Inventing 101

Dive into the world of invention with practical insights from an experienced inventor. Learn the essentials of turning ideas into reality, based on real-world experiences and lessons learned. Perfect for aspiring creators seeking a grounded guide to innovation.

Inventing 101

Your Profit Formula

As a general rule, a product needs to be manufactured for 25 percent of its expected price to consumers to make money. This is due to distribution and selling costs. That means that your manufacturing costs must be less than 50 cents if your product’s retail price is $2.

Inventing 101

Understanding Improvement Patents

With an improvement patent, you add improvements to a previously patented invention. If you are not the owner of the previous patent, you might be able to get a patent but not be able to sell the product related to the patent because you would be infringing on the original patent.

Inventing 101

Think Like a Licensee

Companies always want a margin of at least 50 percent. You need to have a good grasp of the percentage of the retail price the company receives to address this issue. Understand and leverage these 4 main deal-making factors for your potential partners.

Inventing 101

Finding Opportunities

Even in winning categories, some products are better than others. Here are some ways to help you to a winning formula. These principles apply across the board—whether you are looking to produce your own product, license it to a manufacturer, or strike a joint venture deal of some kind.

Inventing 101

The Path to Easy Sales

Before investing too much money in an invention, it pays to consider how easy it will be to sell. Let’s look at this from two major themes—priorities for customers, and your ability to get and retain them through entry points.

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