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Not include prototypes? Why place that restriction on it? I read the other day about a woman who invented and prototyped a bra for use with backless dresses. Sh
by smoody 19y ago
Not include prototypes? Why place that restriction on it? I read the other day about a woman who invented and prototyped a bra for use with backless dresses. She sold the idea (all rights to the idea) to one of the bigger bra manufacturers and stands to make a lot of money. Does the fact that she put together a prototype from spare bra parts matter? They didn't give her money for the prototype.
What about people who patent ideas and then either sell the patent to an IP holding company or collect money from violators? That, to me, is an example of generating wealth from the idea and not the execution (unless you consider the act of filing for a patent a form of execution). If you allow patent holders, then you can easily find documented examples if you look for them.
- mixmax 19y agoThis is exactly what I'm talking about. I know quite a lot of idea guys, and some that have been successful. And your bra-story is a good example. The reason that I didn't want to include prototypes is that if you have one you're not selling the idea, but a lot of work. Often years of it. I had an office at an incubator once, and every now and then there would be a story in the paper about someone from the incubator selling an idea and a prototype for a substantial amount. But knowing the people behind it I knew that they were selling years of work, not merely an idea. The bra-lady sounds like she is in the same category.
- tyohn 19y agoSo are you saying that someone thinks of and idea - like a car powered by toenail clippings. They never do any research, they don't build a prototype, they don't even know if it will work but they want to sell the idea?
- mixmax 19y agopartially - what I mean is a feasible idea that is obviously good, and can be monetized. Google's pagerank algorithm would be a good example. The reason I don't want to include prototypes (one-day mock-ups are fine) is that doing a prototype for your car powered by toe-nail clippings is a lot of work, and half the product. And then you're not selling an idea, but a partial product.
- tyohn 19y agoI guess the question is how do investors know an idea is "obviously good"? Did anyone/everyone know that the pagerank algorithm was "obviously good" before they tested it? And if it was - did they build it/think of it in one day?
- mixmax 19y agoExactly my point - nobody buys an idea before it's actually tested and has been found to work. And once you've done that you're not selling an idea. Which is probably why there are no examples of it. To my knowledge at least. Famously Yahoo turned down Larry and Sergey when they approached them with the idea - they didn't want it before it had proved it's worth. In other words: they wouldn't invest in an idea.
- tyohn 19y agoI know of an example from the book "How to license your million dollar idea" by Harvey Reese. He thought of an idea, drew it on paper, faxed it to a company and got a deal - all in one day. Although: He did quite a bit of business with the company previous to his fax and he does talk about needing to evaluate the originality and market need of your idea.
- mixmax 19y agoDo you have a source other than himself? His business model is that you can put your idea on his website (for a nominal fee of $175) and he will then try to sell or license it to someone, and you split the proceeds. Obviously it is in his interest to tell you that he has had tremendous success himself. Besides, I think the $175 will make him a good amount of money from naive hopeful inventors.
- tyohn 19y agoNope, I don't know the guy or the company just the book. He does seem to have a good reputation but like I said I don't know...