I'm not quite sure that I ever considered myself a professional inventor. I have invented a few inventions, but most of the ideas that I licensed were just simple improvements on existing products. This I know for sure: I have always been motivated by the desire to be...
If You Want to Become a Profitable Inventor, You’re Going to Need More Than One Great Idea
Success means different things to different people. For me, it means being in control of my own destiny, being financially secure, and helping others achieve their goals. How do you achieve the success that you desire? Is there a secret recipe? Is there a road map?...
Let These 8 Principles Guide Your Mission-Driven Company
How do you build, run, and ultimately grow a mission-driven company that you will be proud of? At inventRight, the company I built with my business partner Andrew Krauss, our mission is simple: To help inventors license their ideas. We began working together in 1999....
How to Achieve Repeat Success Licensing Your Inventions
For former mechanical engineer George Burkhardt, being resourceful is a way of life. Since the Texan retired about fifteen years ago, he's achieved great success bringing his ideas for new products to life. I've had the pleasure of knowing Burkhardt for some time now,...
How to Become More Successful Licensing Your Product Ideas
Inventors, you're doing it all wrong! Most inventors observe a problem and then attempt to come up with a solution for it. When they've invented one, they shop that solution around for licensing consideration (or try to build a business around it). But this strategy...
How Licensing-‘in’ a Brand Can Wildly Grow Your Product Business
For many years, I licensed out my ideas for new products to companies that were better equipped to bring them to market. When I came up with an idea I thought was good, I'd show it to companies that marketed similar products. If they liked the idea, they would pay me...
License Your Product Idea to a Fortune 500 Company Using These Steps
I have licensed more than 20 products over the past 30 years. In most cases, I worked with midsize companies. The reason why is simple: They're fairly easy to work with! They review products swiftly, they get back to you quickly, they typically focus less on...
Why Entrepreneurs Must Believe in Themselves
I can remember sitting in a classroom at Santa Clara University and looking out of a window at the rain, feeling desperately unhappy. I didn’t want to be studying economics. It wasn’t that my classes were tough, although they definitely were. It just didn’t feel...
When You’re Unafraid to Ask for a No, You Become Unstoppable
Success has a lot to do with momentum. What sets those who achieve their goals apart? They keep moving the ball down the court. They don't let obstacles derail them. They hang in there. What does that look like in practice? Abandoning fear of rejection, for one. Fear...
9 Fears About the Licensing Process You Should Banish This Year
Our fears hold us back, sometimes without us even realizing it. Things will go wrong. My advice? Plan ahead. Most people never plan for failure. There's that saying, "There is no Plan B." I think adopting that attitude is a mistake. No matter how hard we work or how...