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I’m hoping that someone in this group will be able to give me some guidance regarding bringing a consumer product from initial concept to market. At the moment, this product is nothing more than an idea. My questions are:
Any help or guidance would be appreciated. |
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If it's a consumer product, I suggest you take the example of the guys who built the fitbit as a very good place to start. They had technical knowledge, but zero product manufacturing or distribution experience. They've managed to bring an awesome product to market in an amazing amount of time. They have a lot of information about the problems they ran into chronicled in their blog. |
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Software patents are useless. Witness the similarity between almost any software and its competitors, even though all big companies get big patent portfolios. Instead, focus on getting something working and into potential users' hands as fast as possible. That's where most projects die, therefore that's what you need to tackle hardest. Of course since you can't built it, getting help is required. Your own network is the best source for talent -- don't be afraid to ask for a friend-of-a-friend, it's still better than nothing. You have a big problem in that non-technical people are unable to interview technical people, just as you and I are unable to interview doctors or lawyers -- you don't know what you don't know. That's why the recommendations -- no matter how indirect -- are key. Finally, if you have a technical friend, perhaps they can help interview candidates. |
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Whether you need a patent is best answered by a lawyer. Why can't you build a prototype yourself? What you might want to do is to network with people that may be able to help build it for you, and you may meet someone that is sufficiently excited by the idea that they are willing to help build it for you. I am untrusting of companies that want to help as I fear that they will just steal the idea, and may be fronts for patent-trolls. If it is truly innovative you will not need to worry about people stealing the idea, as they will be resisting it anyway, most likely. |
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The best thing to do is start reading! There are many books out there that can help the solo inventor establish a road map of idea to creation. I actually picked up a book today titled "Hardcore Inventing" by Ellie Crowe. Getting a trustworthy patent attorney is a good idea but make sure your product is feasible before paying for a patent. Final patents can cost anywhere from $7 - 10K. Using the USPTO.gov site is an easy way to search for prior art that could interfere with your patent. You can write the actual patent application but I would leave it to a patent attorney to do the actual claims. This is the most important part of the application. I would try to find a patent attorney that charges no more than $250/hour. Also a good resource to find potential manufacturers is www.thomasnet.com . If you plan on licensing out your product then you may want to contact local manufacturers that make products similiar to yours. Make sure you use a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) on everything you do. You can get one of those for around $15 at www.legalzoom.com . As far as funding... If this is your first go around chances are it will have to come out of your pocket. If you can get an angel investor to truly believe in your idea then work out a royalties plan with them but make sure you put a cap on it. If you want to chat, contact me @ idea2creation@gmail.com
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