly with inventors. If an inventor were to sue them, a jury would likely characterize the litigation as David vs. Goliath, and be biased toward the inventor. The last few years have exposed corporate behavior More >
Inventing on purpose vs. stumbling.
Feb 1st
From my mentoring of inventors for several years, I’ve come to believe that three basic types exist:
• The stumbler.
• The “on-purpose” inventor.
• The visionary.
Most of us are stumblers. We stumble onto a need, problem, or want, and we come up with a solution. Nothing wrong with this process. But we’ve got to be aware of More >
Finding remote angels, (Part 3 of 3)
Jan 31st
The typical remote angel is a person who has sold his business, is sitting on a pile of cash, and is look-ing for some excitement, and to make a high ROI (return on investment) from a new venture. The angel understands that an invention or a new product is relatively high risk, and is More >
Why you need to conduct a mall survey for your invention or product.
Jan 31st
A mall survey is just what the name implies: go to your local mall with a clipboard, a stack of forms, and start asking passersby questions. The purpose of your survey is to gather a statistically significant sample of consumer response to your invention or product. You’re convinced of your invention’s worth, of course. More >
