Have you ever come across a nifty product and thought why didn’t I think of that? Usually seemingly simple and so obvious you can’t believe you didn’t come up with it. Inventors seem to have the ability to look at problems or needs from a unique perspective that the rest of us just don’t.
For instance, take the common issue of the ketchup bottle. Ketchup was bottled in octagonal shaped glass bottles to showcase the purity of the product. However, the bottles made it a slow and agonizing wait for the ketchup to get from the bottle to the fries. There were rumors about how to best get the condiment flowing like smacking the bottle on the logo of the company or tipping the bottle to exactly 37 degrees but they proved to be unsatisfactory. Enter Stanley Mason, inventor extraordinaire. He invented the squeezable ketchup bottle and made America’s lunch hour much more productive. A seemingly simple thing and now very common. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find an actual glass bottle of ketchup in the grocery store.
Many of us don’t or can't think like an inventor and will likely never know the thrill of seeing our invention come to market but there is a way for the rest of to participate. It is investing in an invention.
The first step when considering this type of investment is to determine the field that you would like to invest. Stick with fields that you have some degree of knowledge and comfort. Once you have narrowed the field, evaluate the invention’s sales potential and marketability. Appraise the value of the patent or patent pending. If there are too many similar products it could hurt the potential of the invention. The most crucial element for new ideas to earn money is to be first to market.
Due diligence on the inventor and their support team is also important. Judge their level of commitment to the project and their knowledge or expertise in the area and about their invention. Evaluate if this is a team you can stay in business with for the long haul. It can take many years to see a significant return on investment with these types of ventures.
As with any investment there are risks but the investment profit can have an extraordinarily high returns. Not to mention the thrill, even if vicariously accomplished, of seeing an idea through to marketability.
Design 1st has helped a variety of inventors with innovative products that have great market potential. Contact us to explore what opportunities are available. Some time in the future someone might be looking at your investment wondering why they didn't think of that.