Invent Your Company

Great Deal Flow Website

2012-01-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

It is often difficult for entrepreneurs to find out about recent investing and M & A deal flow and valuations in their niche. Such information is critical in justifying your company valuation to potential investors or buyers. There are several resources that cost quite a bit of money that track deal flow and valuations. However, one free resource has quite a bit of information that you may find to be helpful. This is the NY Times' DealBook website. The preceding link takes you to an example of one of the reported deals. Enjoy!

Fuji and Kodak

2012-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Innovators everywhere have good cause to mourn the finality of Kodak's loss of its place atop the technology heap as it filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday January 19, 2012.

Kodak's Japanese rival Fujifilm Holdings Corp., however, it doing just fine. Imagine that... a large Japanese company that outcompteted an American company primarily through innovation rather than by focusing on supply chain, efficiencies, engineering, attention to detail, and all those other typical components of "Japan Inc.'s" competitiveness.

Shigetaka Komori has run Fujifilm as its president since 2000 and as its CEO since 2003, so he was at the helm during the wrenching changes that took down Kodak. But Fujifilm took a much broader perspective on its technology assets, the future, and how to survive their unavoidable fusion.

Whereas Kodak focused primarily on converting its business from film-based to digital photograpy--it was a pioneer in digital technology--Fujifilm tooks its existing technologies and applied them to completely new markets like the ubiquitous LCD panels for devices such as the one you are now using to read this blog post. It even applied its science to cosmetics and health care markets.

"Fujifilm was able to overcome by diversifying," said Komori in a recent interview reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The lesson here is that innovation must be applied to markets and marketing as well as to technolgies if a company is to survive today's and tomorrow's rapid change.

$50,000 Business Plan Contest

2012-01-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania recently announced a business plan contest for businesses in their 32-county service area. The grand prize is the tidy little sum of $50,000.

I have assisted companies that have won the grand prize in earlier similar contests, so if you live in the service area, please feel free to contact me via the "Have a Question?" box at the top of my blog for assistance in applying (ask me to contact you). There will be no fee for my services, as they will be provided via my role as a consultant with the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers.

Good luck!

New Definition of Accredited Investor

2011-12-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

I have found that many people are still unaware that the SEC has ammended the definition of "accredited investor."

Please note that the value of a primary residence now must be excluded when determining the net worth of an individual. Previously, the value of the primary residence could be included in this calculation. This will have the effect of reducing the number of persons meeting this definition.

See the definition here.

A Loan May be a Whole Lot Easier!

2011-12-29T06:17:00.000-08:00

Several posts ago, I described the difference between an investor/investment and a lender/loan. In various other posts and in my book Mastering Inventions & Patents; Markets & Money, I have pointed out the significant burden of regulations surrounding solicitation of investments. These burdens apply whether you are accepting money from a complete stranger or from a family member. If the investor is not accredited, then the legal costs of preparing the proper documentation that you are required to give the investor can be very substantial, easily $10,000 or more.

Therefore, if you seek relatively small amounts of capital, especially less than $50,000, it may not make sense to spend the money required to get set up to take investments. Instead it may be much wiser to take a loan. Loans are not subject to any of the regulatory burdens and are far simpler to set up. I do recommend that you have an attorney review any loan documents that you prepare, but the cost will be far less that the cost to prepare investment documentation.

Access to Capital Bill Passes US House

2011-12-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

The US House has passed HR 2940, the “Access to Capital for Job Creators Act.” It now awaits action in the Senate. As I mentioned in a previous post, this bill would eliminate the prohibition on general advertisement (solicitation) of securities offered under Rule 506 of Regulation D, which is an exemption commonly used by entrepreneurs raising small amounts of capital.

This bill and the crowdfunding bill had broad support in the House, and the Obama administration has voiced its support of the crowdfunding bill, so prospects for final passage may be good.

My opinion is that the "Access to Capital" bill is very positive for entrepreneurs, but the entire crowdfunding concept is fraught with landmines for entrepreneurs. If you do choose this method, be sure you know the potential negative consequences and how to manage them or you may have a lot of very bad days!

Crowdfunding Bill Advances

2011-12-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

The US House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2930, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act, which I mentioned in my previous post. The bill is now awaiting action in the Senate. It allows entrepreneurs to raise up to $2 million online if they provide potential investors with audited financial statements; $1 million if not.

