Indiana Inventors Association

          The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. —Paul Val é ry We now have our own dream catcher .   It’s a book, Inventor Confidential: The Honest Guide to Profitable Inventing , that tells inventors how to keep the nightmare of empty promises from ruining their sweet dreams of financial success.   The author, Warren Tuttle (independent contractor for external open innovation, Lifetime Brands; past president, United Inventors Association of America), kindly summarized his book for us.   The first half of the book is about product development, the second half is about what interferes with financial success. There are two ways to bring an invention to the marketplace: indirectly (by licensing (ie, renting) or by selling the invention to others who bring it to the marketplace) or directly (by arranging for all of the steps yourself: production, tooling, landbridging, shipping, warehousing, fulfillment, ...

Want to build a prototype of your invention?   Has Machyne got the place for you! Alex Bandar, PhD (executive director, Machyne) believes that everyone has the potential to be an educated and empowered innovator.   If you can imagine something, you can learn how to, and actually, sketch it digitally in 2 or 3 dimensions for free.   YouTube shows you how.  Give that sketch to computer-run machines and they will create a prototype of the thing for you. If you need money for materials or for access to tools, run a crowdfunding campaign.   Show your prototype to a customer, investor, company, or retailer and ask if they will use your idea.   If they say yes, a global network of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can spread your idea to markets worldwide. Alex embodied his belief by creating a clubhouse for makers, first in Columbus, OH ( Idea Foundry ) and now in Indianapolis.   Machyne makes it easy to move an idea from your head into your ...

Business is about relationships.   Benjamin Harrison (product developer; creator, SmartPitch ; author, Licensing Ideas Using LinkedIn ) told us how to use LinkedIn to approach decision makers and persuade them to join our teams. LinkedIn is playing a bigger role for inventors.   Many trade shows have been canceled or have become virtual.   Many people won’t answer a phone call from an unknown caller.   Thousands of companies are looking for inventions but must be approached professionally. The goal of using LinkedIn is to send direct and courteous messages seeking common ground to specific people.   Then, if common ground exists, move the conversation off of LinkedIn.   There is no need to create content about your invention or to be an influencer in order to get at least a 25% response rate from decision makers. Build a community of people with compatible interests because you never know who might help you.   Start by creating a professional...

This is a brand new day, ladies and gentlemen.   A brand new day. — Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit   Sell first and sell fast.   Speed is the key to profiting from a simple, short-lived invention.   To increase our chances of quickly licensing our inventions, Stephen Key (inventor, author, speaker, and co‑founder of inventRight, LLC) recommends that we develop and use four selling tools: the point of difference ; perceived ownership; a LinkedIn profile; and a list of companies that love open innovation . The point of difference tells a potential licensee how your invention differs from marketed products and from prior art .   This gives a potential licensee two things: confidence that your invention has unique benefits that customers might want to buy; and the perception that you could own a place in the market for your invention (ie, get a patent).   A search for your invention on Google and in stores will show the difference between your inv...

Would you like to have the government (federal, state, or local) as your customer?    The government awards hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts to small businesses every year.   But not every small business is suited for that role.   Inventors Network KY treated us to an online presentation by Darrall Henderson (director, Kentucky Procurement Technical Assistance Center) that described what it takes to become a government (federal or Kentucky) vendor. Becoming a government contractor involves a complex process that has its own vocabulary and requires a significant investment of time and money.   Educational resources on this process are available from several organizations: Indiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center , Indiana Department of Administration , Indiana Economic Development Corporation , Indiana Small Business Development Center , local governments in Indiana , the federal government, U.S. General Services Administration , Government ...

Would you marry someone you never met or dated?   No?   Then why would you start a business without knowing who your customers are and what they really want? No entrepreneur wants to waste time and money on a nonviable company.   If you are thinking about starting a business, the most important question is whether you should start a business. Bill Petrovic ( workshop chair and mentor, SCORE Indianapolis ; past vice president and treasurer, Roche Diagnostics) recommends using the lean startup method to answer that question.   It is an efficient method of approximation for developing a successful business model.   Make your best guess of what a successful business looks like.   Ask people whom you think are your potential customers what they think about your guess.   Adapt your guess to the feedback you get from those people.   Then ask again.   Repeat.   If you should start a business, this process will likely converge on ...