March 2010
Inventors often license their inventions because they understand technology, but not business. That’s fine if you just want to get paid for inventing. But what if you also imagine a world transformed by your invention, and want to create that world by using business? Business professor Mark Motluck of Anderson University offered us some advice on how to get started. First, realize that not every great technical idea is a great business opportunity. Not many people will buy a cart if they don’t have a horse to pull it. So find out whether your invention has, or or can be modified to have, economic value by using a: Survey . Ask people whether they would buy your product, and how much they would pay for it. Ask them in person at places where they would buy your product (say at a shopping mall), or indirectly by mail, telephone, or through your website. Focus group . Bring people to a neutral site and watch how they react to your product. What do they like or disl