General Solicitation Ban to be Banned?

2011-11-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I mentioned to you a House bill up for consideration that would make it easier for companies to raise money through "crowdfunding" sites. I also learned today that the House is voting this week on a bill that would remove the ban on public, (i.e "general") solicitation for private offerings of securities to wealthy investors.

Whereas the bill contemplating the crowdfunding changes may not end up to be very advantageous for entrepreneurs, this one should be very nice in that regard.

Funds@Facebook.com?

2011-11-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have heard of "crowdfunding," in which an entrepreneur may raise funds in small amounts through one of several Internet-based services.

There are a number of problems with this approach- one of which would be that any such solicitation would violate SEC rules regarding private placement of unregistered equitites.

Legislation currently before Congress would address this issue by allowing companies to accept from an investor up to $10,000 or 10% of the investor's income in return for equity stakes in companies. The House Financial Services committee has recently backed the proposal.

While this may initially sound like a good idea, there are very many ways for this to go wrong for the entrepreneur and the investor in the long run; far too many to address here. The biggest one for the entrepreneur, however, is that you will likely end up with dozens, hundreds, or even more investors, each of whom would then have a legal right to sue you and mess with your life! That would not be a good trade-off in my view.

If legislation ever passes making this legal, be sure to look before you leap.

Do You Really Mean "Investor?"

2011-10-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneurs often tell me they want to "get investors" for their business. However, in questioning them I find out that they often do not understand the definition of the term "investor." Below are some key points to help you understand the term in case you are unsure of the meaning as well.

-Someone who loans money to you or your company is not an investor; they are a lender.

-An investor will receive an ownership stake in your company in return for the investment, whereas a lender will not (unless there is a separate agreement to this effect).

-An investment does not have to be paid back, whereas a loan does have to be paid back.

-The sale of an investment may be considered to be a sale of a security and thus regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission and state regulators, whereas a loan is not considered a security.

-The sale of an investment will be considered to be the sale of a security if the investor does not have management control in the company.

I hope this helps!

Patent Bill Update

2011-09-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the patent reform bill is now law, but the provisions do not take effect until 2013. The bill provides broad outlines for the new provisions, but the USPTO will have to issue new rules based on the statute. The federal courts will inevitably end up having to interpret these new rules, so it will be quite some time (e.g., years) before all of the implications of the law become clear. Stay tuned...

Patent Bill Sent to Obama

2011-09-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, the senate passed the patent reform act and sent it to Obama for signature. Obama has previously stated that he will sign the bill, so I guess it's a done deal.

This is clearly set up to benefit large corporations. Large corporations clearly have not been the drivers of the U.S.'s world leadership in innovation. R.I.P innovation leadership. We will be inevitably dragged down to the standards of the rest of the world.

Patent Changes Update

2011-09-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like the patent law overhaul that I mentioned in my previous post is closer to reality and almost assured of being signed into law.

While some of the provisions seems reasonable, the "biggie," which is the change to a first-to-file system from a first-to-invent system, will be extremely destructive to innovation, especially among independent inventors. This provision clearly and overwhelmingly favors the huge corporations that forced this legislation on us.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania that showed that when Canada changed its patent system in a simlar manner in 1989, filings by independent inventors dropped and did not recover.

Think about it... the rest of the world uses the first-to-file system, but virtually all of the significant technology development in the world occurs in the U.S., with its first-to-invent system. Has anyone in Washington ever heard of the sage advice: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" (Of course not; silly me!)

Unfortunately, it looks like this is a done deal, according to what I have read.

Royalties on Products of Government-sponsored Research?

2011-08-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

I may be a little behind the times, but I just became aware of a House bill that proposes to establish a commission to study the imposition of royalties upon products that commercialize federally funded research. The funds would ostensibly be used to promote research and/or STEM education.

However, we know that this is really a transfer of funds from private-sector innovators that are successfully commercializing new products to the Federal Government which has not exactly been the best money manager we've ever seen.

I have excerpted, for your reading pleasure, a few pertinent portions of the bill. You can read the entire thing at govtrack.us.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

There is established a commission to be known as the ‘Commission on American Discoveries and American Jobs’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘Commission’).

