I know most of you have by now heard, seen, or experienced some of the changes that we’re making at IdeaTango. As with all change, sometimes it can be a bit of a learning curve, but it will end better than it started - I guarantee.

We’re moving lots of areas of IdeaTango over to InventBay, so I’m sure you’re asking, WHY?
So that InventBay and IdeaTango are not duplicating the tools and information you receive, we’ve decided to have each site focus on not only different tools and information, but different stages of inventors.

• IdeaTango, as it has always, will focus more on inventors just starting out. We will be having more of a educational, news, and informational focus on the future. That means more interviews, more great articles from experts, and information that can help you take that first or second step.
• InventBay, with its solid positioning, will accommodate inventors that have already decided to work on their product. This includes inventors who have done design, engineering, or even a prototype. The new invention listings will be only for people who have some sort of intellectual property protection on their invention (provisional patent, trademark, utility patent, etc.).

So in a nutshell, IdeaTango will cater to those with an “idea.”
InventBay will cater to those with a “product” or “invention.”

IdeaTango helps the early-stage inventor.
InventBay helps the middle to late-stage inventor or business.

You LEARN HOW to invent on IdeaTango.
You INVENT using InventBay.

Of course, while we’re making some of these changes, you may have to re-learn how to use one or both of our sites. Although we’re doing our best to make the transition as seamless as possible, you may occassionally experience broken links or irrelevant information. Rest assured we are continuing to clean up both sites and make everything as clear as possible.

You can always contact us if you have any questions.

Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of IdeaTango

Unfortunately there are many scam companies out there who prey on the hopes and dreams of inventors. However, they can not be determined solely on their practice of charging fees. It is their reputation and success that must be judged. The invention business is highly risky and you will have to pay the price. If a company,who has success in bringing similar products to market charges fees to help you, I think that is respectable. They are in the business of giving you the opportunity for success, however, they can not make a guarantee. It is for that opportunity that you are writing a check.

So my advice is to thoroughly investigate the company you select. It will not guarantee your success, but it will give you the peace of mind that you hired a qualified company to give your product the best shot at making it to market. Alternatively, save the money and do the work yourself.

Also, I noticed that Michael Collins has a “Sell Sheet” up. It is a good demonstration, but it should be qualified as a sell sheet for people who are attempting to license their inventions. If they are mfg. their product, it would not be the same format for a sell sheet on an item/line.

Lisa

by Michael Collins, CEO of Big Idea Group and author of “The Million-Dollar Idea in Everyone.”

Though there is no formula for creating the perfect sell sheet, attached is a sample for your review. This one includes the following:

• Inventor contact information.
• A visual of the product. To create the “Watering Hole,” the inventor simply took existing toys cut and glued them together to make what appears to be a functioning outdoor sink. The garden hose is actually taped to the bottom of the play structure.
• Key elements: what it is, how it works, and what the major benefits are.

Packaging is the science and art of enclosing products for storage, sale, and use. Packaging is actually the third largest industry in USA and there are more than 10,000 packaging manufacturers in this country. Evidently, packaging is no joking matter. So after an inventor is through with the tedious process of creating a product, he often feels out of his depth when it comes to creating a package for the finished product.

But the complete process of packaging can be boiled down to a handful of simple rules. Just get your grasp on these five easy steps, and you won’t be overwhelmed by the though of packaging ever again.

Do Your Groundwork

Find out what the packaging conventions are regarding the product that you wish to package. Check out the markets and stores and get a good idea about what the prevailing trends are.

Select Your Packaging Material

Different products need different kinds of packaging… e.g., if you want users to be able to see your product, selecting plastic is a good idea. Here too the rule of the thumb is to see what packaging is being used for similar products.

Optimize the Package Design

This determines how much space your product is going to take on the store shelf. You should try to have as small a footprint as possible. Think creatively, check out all the other product packages, and opt for what best suits your needs.

Get Feedback

You may know your product best, but you must look at packaging from the viewpoint of the customer. Test your packaging with people who do not know much about your product, and listen to their feedback carefully.

Be Practical

You may have big dreams, but you may need to start small initially. Look for a good vendor first. You may also consider using stock items that can be customized. Packaging can change and evolve with time, so don’t think you have to get it right the first time. Keep your options open and try to be creative… but start small to achieve your big dreams.

Jon Goldman, owner of lumpymail.com, was one of the class speakers at Invention University. Here are a few highlights from his presentation:

* Fail forward quickly – use amazon store, ebay, yahoo store to get your product out there
* Create a mailing that looks like a newspaper
* Obey the law of reciprocity
* 81% of customers buy after the 5th contact/mailing, a huge jump from the first through fourth contact
* On the flip side, only 10% of people send out 5 mailings
* Anyone can make a big promise, just be able to backup and prove your promise
* He used one of the inventor’s marketing sheets as a case study. Here were the suggested improvements:

o Tell a story
o Give a promise
o Put a caption on pictures
o Reduce the amount of text
o Be specific

* Using word “because” raises responses by 33%
* Put a skeptical headline in testimonials
* 4 Step Marketing Forumula

o Discuss the problem
o Agitate the problem
o Solve the problem
o Create the story

* 5 Emotional Hot Buttons to Push

o Desire to look good
o Fear of loss
o Avoid hassle, worry
o Comfort & pleasure
o Desire to save $$

In he walks, like a caricature. You can hear him before you can even see him. What is that sound you ask yourself? A kazoo. When you turn around to look at him, there is a 6 foot something, skinny, African-American man wearing a watermelon hat, a watermelon shirt, black slacks, and watermelon shoes.

