William Jones, captain of Marines in the Providence (the 28-gun frigate, not the 12-gun sloop) then at Boston,  advertised in the 20 March 1779 Providence (R.I.) Gazette the need for “a  few good Men” to engage in “a short Cruize” and gave the Marine Corps a recruiting  slogan.

I have been an inventor since 2002 (about 14 years) and, for my new business venture, I truly am looking for ‘a few good men and women.'

If it sounds like I am a recruiter, I am a recruiter for a unique purpose: I want to help inventors with good, retail-ready products to get traction in the marketplace as I have done with my invention, Wonder Wallet.

The Cold, Hard Reality of Invention Success – or lack of it

Almost every inventor has seen scams promising the inventor will ‘make millions' with his or her great invention. The invention marketing company (aka scammer) making the pitch always asks the inventor to pony up a lot of capital (typically $10,000 or more) in exchange for ‘marketing materials' etc. I have been able to rescue a few inventors from the clutches of such charlatans just in time. But many inventors fall prey to such sirens.

The reality is that neither you, nor me, nor anyone can predict whether or not an invention will flop or fly high in the marketplace. Most products will not succeed – only about 3% of all new products achieve notable success. So, anyone promising otherwise is likely to be a scammer trying to bilk you of your money.

Why am I Doing this – Reaching out to other Inventors?

It is fair to ask, why would I be doing this, offering to help other inventors?

  1. I have had great success with Wonder Wallet, why not just invent more products myself?
  2. Am I not worried that I sound like a scammer myself with this offer?
  3. What is in it for me?

1. I am indeed working on a new cat toy product I hope to get into the DRTV pipeline soon. So, I am working on other products of my own.

2. Yes, I am worried about that. But my services to assist you cost you zero, zilch, nothing. I will never make any money unless and until you are able to achieve success. See 3. below.

3. There is nothing in it for me… unless I am able to work with you and get your product successfully licensed. Then I would get a portion of any royalties that are paid to you.

My firm belief, based upon my years of experience, is that there are probably about 1 million independent inventors working tirelessly on their inventions. Even if only 3% will succeed, that is still a lot of valuable new products for the marketplace: 30,000 or so.

My goal is to find 100 inventors (or 0.33% of the 30,000) who have exciting, interesting products that are retail-ready and leverage my contacts to see if we can get some licensing deals done.

The number one challenge for every inventor is to find ways to get their product successfully leveraged onto a large commercial platform where millions of consumers can buy it.

I have found strategic partners – much like the entrepreneurs on Shark Tank – who have the financial wherewithal to put deals together for the right products. I have the skills to recognize inventive products that have real potential in the marketplace (though I cannot predict success – see above).

My purpose is to bring inventors with great retail-ready products together with strategic partners to negotiate licensing deals to get the inventions commercialized. Financial costs and risks are borne by me and strategic partners, not the inventors.

Sound crazy? It may be, but most new innovations and ideas start with a small group of ‘believers' and a vast ocean of doubters and naysayers. The goal is to prove the naysayers wrong!

What Do You Need to be Retail-Ready with Your Product?

 

Here is the profile of the kind of product I am looking for:

  1. Your product must be patent-pending – at least have a provisional patent
  2. You must have a working prototype, preferably a finished product
  3. Your product should solve a problem faced by millions of consumers
  4. Your retail price should be less than $30 (preferably less than $20)

Do you have a product that fits the above profile? If you do, I'd love to talk with you and see if we can get you traction in the marketplace. Everyone who contacts me gets, at the very least, free advice from me.

I won't waste your time or mine if I don't see a way to help, but I can always point you towards other resources that might be your next step. If you want to know more about the process, check out my website Inventor-Center. Lastly, my best email is alan-beckley@msn.com. Please email me if you have an interesting product. I am always happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I have an NDA I can send to you if needed.

Okay, I have to finish by pitching my new book, Daring to Invent, available on Amazon. Check it out, it's only $2.99.

Stay tuned!