July 2019
Teresa Holland, MSN, RN discussed what she learned from trying to market her medical invention . If she had it to do over again, she would start by developing a sound business plan and then connect to community resources. Don’t assume that if you build a product, customers will come. Instead, do the hard work of developing a business plan that answers important questions like: Costs : What will it cost to develop your invention and bring it to market? What will the costs be before your product is manufactured? Who will invest in this effort? (Angel investors are a good source of funding for medical inventions.) Patents : Can and should your invention be patented? If so, how much will it cost? Only new inventions can be patented. Product Development : Who (you or someone you hire) will develop your product? What will development entail and how will development be done? Resources : What resources (accountants,