Around-the-table discussions (January 27, 2010)
NOTE: The numbers in brackets () indicate how many groups came up with this answer.
How do you come up with your ideas?
-Making the job easier / Improving-duplicating existing (products?) (4)
-Better way of doing something (3)
-Can you make it faster, cheaper?
-Problem-solving (5)
-Just comes to you / Inspiration (5)
-By being in nature; spirit brings it forth
-Dreams, when in thought (3)
-Wake up in the morning or in the bath
-By accident
-From science fiction books
-Take ideas from other technologies and apply them in other ways
-Necessity is the mother of invention (4)
-Network / Participation (2)
-Brainstorming
-By observation / Watch what people are buying in store (2)
-By seeing a need (3)
-By a 90° shift in thinking
-Research, internet search (2)
-Experience
What do you find is the biggest challenge for you in inventing?
-To be able to articulate the idea / Hard to find data to describe the idea (2)
-To be able to find good information (3)
-Finding: right contacts, right person to talk to about invention, good, honest people (4)
-Ask people for advice & improvements to you invention (not negativity / criticism)
-Getting an idea evaluated in a professional way
-Negative feedback
-Unethical people
-Money / Keeping track of cost (5)
-Staying organized (2)
-Stopping / Being too much of a perfectionist so product is never ready (2)
-Doubt and hesitation
-How to market a good idea (4)
-How do you protect your idea through the process: copyright, patent, NDA info (3)
-Market validation
-How do you know if you have a viable product?
-Lack of time to dedicate to the invention (3)
-To have the motivation
-Understanding the process
-Don’t get emotionally involved & falling in love with your invention
-Not staying focused (3)
-The “do” factor
-Look at invention from all sides – manufacturing, marketing, etc.
-Finding workspace and resources to build prototype
-Problems in deciding what steps to take and prioritize with limited resources
-Being on my own
-Trying to delegate tasks to other people
-You own ego / Vested interests (2)
What helped you the most in the past?
-Information sharing / Networking (3)
-Personal experience in a given field
-General knowledge in various fields of expertise
-Identifying, exposing a problem & finding a solution
-Finding the right people-investors / Surround yourself with the most professional people (3)
-Attending trade shows
-Spending sufficient time (the big leap)
-Enthusiasm
-Believing in my own product, invention (2)
-Other people’s knowledge
-Learning from others who have succeeded / Mentors (4)
-The support of others (spirit) (3)
-Make a prototype & see if it works (test model) (2)
-Keeping focused on the project / persistence (2)
-Learning from mistakes (2)
-Delegate authority & stay out of their way
-Be sure everyone meets their deadlines
-Making prototypes
-Internet, book search (2)
-My ingenuity
How do you go about getting support?
-Networking with like minds (4)
-Discuss your solutions with people without giving away your idea
-Tradeshows (2)
-Hire skills /R&D people
-Venture capital & angel investors
-Marry a rich widow
-Asking for it & being open to receiving it
-Attending, joining Inventors’ Society meeting (4)
-Know who to go to for support
-Individual selection of contacts
-Development bank / Government support (National research Council) (2)
-Need wife’s support
-Friends, family support (including financial) (2)
-Research / Sources from internet (3)
-Mentors
-By helping others
-Talks in person to manufacturers, dont write emails
-Push ahead and convince others about idea
-Self sufficiency
What was your biggest invention mistake?
-Inadequate marketing
-Not getting proper feedback / Not seeking help / Trying to do everything myself (3)
-Bringing wrong people together (wrong team)
-Going forward while lacking critical information
-Insufficient capital / Costs being larger than expected (2)
-Spending: too much money, in the wrong place (2)
-Working with company that asked for too much money at the beginning (3)
-Not enough or poor research (3)
-Poor or non-existent business plan (2)
-Didn’t set company up properly
-Went in wrong direction (marketing, finance, trust)
-Waiting too long / Procrastination (2)
-Treating invention like a hobby
-Not staying focussed
-Over-pricing or under-pricing
-Being over-protective
-Being over optimistic / thinking success will happen more quickly (2)
-Lack of marketing knowledge / Not being sure if the market is there and how to market (2)
-Divulging too much information
-Making it complicated or too perfect (2)
-Thinking too big for first idea
-Not letting go of it
-Prioritize
-Not defending ideas
-Not getting references
