I have an idea but I don't know what to do with it.
August 20, 2013 1:39 PM Subscribe
I have an idea for a product. I live in Chicago so I feel like there have to be some ueful resources around. I have never had something made or produced. How do I do that? And once I do that, what comes next?
I was laid off from a dead end job earlier this month. It was a bessing, really. I was becoming lazy, comfortable and complacent in following my own dreams and ambitions. Having been laid off has made me realize it may be time to venture on with my own ideas. Let's explore entrepreneurship! For the past year or so I've been tinkering with, what I think, is a useful product idea. I have made two really crappy prototypes just to make sure the idea works. It does. I made these prototypes by first drawing them, then trudging through Home Depot searching for the parts that would work. I encountered many flaws and did my best to correct them. Then I perfected them. After hanging out in Home Depot more than I ever thought I would, I now have a well developed idea of what the "real" product could be. And a really shitty model of what it would look like. But it works! Yay!
Here's the part where I get pretty lost and overwhelmed. I would like to turn my crappy prototype into a package-able, or at least sell-able, well designed product. I don't even know who to talk to first. Do I need to work on gaining a patent for this first and foremost? And if so, how do I know that someone hasn't already come up with this idea? When I hunt around on Google, I see people with ideas vaguely similar to mine but definitely not the same. But just because I can't find it on Google, doesn't mean it doesn't exist somewhere else, I'm sure.
How does someone have a product made? Is there a company that deals with making prototypes for people? This product would involve several kinds of materials but mainly I would like to use recycled plastic as I need something light and waterproof for the bulk of the product. And recycled just...because I care about stuff like that.
Several friends have seen what I've made and they like it and think it's a good idea. Some of them have offered to invest in it. I'm grateful that my friends would want to give me (probably smaller amounts of) money, but I am not even all that sure at what point I would need investors. At what point does a person need investors? If I wanted to make a few professional prototypes just to have and to show to people, how many would I need? Also, how much does something cost to have it made professionally. Obviously, I know this answer will vary widely depending on what the product is, but let's say you just invented the "Slip 'N' Slide." You need to pay someone to make the real McCoy. How much does something like that cost?
A few more thoughts; I know about KickStarter. Maybe that'll work for me down the line, who knows. But when I go to KickStarter, most people seem to have a polished product ready to sell. They just need a bunch of crowd funding. For what? To mass produce things? What stage of the game are most KickStarters in? I don't even understand that. Or it's so simple I'm overthinking it?
I probably need a hard education in how all of this works, for my own protection and my own peace of mind. This is why I'm turning to my always brilliant MeFites for help. I'm in Chicago. I know there are excellent resources for me here for starting a business, but do you know of any resources for people that want to produce a product? I could use help finding those resources.
I really want to turn being laid off into the best thing that could have happened to me. And I want to make the most informed decisions that I can. If you're familiar with any of these situations, please share your knowledge and experience.
I was laid off from a dead end job earlier this month. It was a bessing, really. I was becoming lazy, comfortable and complacent in following my own dreams and ambitions. Having been laid off has made me realize it may be time to venture on with my own ideas. Let's explore entrepreneurship! For the past year or so I've been tinkering with, what I think, is a useful product idea. I have made two really crappy prototypes just to make sure the idea works. It does. I made these prototypes by first drawing them, then trudging through Home Depot searching for the parts that would work. I encountered many flaws and did my best to correct them. Then I perfected them. After hanging out in Home Depot more than I ever thought I would, I now have a well developed idea of what the "real" product could be. And a really shitty model of what it would look like. But it works! Yay!
Here's the part where I get pretty lost and overwhelmed. I would like to turn my crappy prototype into a package-able, or at least sell-able, well designed product. I don't even know who to talk to first. Do I need to work on gaining a patent for this first and foremost? And if so, how do I know that someone hasn't already come up with this idea? When I hunt around on Google, I see people with ideas vaguely similar to mine but definitely not the same. But just because I can't find it on Google, doesn't mean it doesn't exist somewhere else, I'm sure.
How does someone have a product made? Is there a company that deals with making prototypes for people? This product would involve several kinds of materials but mainly I would like to use recycled plastic as I need something light and waterproof for the bulk of the product. And recycled just...because I care about stuff like that.
Several friends have seen what I've made and they like it and think it's a good idea. Some of them have offered to invest in it. I'm grateful that my friends would want to give me (probably smaller amounts of) money, but I am not even all that sure at what point I would need investors. At what point does a person need investors? If I wanted to make a few professional prototypes just to have and to show to people, how many would I need? Also, how much does something cost to have it made professionally. Obviously, I know this answer will vary widely depending on what the product is, but let's say you just invented the "Slip 'N' Slide." You need to pay someone to make the real McCoy. How much does something like that cost?
A few more thoughts; I know about KickStarter. Maybe that'll work for me down the line, who knows. But when I go to KickStarter, most people seem to have a polished product ready to sell. They just need a bunch of crowd funding. For what? To mass produce things? What stage of the game are most KickStarters in? I don't even understand that. Or it's so simple I'm overthinking it?
I probably need a hard education in how all of this works, for my own protection and my own peace of mind. This is why I'm turning to my always brilliant MeFites for help. I'm in Chicago. I know there are excellent resources for me here for starting a business, but do you know of any resources for people that want to produce a product? I could use help finding those resources.
I really want to turn being laid off into the best thing that could have happened to me. And I want to make the most informed decisions that I can. If you're familiar with any of these situations, please share your knowledge and experience.
I'm not entirely sure what exactly you need, so some of these suggestions may be irrelevant.
First, as far as getting a functional business, the folks at SCORE might be able to help, mainly on the "this is how you start a small business without going to jail" side of things.
