Brian always has had a passion for coming up with new ideas. To date, he holds four patented inventions and has an additional three that are patent pending under his company, Think Up Designs. Brian’s inventions were brought to market through manufacturing, as he has appeared on QVC and also has done licensing for retail distribution products from kids toys and infant products to kitchen gadgets. Another specialty of his is to create and license brand art properties that target the teen/tween market. His brands have been placed in several retail chains such as Target, and other well known retailers in the U.S. and Canada.
In 2007, Brian, with support of Suffolk County, New York, Executive Steve Levy, founded the Inventors and Entrepreneur Club of Suffolk County. For the past three years Brian has served on the Board of Directors for the New York Society of Professional Inventors.
Since 2006, Brian has volunteered his time lecturing throughout many Long Island public libraries, various school districts, inventors groups, small business administrations and other groups on the subject of inventing. It was through these experiences that Brian began to recognize that there was a great need for solid information and guidance. This was the inspiration for his recently published book, “You and Your Big Ideas.” Proceeds from his book sales are donated to various charities.
Brian also started a live weekly radio show for inventors called Got Invention Radio, and has recently partnered up with Inventors Digest to host expert guests and resources for inventors.
Brian is from Melville, New York, and is 36 years old. He is married to his wife, Lisa, and has an 8-year-old daughter named Alana.
What are you working on right now?
I am working on a project called Inventor Relations that will be a portal for inventors to gather all the necessary information to help them bring their ideas to the next level and beyond — from the thought of their idea to seeing it out there — whether helping them to manufacture their product or products on their own or through licensees.
3 Trends that excite you?
1. I see more and more companies looking for new, fresh and exciting ideas from inventors.
2. I see more and more people looking to persue their ideas because of today’s economy, and they want to set themselves up to have residual income or start their new business.
3. I see more and more people needing great information to help them with their ideas, and that excites me to host the radio show, Got Invention Radio.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I quickly write my idea down to capture my thought. Then I do a quick search on the major search engines to see if it already exists.
I make a great prototype, get some patent protection and explore the options of manufacturing or licensing. I also keep exploring my options and getting the word out by going to trade shows related to my product and connecting with media resources. I keep exploring options until I make that connection that will bring my product to market.
What is one mistake you’ve made that our readers can learn from?
I have many mistakes that I learned from, but I have to say one major one is that you have to talk about your idea and connect with resources to get somewhere with your idea. Too many inventors don’t want to talk to anyone about their ideas. That was me, but not any more. Get some protection on your idea and talk about it!
What is one book and one tool that helps you bring ideas to life?
Can I mention my book? “You & Your Big Ideas” was written by me in order to help inventors. It’s all about you and your big ideas! I wrote it so people can have a resource guide that takes them through a step-by-step system, while giving them great tips and resources to save them time and money.
I also like books by Don Debelak. He has some great information that has helped me as well.
What is one idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Go to the store and then to the section that you see your product being sold at. Then look at the products that are there. Write down the company names that have a similar product to yours, and then go home and do research on that company, and call them to ask if they are interested in looking at your idea. You can find a partner that already has manufacturing and distribution, otherwise known as a licensee, and get a small percentage of a bigger opportunity, with little or no risk financially.
What’s next for you?
I would love to host a TV show for inventors. I was asked by inventors to work on a solid show, just like Got Invention Radio, interviewing top experts and resources.
How do you feel about inventing?
It definitely has its ups and downs both emotionally and financially, but it’s a passion of mine to find solutions to things that I can see being done differently or made easier. It’s just the most amazing experience to see your product out there for someone to buy and use it for the same reason that I came up with it.
Connect with Brian Fried:
You can find Brian Fried at Got Invention Radio every Thursday night live at 8 p.m. EST. He also is on Facebook and Twitter at Got Invention Radio, or you can e-mail him at [email protected].
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.