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, advertisers, attorneys/agents, distributors, licensees, manufacturers, product developers, public relations people, salesmen, etc.) will you need to market your invention?
    If you try to get a patent for your invention, be sure to hire a patent attorney/agent who is familiar with the technology of your invention and can fully represent your idea.  Find out if that person will write your patent application, if there is any conflict of interest with other clients, and what hourly/project rate you will be charged.  Will that person be subject to any noncompete clauses?  Be sure to personally review your patent application before it is submitted to the U.S. Patent Office.
  • Sales: Who will buy your product and for what price?  Will the expected profit be enough to make marketing your invention worthwhile?
A business plan is helpful and an invention that satisifies a real need is necessary, but successfully marketing an invention is 95% implementation.  Don’t get caught watching the paint dry.  If you get a utility patent for your invention, remember that the 20-year clock starts ticking on the earliest file date of your patent application.

Thank you for sharing your hard-won knowledge with us Ms. Holland!