As far as the prototyping and subsequent production goes, there's an interesting "digital manufacturing" initiative just starting up at 1872. It's still very early days for 1872, so it's not really usable in the immediate sense, but probably more of something you could keep an eye on.
...in the meantime then, try asking around at 1871. They're the software end of the universe, but there are a number of folks who show up at their events who can probably help (at least informally), like Joe Born, Zach Kaplan, and so on. I am not personally connected to either gentleman, but I have heard them both speak, and they both have experience getting products from concept to production.
Events at 1871 often have a "does anyone have an announcement?" moment where you could stand up and briefly discuss your concept & difficulties, and I've personally seen people get connected with useful allies as a consequence, so it's worth a shot, even if all you get is "hmm, you should go talk to this dude over here..."
posted by aramaic at 1:50 PM on August 20, 2013
First, as far as getting a functional business, the folks at SCORE might be able to help, mainly on the "this is how you start a small business without going to jail" side of things.
As far as the prototyping and subsequent production goes, there's an interesting "digital manufacturing" initiative just starting up at 1872. It's still very early days for 1872, so it's not really usable in the immediate sense, but probably more of something you could keep an eye on.
...in the meantime then, try asking around at 1871. They're the software end of the universe, but there are a number of folks who show up at their events who can probably help (at least informally), like Joe Born, Zach Kaplan, and so on. I am not personally connected to either gentleman, but I have heard them both speak, and they both have experience getting products from concept to production.
Events at 1871 often have a "does anyone have an announcement?" moment where you could stand up and briefly discuss your concept & difficulties, and I've personally seen people get connected with useful allies as a consequence, so it's worth a shot, even if all you get is "hmm, you should go talk to this dude over here..."
posted by aramaic at 1:50 PM on August 20, 2013
Best answer: Ah crap, I forgot to mention, as far as physical prototyping goes you might want to look into services like FirstCut, Protolabs, eMachineShop and their ilk.
posted by aramaic at 1:53 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by aramaic at 1:53 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have a lot of experience with product development (design, manufacturing, etc.) so feel free to MeMail me if you have specific questions.
Here's another possibility for you. Check out Quirky, which touts a collaborative approach to product development.
posted by Dansaman at 2:10 PM on August 20, 2013 [3 favorites]
Here's another possibility for you. Check out Quirky, which touts a collaborative approach to product development.
posted by Dansaman at 2:10 PM on August 20, 2013 [3 favorites]
Nearly nothing is produced for the mass-market in the US anymore. Most all of it is made in China.
I hate to say it, because while the show is as fake as the day is long, watch Shark Tank. This will give you some idea of how others in your shoes are managing their business.
Another interesting show was Pitchman, staring the late, great Billy Mays.
How will you marketing it? (As Seen on TV? Internet? Etsy?) Who is the target audience? What is the competition? How much will you charge for it? What does it cost to make?
I think you should be looking for a new job because it may take years to bring this to market. Which is fine, but don't think that it's going to take off and be an overnight sensation
I'd take Dansaman up on his offer because this is a person you should be listening to.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:17 PM on August 20, 2013
I hate to say it, because while the show is as fake as the day is long, watch Shark Tank. This will give you some idea of how others in your shoes are managing their business.
Another interesting show was Pitchman, staring the late, great Billy Mays.
How will you marketing it? (As Seen on TV? Internet? Etsy?) Who is the target audience? What is the competition? How much will you charge for it? What does it cost to make?
I think you should be looking for a new job because it may take years to bring this to market. Which is fine, but don't think that it's going to take off and be an overnight sensation
I'd take Dansaman up on his offer because this is a person you should be listening to.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:17 PM on August 20, 2013
Key words to search for are "MakerSpace" and "HackerSpace" -- these are both actual places where people can go to use prototyping and small-scale manufacturing tools as well as communities centered around helping each other make stuff and start companies.
I suggest networking within your local MakerSpace/HackerSpace communities. The people there can probably answer your questions or at least point you to other local resources.
Here are some Chicago-area Meetups to get you started:
http://makerspaces.meetup.com/cities/us/il/chicago/
posted by Jacqueline at 5:57 PM on August 20, 2013
I suggest networking within your local MakerSpace/HackerSpace communities. The people there can probably answer your questions or at least point you to other local resources.
Here are some Chicago-area Meetups to get you started:
http://makerspaces.meetup.com/cities/us/il/chicago/
posted by Jacqueline at 5:57 PM on August 20, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for the feedback, everyone. This is all very helpful. And Dansaman, I do plan on finding another job. I just really want to work on this, also.
posted by smeater44 at 8:32 AM on August 21, 2013
posted by smeater44 at 8:32 AM on August 21, 2013
It was Ruthless Bunny, not me, who said you should be looking for a new job.
posted by Dansaman at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2013
posted by Dansaman at 10:16 AM on August 21, 2013
Response by poster: Touche. I realized my mistake after writing that.
posted by smeater44 at 1:08 AM on August 22, 2013
posted by smeater44 at 1:08 AM on August 22, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you want to patent it, you'll want to talk to a patent attorney because their relatively small fee is going to be worth it for something they can solve in a few minutes instead of muddling through yourself.
Basically, you need investors if it's going to cost more than you can personally float to have it made, or if you have enough demand that you need to get a bunch of units made but can't do it on the fly, so you need 10,000 widgets to have enough stock for your anticipated orders or your manufacturer has a minimum order requirement.
Kickstarter is usually "we need to get it into production" and that production costs money. So you talk to a manufacturer and it's $100,000 to get a run of your doodad made and you don't have it and don't want to trust investors, but you think people are going to like it.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 1:50 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]