The pace of the global economy is spurring companies to look for new product ideas with increasing fervor. These companies are hungry for your innovations. They want to profit from your creativity.
But which companies, exactly, am I talking about?
When you’re struck with a brilliant idea that you know belongs on the market, it’s tempting to aim high. You’re excited, of course. You believe in your idea. This product needs to be in stores everywhere, you think. And you might be right. But decades of experience have taught me that the biggest and most powerful companies are often the slowest to innovate.
This may seem counterintuitive. Aren’t these companies at the top of their game because they’re innovative? Actually, the truth is that larger companies are often extremely risk-averse. These companies would rather buy startups that have already proven themselves in the market than invest in ideas, because doing so is less risky. When you’re number one, there’s less pressure to stand out–which means there’s less incentive to gamble.
Looking back, I have not had success licensing my ideas to these kinds of companies. Rather, the companies most receptive to my ideas have been midsized, entrepreneurial-minded businesses gunning for market share. Companies seeking to differentiate themselves from the fray are your best bet, because they’re on the hunt for new products that will put them on the map. They’re more motivated to take chances.
However, companies that are too small or too new may not possess the resources needed to effectively manufacture, distribute, and promote your idea. That’s why I caution entrepreneurs against working with startups that don’t have a proven track record. When looking for your perfect partner, aim for the middle.
Entrepreneur Dario Antonioni knows this to be true. Years ago, as he was working on a project for a series of retail travel stores, the engineer-turned-designer observed that protective cases for electronic gadgets were based on the specific dimensions of a single product. “I thought, why are people designing products that are only usable for one object?” Antonioni said. “Why not design a case that can fit anything?”
Antonioni got to brainstorming and eventually came up with a solution that he named GRID-IT–a “unique weave of rubberized elastic bands made specifically to hold personal objects firmly in place.” Talk about a simple idea. But the potential applications were enormous. GRID-IT, he thought, could be useful in everything from cars to airplane seats. Antonioni started contacting the leading makers of electronics and electronic accessories.
“All of the companies you’d expect would be interested in the product turned me down,” he said. “They didn’t get it. They thought, ‘This is just a bunch of elastic bands.'”
Eventually, he found a partner in Cocoon, a company he describes as smaller in size and innovative. Cocoon licensed the idea from him and shortly thereafter, GRID-IT exploded in popularity. A Cocoon backpack that had panels of GRID-IT inside it became one of the Apple retail store’s best sellers. Global distribution followed shortly thereafter. Today, GRID-IT is featured on 1,500 different unique products (also known as SKUs). That’s nothing short of incredible.
When his licensing contract expired, Cocoon acquired GRID-IT from Antonioni’s studio, Orange22 Design Lab. They saw the potential that everyone else ignored, and the rest is history.
Originally published on Inc.com November 6th 2014.