That, my friends, is Wally “Famous” Amos in a nutshell. This exuberant positive energy exudes the room, lighting up everyone who sets eyes on him.

I had the pleasure of meeting “Famous” Amos, founder of “Famous” Amos Cookies, and hearing him speak at the INPEX show the other week. Here are the important points from his improvised talk.

Wally on History
Wally started with a history lesson, telling us that Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chip cookies in the 19th century. She owned an in called Toll House, and her cookies became known as Toll House Cookies (like the brand that exists today).

Wally on His Life
Before starting retail stores that sold chocolate chip cookies, Wally worked in the entertainment business. As an agent for various entertainers – he booked the Supremes and other well known acts – he needed a way to stand out. Using a recipe given to him by his mother, Wally started baking chocolate chip cookies and using them as his calling card. Now he was memorable.

One thing led to another, and Wally became better known for his cookies over time. Quincy Jones suggested he open a store. After finding, losing, and re-finding investors (including Marvin Gaye) to back the first store to sell cookies, “Famous” Amos Cookies was born.

From what I gathered, his business was successful. However, somewhere along the way he didn’t manage the business properly and was removed by the company. Now a major conglomerate owns his name “Famous” Amos and has even sued Wally over trademark infringement.

After losing his business, Wally was in a rut. However, he pulled himself out of the rut by merely changing his attitude from one of negativity, to one of positivity. He has been the kazoo-blowing, watermelon wearing Wally ever since.

He has used his fame to improve literacy rates among children. Recently he has decided to again open retail stores selling cookies and toys. Find out more at www.chipandcookiestore.com.

Wally’s Words of Wisdom

• Life is funny. Life takes unintended directions. But that’s okay, just keep a good attitude and you’ll pull through.
• Work together – “I am more than I am, but less than we are”
• The small person wants credit, the big person wants nothing
• Everyone has access to the same resources he did, just look around, ask the right questions.
• Don’t worry about what others think – use that energy instead to move your product forward
• Don’t be defined by stuff, what you do, friends, or status – what really matters is that you know yourself.
• Everyone is unique. Everyone is a collector’s item.
• Giving is receiving

When a cell phone went off in the room. In true Wally fashion, he hummed his kazoo to the ringtone melody.

We briefly spoke to Wally and he agreed to do an interview with us. Stay tuned for more Wally!

From the United States Patent and Trademark Office

•Provisional Patent Application - www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm
•Registered Patent Practitioners - http://des.uspto.gov/OEDCI/GeoRegion.jsp
•Patent Information - http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm
•Depository Libraries – www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/index.html
•Independent Inventor Program - www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/index.htm
•General Information - www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/
•Web Patent Database - http://patents.uspto.gov/

Copyright and Trademark Information

•From the US Patent and Trademark Office - www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
•For Trademark information - www.inventored.org/trademark/
•For Copyright information - http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
•Franklin Pierce Law Center, US Patent, Trademark and Copyright Information - www.fplc.edu/tfield/ipbasics.htm

Invention Evaluation

•UIA Innovation Assessment Program - http://www.uiausa.org/Default.aspx?page=129
•US Dep’t of Energy’s Inventions & Innovations Program - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/inventions/
•Washington Innovation Assessment Center - http://www.business.wsu.edu/iac
•Wisconsin Innovation Services Center - http://academics.uww.edu/business/innovate/default.htm

Patent Related Information

•United States Patent and Trademark Office - http://www.uspto.gov
•Patent & Trademark Depository Libraries - http://www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl
•National Patent Association - http://www.nationalpatent.com
•National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts - http://www.nesta.org.uk/withflash.html
•Franklin Pierce Law Center, US Patent, Trademark and Copyright Information - www.fplc.edu/tfield/ipbasics.htm

Funding Sources

•Energy TechNet - http://www.energytechnet.com
•National Science Foundation - http://www.nsf.gov
•FinanceNet - http://www.financenet.gov
•SBA Procurements and Grants Hot List - http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/hotlist/procure.html
•Small Business Innovation Research Program - http://www.sba.gov/SBIR
•National Institutes of Health Grants & Funding Opportunities - http://grants.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm

Help for Inventors

•Center for Design & Business - www.centerdesignbusiness.org
•R.R. Enterprises, Inc. - http://www.rjriley.com
•InventNET: The Inventors Network - http://www.inventnet.com
•Energy TechNet - http://www.energytechnet.com

Marketing and Licensing

•Small Business Administration - http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting/businessplan.html
•Licensing Executives Society - www.usa-canada.les.org
•Ed Zimmer’s Entrepreneur Network - http://tenonline.org/index.html
•Licensing Consultants and Brokers Directory - http://www.usa-canada.les.org/consultants/directory.asp

Legal

•Cornell Law School - http://www.law.cornell.edu
•Franklin Pierce Law Center - http://www.fplc.edu

Manufacturing

•ThomasNet - www.thomasregister.com

Inventions are a labor of love for their creators. But more often than not they attach a greater value to their inventions than they really deserve. This is only the first handicap when it comes to finding prospects for their inventions. Inventors are basically…inventors, what else? They are not salesmen, just the way salesmen are not inventors. So when it comes to selling it isn’t a wonder that most inventors lose their way and give up or end up with a bad deal. This is where an Invention Marketing Agent (IMA) comes in; they bring together the right combination of inventor and licensee together and work out a deal which is fair to both parties and legally applicable.

