Do You Have an Invention Idea? What You Do First

I often get asked by people who have an invention idea, “What is the first step?” To answer that, I’ve put together this brief guide.

Just for context, my first attempts at bringing inventions to market, which started in the early 2000s, were failures. It wasn’t until 2012 that I made my first profit as an inventor. That experience opened doors for me, but more importantly, it taught me valuable lessons. The success wasn’t just about the invention itself, but the journey of experiencing both failure and success. Since then, I’ve partnered with established businesses to help bring even more products to market. This has given me insights into what works and what doesn’t—specifically, what successful inventors do differently from those who fail, and vice versa.

Once You Have an Invention Idea, What’s the First Step?

Once you have an invention idea, your first step is to decide what you want to do with it. If your goal is to make money from your idea, you essentially have two main options: licensing or venturing. The first thing you must do is determine which of these options suits your goals.

If someone is advising you on what to do and they don’t know whether you want to license or venture, don’t listen to them. They either don’t know what they’re talking about or they’re trying to push you into one option over the other. The decision is yours to make.

What is Venturing

Venturing with an invention is starting a full-fledged product-based business where you are responsible for bringing your invention to market and managing the day-to-day operations of selling the product.

What is Licensing

Licensing an invention is entering into a contract with someone else where they bring your product to market in exchange for paying royalties to you on any sales they make.

Which should you choose

Both options are still considered businesses in their own right and require time, drive, and dedication. Though licensing certainly is easier for the average person to pull off, that doesn’t mean mean your chance of success is increased.

This article isn’t about the pros and cons of each, it’s about telling you the first place to start once you have decided. Here are some resources that I highly recommend:

Licensing Resources:

Stephen Key

Stephen is one of the most respected names in the licensing industry. His book, One Simple Idea, is a must-read for anyone interested in licensing, and his YouTube channel is packed with free, practical advice. What I appreciate about Stephen is that he doesn’t push unnecessary steps like many other gurus do. He is very much about doing what is needed at the time, not doing things because you have heard that is what you do.

Stephen’s company, InventRight, offers paid coaching services, though I can’t speak to the value of these as I’ve never used them. However, I fully recommend his book and YouTube channel for anyone with an invention idea looking for valuable guidance.

Jim Debetta

Jim is a product commercialization expert with a strong focus on ethics. What sets him apart is his straightforward approach, telling inventors what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. He offers one-on-one coaching that’s tailored to your invention idea.

Of course everyone in this industry is out to make money for themselves, no one works for you for free. But Jim is the closest I have seen to someone that genuinely cares about what is best for you more than his ability to make money off you. That’s not common in this industry and something that should be commended.

Venturing Resources:

Rob Fitzpatrick

Rob’s book, The Mom Test, is a game-changer for anyone considering venturing with an invention idea. It’s a clear and concise guide to validating your idea before investing significant time and money. It’s a quick read, but its lessons are invaluable. But like any book, there is plenty of content on Youtube that will give you the gist of it.

This book is geared more towards startups, but the lessons apply to really anything you want to start. Whether is be a startup, or a local chess club.

Alberto Savoia

If you read The Mom Test and want to dive deeper into market validation, I highly recommend The Right It. This book takes the next step in understanding whether people will actually pay for your product before you spend time developing it. Alberto is a charismatic character who also has an entertaining Youtube video that is worth a watch.

Despite what many people might think, the number one cause of an invention failing isn’t not having enough money. It’s that there either wasn’t a big enough market for the idea in the first place, or they didn’t know how to reach the market. What this book goes over is that you don’t need a lot of money to validate the market. And that the process of validating the market is actually also the ground work for the most important part of inventing. Sales and distribution.

Eric Ries

Eric’s book, The Lean Startup, is often regarded as a must-read for entrepreneurs. It provides efficient and market-driven strategies for bringing products to market, and it applies equally well to invention ideas.

It adopts a “fail fast” mentality that is ideal for people who don’t have a large budget. It very much focuses on building what the public wants vs what you think the public wants. And to do so without wasting time or money on unnecessary steps.

What Not to Do:

Invention Help Companies

If you’re thinking about working with an invention help company, don’t do it.

Their business model is a conflict of interest—they’ll tell you what you want to hear just to get you to hire them. Many inventors get excited when these companies praise their ideas, but remember, they only want to make money off you. Not that there is anything wrong with making money. Just that it is in their financial best interest for you to think your idea has promise, even if it actually does not. That is how they get unwitting inventors to spend more and more money on services that don’t actually increase your chance of success. It’s purely about trying to get as much money out of you as possible.

Invention help companies are where inventors go to make sure someone makes money off their idea. And its the inventors investment that they make.

In my many years in the industry, I’ve seen too many inventors fall into this trap. Working with an invention help company is like a gamble with very slim chances of success. Save yourself the trouble—avoid them.

Conclusion

Be cautious about who you take advice from. The vast majority of the advice available is either inaccurate or outright misleading, and much of it can actually increase your chances of failure. If you have an invention idea, start your journey by relying on the resources above and conduct your research thoroughly. The first step, once you have an invention idea, is deciding what to do next, and these resources will guide you in making the right decision. And remember, once you do get to the stage of needing manufacturing, let me know. Maybe I can help.