When I took an art class on a lark in college, I discovered how much I loved being creative. Bringing my ideas to life didn't feel like work -- far from it. The experience was downright magical. If I could do this for a living, I'd never work a day in my life, I...
‘Ordinary’ People Will Be Responsible for Future Creative Breakthroughs, Says This Harvard Biz School Professor
Are 'ordinary' people capable of coming up with ideas for products and services that will change the world? Yes -- and in the future, such breakthroughs may not only become more prevalent than those engineered by experts or geniuses in a particular field, they may...
4 Industries That Want to License Your Idea
Some industries have embraced open innovation more than others. I'm talking about industries that have an enormous appetite for new product ideas. Companies competing within these industries are very actively looking for your innovations because, to be frank, their...
Are Young Entrepreneurs Truly Endangered?
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the percentage of young people under 30 who own their own businesses is the lowest it has been in 24 years. Financial challenges and a "low appetite for risk" were cited as the primary reasons. To a certain extent, that...
Get in the Game: What Licensing Can Do for You
Do you have a great idea for a product or service that you’re convinced is the next big thing? You probably wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t--or at least want to. You know deep down that you’re destined to be an entrepreneur. You already have an inkling that...
Not Creative? Become a Product Scout
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how desperate companies are for new ideas. Open innovation is changing the game. But what if you’re not creative and don’t have any ideas? You can still take advantage of this enormous opportunity even if innovation isn’t your thing....
3 Reasons to Submit an Idea to Quirky
There are more opportunities than ever before for innovators to pitch their ideas. One relatively new avenue is Quirky, a online product submission company that differentiates itself by relying on a community of influencers to help determine which ideas move into the...
Open Innovation is Flourishing Because Creative People Want to Work For Themselves
When I explain that for many years I made a living out of licensing my product ideas to powerful companies for passive income, people are often dubious. Are companies really looking for ideas from independent inventors? Don’t they already have all the creative talent...
In Only 4 Years, the Open Innovation Has Radically Changed. Here’s How.
Like everyone else, I discovered figuring how out to support myself doing something I truly enjoyed was going to be difficult. I knew at a young age that I needed to find something that motivated me -- something that would challenge me for an entire career. I liked...