Inventors would do a better job of finding the right IMA if they understand how they go about their work. IMAs charge what appears to be a shockingly high 20% to 50% of the royalties that inventors get; the reason behind this is that they have to work very hard for the inventors. Their work includes traveling and meeting people which is expensive and time consuming. Inventions are sold on the basis of their perceived potential and they may succeed as well as fail, so licensees usually do not offer any advance on royalties. If the product is successful then the money may take as long as two or more years to flow in on the other hand so many inventions fail due to various reasons. All this puts an IMA in a position very similar to the inventor where he is investing huge amount of time and effort for profits which may or may not come, so he makes sure that whatever invention yields profits makes up for his investment as well as losses from other ventures.

Most IMAs turn down majority of inventions because they may have their own preferences or they believe that the invention may not have enough potential in the market. Some IMAs may charge an upfront amount to handle the invention but unless there is a way of knowing the credentials of such people its better to avoid them.

There are firms that advertise in various magazines and make glorious promises to make you rich; but the best way to deal with them is to avoid them! Because they just lure in inventors with their fake promises, and keeping draining money from them on one pretext or another.

A good way of measuring up the potential of an IMA is to know that what percentage of the inventors they are approached by they actually take in as clients. The more fussy ones are generally the ones to go for, they would take in the cases they are confident about and not make empty promises. If you can get references of satisfied clients from IMAs that would be a very good indicator and the good IMAs should not have any problems giving that out.

Inventors’ Digest magazine and the Professional Members listings on the United Inventors Association web site at www.uiausa.org are the best places for finding and checking out IMAs.

The invention promotion industry can be very confusing and deceptive. And inventors, most of the times may not be prepared to tell the difference between genuine and fake promoters. Thankfully understanding the working of Invention Promotion Industry does not require an understanding of rocket science.

Inventors should keep some basic guidelines in mind, these are:

• Avoid firms that advertise through TV and radio offering to make you rich.
• Avoid firms who approach you with “too good to be true offers”. Typically they will send in mails specially if you’ve got a patent published. They may offer some free service in the beginning like an evaluation of your product. This will be followed by claims of the great potential of your idea and offer of chargeable services which would take your product to the industry and bring you wealth. The problem with these firms is that they are more interested in making money from the inventor rather than from the product.

When shopping for firms to promote your idea, check their credibility by:

• Ask for their success rate i.e. the number they have represented against the number that have bought in more money than was initially invested.
• Ask them for the number of ideas they accepted against the number that came to them.
• Take contact details of three clients to check credibility.

A genuine firm should be able to give all of the above in writing. If it doesn’t, say your goodbye to them.

Apart from that obviously odd behavior like not answering phone calls, multiple/false addresses, weird recommendations like recommending design patents and submitting the idea to manufacturers without even applying for a patent first, money back guarantees should make you wary.

Since different skills are required from the conception of an idea through its development and finally launching of a product the whole process should not be entrusted to one company.

Knowing the value of your idea is as important. if not more. Get an objective evaluation of your idea by a professional and it should not be a relative or friend.

Transform your idea into a tangible model in the most basic form. It just has to show that it would work, nothing fancy is required. Keep detailed records of your idea just in case you may be required to prove that it is your idea. Check the Patent Depository Library or check their official website and search for patents to check whether your idea is already patented. Develop your knowledge about new product development, read books and magazines on the subject. Join any such local organizations, get to know what’s happening so you don’t sweat on something that’s already been done.

We’re always stressing the importance of market research and due diligence before spending too much time and money on your product. A great way to get a sense of what already exists, and what potential customers and manufacturers might think is to attend an industry trade show.

No matter where you live, you’re probably near a city that has a convention center. The taxpayers need to earn back all that money they spent building the convention center, so they try to schedule as many events as possible at these places. Most likely that convention center near you will have at least a few trades shows or expos in your product’s industry. Many times it’s free to go to trade shows if you pre-register, and less than $20 if you buy at the door.

When you get to these shows, get a lay of the land. Scope out similar products and potential competitors. Ask questions about pricing, marketing, and retailing. Be sure to take notes and write all this information down as it will be crucial in putting together a marketing plan.

If you feel comfortable, you can even ask some of the exhibitors what they think of your product, if they have any recommendations or insight.

Spending a little time at trade shows and events, meeting industry professionals and companies, can really give you much better insight into whether you have a viable product or not. Remember the goal is not to be working on AN invention, but working on the RIGHT invention.