| One of the great benefits we enjoy about the | | | | to protect the arm from sunburn. Air conditioning, |
| consulting work we do is having the opportunity to | | | | high speed driving with windows closed for wind |
| review the inventiveness of hundreds of | | | | noise mitigation and safety glass treated with UV |
| entrepreneurs each year. It truly is amazing how | | | | inhibitors all posed massive hurdles to the potential |
| many of these creative talents push the envelope of | | | | for "arm mitten" success. |
| novelty. There is no such reality as the oft stated: "I | | | | Consider the "beach boot" for negotiating sandy |
| have seen it all". None of us have seen it all, as the | | | | terrain. This boot, equipped with tank-like tracks |
| volume of freshly executed innovative products and | | | | attached to the sole and a miniaturized motor roll the |
| concepts being nurtured, is never ending. | | | | wearer over the sandy beach surface. Why walk |
| And yet, so few of the projects we review ever | | | | over sand when you can roll? Why walk barefoot |
| make it past our initial critique and pre-product | | | | when you can ensconce your feet in hot, sweaty |
| development criteria. They will never become widely | | | | boots at the seashore? Not much upside here! |
| distributed products, successfully sold in the | | | | The "insomniac helmet" was a sleep aid, sort of. |
| contemporary marketplace. There are many reasons | | | | There is a small battery powered motor humming in |
| for this. One reason seems to occur more than most. | | | | the helmet and the unit massages your head with |
| Many entrepreneurs become so enamored of their | | | | rubber fingers until you fall asleep. The straps utilized |
| vision and perceive the markets will have positive | | | | to attach the "insomniac helmet" to the users head |
| acceptance for their item that they suspend | | | | look like preparation for capital punishment. Now I like |
| rationality. We have a term for this malady: "falling in | | | | a neck massage as well as the next guy, but this |
| love with the product". Love is a wonderful emotion. | | | | Rube Goldberg contraption would make falling to |
| However, it can blur rational thought. The process of | | | | sleep a nightmare. |
| gaining purchase into hyper-competitive markets and | | | | The "cup o golf" was the proposed answer to every |
| successfully commercializing new products requires a | | | | duffer's hope for improving the golf swing. A steady |
| steady, realistic, but passionate vision. Total | | | | head is crucial to a fine golf swing. |
| commitment to detail and identifying an unfilled | | | | The "cup o golf" was a little cup, attached to the bill |
| market niche, one with scalability, is essential to | | | | of the cap. The cup contained a little ball tethered to |
| successfully selling to retailers and consumers. | | | | a string. When the head dropped or moved the ball |
| Very early in my career as an entrepreneur, I made | | | | rolls out of the cup, and dangles annoyingly in front |
| the mistake of "falling in love with my product". I had | | | | of the golfer eyes, thus conveying that the swing |
| created a unique cosmetic accessory product. I was | | | | was imperfect. Some players, using the "cup o golf", |
| able to bootstrap distribution into almost all of the | | | | could take nine hours to play a round, and they |
| major department stores in the United States. Then I | | | | wouldn't be good company in the clubhouse bar after |
| expanded and sold the product internationally through | | | | the experience. |
| country specific distribution agreements. Seeing your | | | | Another example of an inventor's blind love in their |
| novel product creation on store shelves in the world's | | | | product was the "dad saddle". This item took the |
| finest emporiums, such as Marshall Field's, | | | | papoose pouch that parents use to carry infants on |
| Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Nordstrom, Preciados, Harrod's | | | | their backs to new heights, or lows. The "dad saddle" |
| and Selfridges was more gratifying than can be | | | | was invented to enable dad's to carry 10 or 12 year |
| described. | | | | olds on their back without perpetrating excessive |
| However, I did not spend enough time building my | | | | lumbar damage. The "dad saddle" is a leather waist |
| Company. I was a single product business. Initially | | | | strap that the bigger pre-teen can stand on and hold |
| sales were lucrative, re-orders were positive. I was | | | | onto padre's neck. Cool! Bonding forever! |
| attempting to handle sales, marketing, product | | | | Each of these items is patented. Each of these |
| development, operations and logistics. I was too close | | | | inventors, and thousands more, spent considerable |
| to my product to recognize my shortcomings and | | | | time, energy and some capital on their ideas. They |
| the limit of my resources. | | | | had really "fallen in love with their invention". |
| Nevertheless, I had penetrated a difficult, | | | | Unfortunately, the inventor's view of their product is |
| sophisticated market. I was a real entrepreneur. I had | | | | irrelevant in the long run. The marketplace is the final |
| achieved a modicum of success and had gained the | | | | and only arbiter that counts in measuring whether |
| knowledge necessary to launch more companies and | | | | offerings are truly novel, commercial products. Sales |
| products in the future. I learned from my mistakes. | | | | equal confirmation of entrepreneurial assumptions |
| Most of the new product submissions we receive | | | | about products. |
| come from first time inventors. Every entrepreneur is | | | | Successful entrepreneurs must treat their inventions |
| a novice at least once. They believe they have | | | | as if they are always works in progress, because |
| identified a need, created an answer to that need | | | | they are. They will know what the product's |
| and are prepared to sell their item for millions of | | | | strengths are. These are usually obvious. Aggressively |
| dollars to big box retailers or investors. It almost | | | | seeking out the flaws in the concept and addressing |
| never works out that way. Here are a few anecdotal | | | | and improving these weak spots are essential to |
| examples that prove this point. | | | | achieving success. If you are "in love with your |
| Items like the "arm mitten" are too narrowly | | | | product" you will find it much more difficult to edit, |
| positioned to ever achieve mass- market scale. The | | | | redesign or change direction as needed. If this is so, |
| "arm mitten" is a patented product that is a simple | | | | you will fail. |
| sleeve the driver of a car places over their left arm, | | | | |