Who are you and what do you do?
I am Brian Fried and I am the host of a radio show for Inventors, Got Invention Radio, and have had the opportunity to interview high-profile guests, expert resources and successful inventors. It’s a live weekly show on Thursdays at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST. I also run a website called InventorChat.com that allows inventors to chat with me one-on-one and help them with their inventions.
I have several of my own inventions that I have licensed and manufactured that are in major retailers and “As Seen On TV” companies; I am also an on air guest on QVC. Some of my inventions include Pull Ties, which is a new way to seal bags and keep things together and a collapsible egg tray that was just launched.
I am also working on my second book, which I expect to be published in 2012.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I start by doing my research! I gauge the market by asking the people who would be using my invention their opinions. When I am in front of potential licensees and buyers to show them current products, I like to take the opportunity to share other products I have in the pipeline to get their opinions and suggestions, as they are on pulse of their industries’ demands. I then continue through the invention process and bring it to prototype stage, where I make my decision if I’m going to license or manufacture the invention. By looking at each idea as a business, I focus on doing proper due diligence and having the best chance of coming out to retailers. That is the best feeling–having people share the same experience as the reason for coming up with that idea!
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I really enjoyed this book [amazon_link id=”B000FC1LT2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]MBA in a Box [/amazon_link]by Joel Kurtzman, Glenn Rifkin and Victoria Griffith. I know it sounds very educational and it is! The authors include the journeys of innovators and how they reached high levels of success.
What is one piece of advice that you’d like to give?
I think that inventors need to network with each other through inventor groups or find a mentor that can help with guiding them through the process. At this point in my inventing career, I would say that in the beginning it’s challenging and as you start to understand and navigate through the steps, it gets easier. You have to make sure that you do your research and doing a simple patent search can be the best word of advice because if you find out that your idea is someone else’s intellectual property, then move on to your next idea or make sure that it is modified enough that you can try to get some patent protection on it.
What is one idea that you’re going to bring to life in 2012?
- I have a website that I have been working on and will launch in 2012 that will be a great resource for the invention industry.
- My next book.
- I have a pipeline of 10 ideas that I am looking to license and I also plan to help other inventors with their ideas.
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.