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) The Federal Government is estimated to have spent $147,400,000,000 in fiscal year 2010 on research and development (not including funds allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Public Law 111-5)) to meet the mission requirements of the Federal departments and agencies.

(2) Federal Government research and development has led to new products and processes for the commercial marketplace, including antibiotics, plastics, airplanes, computers, microwaves, and bioengineered drugs.

(3) There are many other technologies and techniques generated in the Federal laboratory system that could have market value if further developed by the industrial community, and the knowledge base created by the research and development activities of such system can serve as a foundation for additional commercially relevant efforts in the private sector.

(4) Technological progress is responsible for up to half the growth of the United States economy and is the principal driving force behind long-term economic growth and increases in our standard of living.

(5) It is only through commercialization, a function of the business sector, that a significant stimulus to economic growth occurs. Thus, there is congressional interest in accelerating development and commercialization activities in the private sector through legislation.

(6) Royalties derived from intellectual property rights provide the academic community a way to support further research and the business sector a means to obtain a return on their financial contributions to such research.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

(a) Study- The Commission shall conduct a study to examine--

(1) the state of technology transfer from federally funded research to the private sector;

(2) the possibilities for the Federal Government to collect royalties from early research that leads to the commercialization of a profitable product or technology;

(3) the potential adverse consequences of such royalties on technology transfer, commercialization, and economic growth; and

(4) the potential benefits of reinvesting revenues from Federal royalties into science, technology, engineering, and math education, and seeding future federally funded research;

(b) Report- Not later than one year after the first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall submit to Congress a written report of the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) and recommendations of regulatory and statutory changes that would enable the Federal Government to--

(1) claim royalties from the investment of the Federal Government in early research;

(2) reinvest such royalties in science, technology, engineering, and math education and future Federal research;

(3) ensure products resulting from Federal research are manufactured in the United States; and

(4) affix a symbol, marker, or insignia on commercialized products to show that they had originated from federally supported research.

America Invents Act

2011-08-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

I hope that you have already heard about the America Invents Act, but if not, you should get yourself up to speed on this potential radical change to US Patent law. The House and Senate have both passed substantially similar legislation and if the bills are reconciled, the President has indicated that he would sign the resulting legislation.

The most radical change is the move from a first-to-invent system to a first-to-file system such as is found in other countries. A great summary of the legislation and a discussion of potential effects is found in this Wikipedia article.

One interesting excerpt is the following: "The patent reform bill of 2007, which the current bill closely resembles, was analyzed by the Deputy Director of IP division of Beijing High People's Court, Senior Judge, and he found that that the bill "... is friendlier to the infringers than to the patentees in general as it will make the patent less reliable, easier to be challenged and cheaper to be infringed. It is not bad news for developing countries which have fewer patents. Many of the Chinese companies are not patent owners in the U.S. market and their products are often excluded from the market because of patent infringement accusations. This bill will give the companies from developing countries more freedom and ﬂexibility to challenge the relative US patent for doing business in US and make it less costly to infringe."

Sound scary to you? Please read up and comment with your thoughts on this change to the patent law.

How to Predict the Future

2011-08-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

Who wouldn't like to be able to predict the future? Well, I can't give you an absolutely foolproof way to predict your future, but I can pass along some wisdom I heard long ago from a source I no longer recall. And that is this: "The best way to predict the future is to create it."

Here's What Really Matters to Inventors

2010-09-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Please see the folowing link to a Wall Street Journal article to find out the true secret to success for inventors: Jim Winner. The first six words and the last ten of the article say it all!

Strategic Target Acquisition

2010-07-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

One of the most difficult concepts for a tech entrepreneur to grasp is that of targeted marketing. The need to focus on a narrow market, especially during product launch and throughout the first year, is a matter of life and death for your business.

Who specifically is your market; what exactly are they seeking and why; where do they “live,”; what makes them feel important in their personal/professional lives; how do they feel about your technology; what organizations do they belong to and why; what magazines or other media do they relate with and why; which blogs do they read and why; how would each of them like for you to market to them and why; how much will it cost for you to do that; for how long will you have to do this marketing until you reach break-even; what are the response rates for advertising through the media that they prefer; how much are they willing to pay for your product; and on and on and on…

All of these questions must be answered in order to develop an effective strategic marketing campaign. Then you must carry out that campaign. It is nearly impossible to do this for multiple or broad audiences with your limited start-up resources, and especially considering the fact that there will be an unusually high level of personnel and product-related issues to deal with in the first year. You must bite into what you can chew.

