CBC Go Public 's Investigative Team Asked Design 1st For Expert Opinion
Ahead of the interview with CBC Dragons' Den host Diane Buckner, Kevin ran an in-house experiment looking at how likely it would be for separate individuals to come up with similar product designs.
The experiment gave three Design 1st product designers the challenge of designing a hands-free lid applicator without any prior knowledge of the situation.
The result: eight different types of applications and none matched the inventor's solution.
Images of the various coffee lid applicator design concepts
“"It's David and Goliath," said Kevin Bailey, CEO, Design 1st.
“"And for the most part, I don't think companies are predisposed to take inventors' ideas. They want a solution. I think that's where things fall apart; inventors have to do design and create the business at the same time, and are maybe too slow for the engine that requires the goods.”
Go Public asked Tim Hortons about Bailey's findings. The company's reply: "We were not involved in the design of any of the products that we evaluated and cannot speak to any similarities in their designs."
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