How Iron MountainWear
mountain bike leg armour came to be.
This is Chris' guide to inventing - from concept to production.
Times are tough and jobs are scarce, so you figure now is a good time to unleash your invention on the world and make your millions. A successful invention is the result of research, hard work, learning from failure and timing. Surprisingly, the majority of patents are filed by individuals, not big corporations, but alarmingly, less than two percent of these patents become financially successful. Inventing is not for the faint of heart, however, it can and has been done successfully by people just like you that had a great idea and the guts to make it happen. The following is an outline of the Inventing Process from concept to production and knee pads will be used as a case study.
1) Introduction: A) Is There a Need
You have an idea or prototype that’s the “next big thing”, your family likes it, and so do your friends .Don’t fall in love with your invention, make sure there is a need for it. There are at least six patents for lids that go on top of beer/pop cans to make drinking from them easier. When was the last time you’ve saw one of them in use? There was no need as they’d likely get lost and the user would have to wash it, that’s something beer drinkers and kids aren’t big on. Start asking strangers that might use your invention if they would be interested in your product. For example, if you are designing knee pads for sports, talk to some bike shops and sporting goods stores where they sell them and see what they have to say about your invention. Feedback can be hard to swallow so be honest with yourself, get objective opinions, that’s one of the keys to a successful design.
B) Is It Patentable
A patent allows you the sole right to market your invention and gives you an option to license it to a third party. Investors like patents and it doesn’t hurt with marketing either.
However, there is a saying “patents are only as good as your pockets are deep”. First of all they are very expensive for the average person ($5-40K) and to defend them, costs can easily run north of a $100K. Patents aren’t cheap and you need deep pockets to defend one, but if you have an innovative/great invention, it is the way to go. You can search patent offices online, so make sure your design is not patented already. One way around the patent issue is to listen to your customers and continually improve your design, this way your competition is always spending money trying to catch up. Another option is to design your invention so that it cannot be reversed engineered (took apart and figured out), this is more easily done with recipes and sealed units.
C) Do Your Research
I can’t emphasize enough how important research is, it will save you costly mistakes, and is plain and simple if you keep it objective. You not only have to know who your direct competitors are but also in-direct competition from other sectors and industries. For instance, if you are building leg armour for hockey, look at what the back-catchers wear for leg guards; and even see what knee pads are used in the construction industry. You do this because maybe there is a product just like your design already on the shelves; as a result you have just saved yourself (and family & friends) a bundle of money by not re-inventing the wheel. Just because you don’t see it on the shelf doesn’t mean it hasn’t been invented.
Next you have to ask yourself; what is it that makes us not only better but also different from the competition out there. The difference has to be significant and meaningful to your customer. If your honest research leaves you totally convinced it is still the “next big thing” you are going to need a Business Plan (BP), unless you just invented “cold fusion” or “time travel”.
