Two (of 10) PITFALLS
SUCCESSFUL INVENTORS AVOID
Inventing is a high-risk form of investment
There is no way to guarantee success when it comes to inventions, but there are some pitfalls that can guarantee your failure if you aren’t careful! Having supported hundreds of hopeful inventors, and worked on dozens of our own inventions, we’ve seen the most common mistakes that have stopped otherwise promising ideas from getting their shot at the big show. Learn from others’ mistakes and increase your chances of success by avoiding these pitfalls…
Pitfall #1 - FAILURE TO LAUNCH
The biggest mistake most inventors make is not making any mistakes at all, by never taking action. Many potentially great products never see the light of day, because their originators fail to seize the day. First, many ideas never even make it past their brains, because they don’t realize how achievable it is to have their ideas turn into products. All it takes is knowing how, having the right team and process, and a winning idea. If they knew how they would hopefully not overlook that opportunity!
Secondly, for many inventors who do desire to take action, they are frozen because they don’t know what their options are for moving forward. They start to do some research about it, looking at various sites and reading articles, and then get confused by too many possibilities and not knowing who to trust.
Finally, some inventors get stuck in their heads, thinking about their idea for years without actually taking action on it, researching it, or talking to anyone about it.
The answer to every question you don’t ask is no! Inventing is a challenging game, but if played with understanding, it can be lucrative and rewarding.
Don’t look back with regret, take the first steps on your ideas and see if you might have a winner!
PITFALL #2 - NOT LOOKING BEFORE YOU LEAP
This one is a big one! I meet many inventors who come to me with an idea they swear is unique, that no one has ever seen before, and that they have looked high and low for, and then turn out to be totally wrong.
I find their idea on the market in literally a few seconds by searching on Google. How is this possible? Either they have not actually done any searching, or they looked half-heartedly, subconsciously sabotag- ing their own efforts.
Even though it can be disappointing to find your idea is not unique, better to face the music and not go forward without knowing what else is out there. Sometimes you find your exact idea hiding in plain sight.
This isn’t bad news. It just means that you get to move on to your next idea.
Sometimes, because they are attached, inventors decide to move forward even though they discover a very similar idea is already on the market. This rarely makes sense or leads to success.
While there are some exceptions, the game of invention is usually about being first to market.
Avoid common pitfalls by working with trident
Getting started is easy! All you have to do is submit your idea to our secure inventor’s portal called the ThinkBank™. The ThinkBank allows you to organize all of the information you have about your idea and product in one secure space. Everything you upload is safe and is under your control. Once you complete the submission steps, a licensing expert from Trident will review your submission and let you know if your idea is a good fit or not. We accept all ideas and have worked with many different types of inventions – from kitchen gadgets to advanced nanotechnology. If you’ve got a great idea, we want to help you make it a reality!
check back for more tips and common pitfalls to avoid
Check back next month for two more common pitfalls you should avoid as an inventor! In the meantime, make sure to follow us on Facebook and sign up for our email list below to stay up to date on new, innovative challenges, as well as receive periodic tips and tricks.