Category Archives: Prototypes

New Inventor with New Invention: Now What?

Posted on 12/11/2016 by ideaworth

Every day across America, across the globe, thousands of new inventors have their first aha moment: an idea for a new invention to solve an old problem. In March, 2002, I dreamed up an idea for a thin, flexible wallet to solve … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviors of success, Due diligence, Invention, Invention marketing companies, Inventor's notebook, Prototypes, Research, Why inventors fail | Leave a comment

Your Invention: Fail Early and Fail Fast

Posted on 12/19/2015 by ideaworth

You have an idea for a great new product. Now what? What you choose to do next is key to your success (or lack of it). Here are your first three steps: Do your own free patent search on uspto.gov … Continue reading →

Posted in Career success, Critiquing ideas, Culling ideas, Invention, Invention failure, Patent Search, Patent strategy, Patents, Product development, Product success, Prototypes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Inventing: It Takes a Team

Posted on 07/12/2015 by ideaworth

Picture Thomas Edison, toiling away in the late evening hours trying one after another type of filament in his new invention to turn electricity not into heat, but into light. He just tried another filament that looked promising, but it … Continue reading →

Posted in Career success, Creativity, Marketing, Patent Search, Patent strategy, Product development, Product success, Prototypes, Resourcefulness | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Inventing Basics: Search, Prototype, Validate

Posted on 03/21/2015 by ideaworth

New inventors often say to me, “I have an idea I think is great, now what do I do?” My most succinct answer is to do the following: Search: USPTO.gov, retail and online stores, catalogs Prototypes: Begin building prototypes of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideas, Invention, Keys to Success, Patent Search, Patents, Product validation, Prototypes, Resourcefulness, Why inventors succeed, Wiling to reconsider | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Inventing Basics: Prototypes

Posted on 01/19/2015 by ideaworth

An idea is the beginning of an invention; a prototype is the beginning of a product.  Prototypes are critical to success. Some inventors focus excessively on the initial idea and invention and too little on creating and refining prototypes. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Invention, Keys to Success, Prototypes | Tagged | 1 Comment

Inventors Success: Partnership and Trust

Posted on 08/30/2014 by ideaworth

Many articles are written about licensing, manufacturing, patenting and other elements important to inventor success. To my experience, inventor success depends crucially upon partnering with and trusting others. Yet almost nothing is ever written about partnering and trust, so: Today’s topic: … Continue reading →

Posted in Invention, Keys to Success, Product development, Prototypes, Strategy, Why inventors succeed | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Successful Inventing from A to Z: J – Just Get Started with Your Product

Posted on 04/26/2014 by ideaworth

In the previous post – I – Initial Prototypes – What to Expect – I mentioned that inventing is different from other businesses because there is no single or clear formula for success. Put another way, the process does not … Continue reading →

Posted in Invention, Prototypes, Research | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Successful Inventing from A to Z: I – Initial Prototypes – What to Expect

Posted on 04/24/2014 by ideaworth

In the previous post – H – How to Get Prototypes Done – we pointed to a variety of resources to find help with prototyping including local universities, local inventors groups and others. As I alluded to in that previous … Continue reading →

Posted in Invention, Keys to Success, Prototypes | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Successful Inventing from A to Z: H – How to Get Prototypes Done

Posted on 04/20/2014 by ideaworth

In the previous post – G – Getting a Plan for Your Invention – we recommended the first step is to target a retail price point for your invention, which then points to appropriate paths to market. For example, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideas, Invention, Marketing, Prototypes, Research | Tagged | 1 Comment