June 2009
Inventors solve problems. What kind of problem do you want to solve? You might decide to solve a technical problem. The benefit of your better mousetrap might be that it traps every mouse in the house overnight. You would be pleasantly surprised if the world beat a path to your door, but your goal is to trap mice. Or you might decide to solve a financial problem, by inventing a machine that moves money from the market to you. Your mousetrap is an important, novel, and personalizing part of that machine. But other parts are important too, such as those that help you replicate, package, communicate, distribute, and sell your mousetrap to the world. Mousetraps vary in design and effectiveness; so do money moving machines. This month the Indiana Inventors Association met to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of some parts that you can combine with your mousetrap to build your money moving machine. Who has the money you want? Choosing to solve an in