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

Open Innovation isn’t just about picking one winner. It’s about finding talent and entertaining creative ideas, regardless of who they come from. Although the format is often designed as a contest so it appears only a select few get rewarded, you can actually leverage Open Innovation opportunities in a variety of ways.

• Show your talent. When GoldCorp, a Toronto-based mining company, sponsored an industry-changing search for gold, two contestants won the big prize and gained a modicum of fame in the process. But nearly a dozen of the runner-ups were subsequently hired by the company for special projects. At BIG, we’ve also hired several people whom we met at Roadshows or through product Hunts to do a myriad of freelance jobs for us including artwork, design, engineering, product review, writing, web development, and so forth.
• Show your product. When we saw the Craft-Lite Cutter Arra David submitted to the Staples Invention Quest, we knew it would be a great product. After Staples passed on the idea, we took it to Merchant Media and licensed to them instead. Now, ironically, David’s paper cutter that backlights the surface and makes deadly accurate cuts, is selling in stores all across the country—including Staples.
• Gain credibility. Winning a contest and licensing a product gives you credibility as an inventor can help you get access to companies that might not otherwise have taken your call. But again, you don’t have to win a grand prize to open doors. Those who get recognized in some way (make the semi-finals, reach the top twenty, etc.) can also use the achievement to impress others. Julie Savage, a regular Open Innovation contestant, has a string of product development honors on her web site and virtual resume. When a submission from Savage arrives in our office, we take notice. Other companies do as well.
• Stretch yourself. Innovation contests give inventors the opportunity to apply their creativity to new problems and to work in new industries. Though you might think an outsider would be at a disadvantage not having any experience in the desired workspace, the opposite is more often true. A fresh perspective creates a cross-pollination of ideas—a technology that is generally known in one industry becomes totally innovative in another. For example, the winning bra idea in a recent Hunt came from a backpacking enthusiast who converted a product she’d used for years into an option for lingerie manufacturers.
• Invent cost-effectively. This isn’t your brainchild invention. This isn’t your one “Aha!” moment. This is an idea you developed specifically for a Hunt. So no hiring an attorney, paying for a professional prototype, or investing in business cards and brochures. Your goal is to fully convey your idea using words, sketches, pictures, and rudimentary prototypes. That’s all some of the most prolific inventors ever do. They think of great ideas and license them without ever turning the concept sketch into a physical product. Even if you do want to take an idea a step further, the ability to show others what you’re thinking in a quick presentation can help you gauge marketability of an idea before investing heavily in it.

The reality is you may never win an innovation contest. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. I believe we are only on the verge of the vast and varied ways in which Open Innovation will shape the creative economy. Learning how to play and prosper in this new environment will increase your chances of being a successful inventor now and could help prepare you for the opportunities that are sure to come in the next evolution of inventing.