๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ.
๐ฟ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฉ๐?
Do you remember how much effort you put into preparing for that first time? Do you remember how embarrassed you felt later when you realized what you did and didnโt do, as a result of your naivety? How would that have gone if you had been given some help in preparation, protocols, practice, and even some resources (like cash) to make it more likely to be a date to remember โ for the right reasonsโฆโฆ
Raising money for your project is a lot like dating. You might spend an inordinate amount of time getting ready to meet that special someone (who invests in projects like yours) and you want to make a good first impression. That all makes sense when you are trying to turn a casual meeting into something long-term - such as turning a prospect into an investor.
If you were asked on the first date to commit all of your next yearโs income to make mortgage payments on that girl/guyโs house โ without knowing if there is anything special between you (trust me โ making a yearโs mortgage payments will keep you in favor โ what exactly for is something else, perhaps). It doesnโt make sense, right?
Most of the inventors who contact me for help, have already taken the equivalent of โeverything they can afford to spend and moreโ and committed it to patenting their wonderful idea before they can be sure the idea could be worth anything. Sure, they have been told by someone in authority that the idea is a good one โ that person is usually the Patent Attorney they are sitting across from, about to sign away all of their resources to protect something they still can't put a value onโฆโฆ
It's crazy, right? You would never do that, right? Perhaps you know someone who has done this and is now looking to do something with this piece of paper called a patent. The last thing they want to hear is that 98% of patents are not able to generate sufficient income to cover their patent costs in their first 5 years of patent life (US Patent Office, 2001)
If you could counsel that teenage you who was starting out for their first date, what would you suggest? More research? Have a mental checklist (our social normative values already give us some of that) and perhaps know where to look for a more suitable partnerโฆ..?
Letโs focus on your inventionโฆโฆ Before you rush to patent, there are several things you need to do, to make sure that what you will end up owning (and spending big dollars to protect if you are challenged) will be worth something. You need someone without a vested interest in your patenting process to convince you your invention could be one of the 2% of patents that will generate sufficient returns to pay for the patent costs. Thatโs common sense, right?
You should get a checklist of things you must do before you rush off to patent that new idea. This will make sure that you only spend your money on something that has a good chance of being commercial, as well as help you stay away from a business model that will put you among larger multi-national players who can crush you, or drop you into an industry where regulations can drag your project out for years.
I hope you can use this checklist to help focus your limited resources and make your next project capable of funding many more to come.
Four things you MUST DO before you patent a new idea.
๐ญ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ปย
a. What is the problem it solves
b. Who has the problem
c. How necessary is fixing this problem?
d. How do they solve it now
e. How much do they pay to solve it
f. How often will they need to buy this solution
g. How much cheaper/more effective is your idea, at solving their problem?
h. Given a conservative % of buyers have indicated they will switch, what is the value (pa) of the sales and net earnings potential for the project?ย
๐ฎ. ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ย
a. Who provides the solution now โ who supplies them
b. How big are your competitors
c. Is there something the buyers must also buy at the same time?
d. How do the competitors get their solution to the buyers
e. How can you get your solution to the buyers?
f. What approvals do you need to build and sell this?ย
๐. ๐๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ
a. Do you have a model of it
b. Can that be used to prove to buyers that it works?
c. Has anybody independently qualified the buyersโ intentions?
d. What price will make them happy to switch to your product?
e. What variants will they need to switch their buying to your product?
f. What other reasons do they have for buying from their current supplier?ย
๐. ๐๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ
a. Can you contain this as a trade secret? For howling?
b. Can you trademark the name/logo/can you get the website?
c. Can you tie down related parties with NDA during the R&D period
d. What Countries will you ultimately need protection in?ย
e. Given the cost of patent protection, what is the true net present value of the project, using (discounted)future cashflows from sales, licensing, and later a trade sale?
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