Here is an analogy:
Several cave men are about to go hunting with clubs. Their goal is to eat. In a field are rabbits, deer, moose, and wooly mammoths. Which would you suggest that they target? How would you suggest that they do so?

In a different scenario, several modern hunters are hunting with elephant-guns. In a field are the same prey. Which would you suggest that they target? How would you suggest that they do so?

The answer to the question of what prey to hunt is very different depending on the tools that you have at your disposal. You need to look at the tools that you have at your disposal and then decide whom to target in your marketing (hunt). Because you are not a corporate behemoth, the target market must be quite narrowly defined. The key here is not your product or even what you want to do, but what you are capable of properly marketing. Pick a focused market, understand it fully, and then hit it hard.

As your resources grow, your target markets can be expanded.

Funds to Fight Imports

2010-04-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

If your business has been negatively impacted by cheap imports or cheap foreign labor, there is a program that may be able to assist you in learning how you can adapt to the new market conditions.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Center provides up to $75,000 to manufacturing and service companies that have been impacted by imports. The money is matched dollar-for-dollar to what your company expends (maximum project is $150,000). The money is used to hire third-party consultants who provide marketing, IT, budgeting, analysis, and efficiency-improvement project advice. To be eligible, a company must have had a drop of 5% or more in sales or employees due to foreign competition.

This project is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. See MATAAC for more information.

Obamacare and You!

2010-04-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

Please see the announcement copied below regarding an opportunity to learn about how the new health care laws will impact your small business.

Main Street Alliance Phone Briefing for Small Business Owners
Health Care Reform: What it Means for Small Businesses

Wednesday, April 21 - 4pm ET // 1pm PT
Click Here to RSVP

Main Street Alliance Supporters:
We're writing to invite you to a special phone briefing on health care reform and what it means for small businesses on Wednesday, April 21 at 4pm ET // 1pm PT.
Now that health care reform has passed, many small business owners have questions about what it will mean for them and their businesses. As a small business owner, you might be wondering:
• Will reform stem the off-the-charts rate increases we've received in recent years?
• Will my business qualify for the new tax credits? If so, what will my credit be?
• How will the new health insurance exchanges help small businesses?
• What about the shared responsibility requirement?
• What if I'm self-employed, what will reform mean for me and my family?
If you're wondering about these or other questions, or just looking for information to share with other business owners about what's in health care reform for them, please join us!
Main Street Alliance Phone Briefing for Small Business Owners
Health Care Reform: What it Means for Small Businesses

Wednesday, April 21 - 4pm ET // 1pm PT
Click Here to RSVP

If you're interested in participating but can't make this time, send an email to info@mainstreetalliance.org; if there's enough interest, we'll schedule a repeat briefing in the following week.

Thanks,
Sam Blair
National Network Director
The Main Street Alliance

Investments Terminology

2010-03-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

The terminology of investments and investors can be confusing to entrepreneurs new to this game, but are very important to understand. Fortunately, there are a number of Websites that have resources available to help you understand the jargon. A few of these are: InvestorWords.com, Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, and AltAssets.com.

Supercharge Your Website Conversion

2010-03-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

Anyone who intends to transact business via a Website or via email should sign up to receive free research reports from MarketingExperiments.com. This organization conducts thousands of experiments to test which strategies boost business and then publishes its results in research reports.

The best research report I have ever seen from them (or anyone else, for that matter) is Clarity Trumps Persuasion.

This is a "Must Read" for anyone with a Website!

They Just Don't Get It

2010-02-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Many inventors become frustrated when nobody seems to see the value in what they have developed or they get frustrated when the product just does not sell as well as the inventor knows it should.

Believe it or not, this was the case with Fred Morrison, inventor of one of the most popular childrens' and adults' toys of all time (and among dogs too). That toy of course is the... Frisbee.

Mr. Morrison, who unfortunately passed away last week at the age of 90, had gone around demonstrating his "Pluto Platter" at department stores and county fairs, with little success. Eventually he became so frustrated with lack of sales that he decided to license the idea to someone else. That someone was the little-known Wham-O company. Morrison's invention has since put Wham-O on the map and spawned the sports of Ultimate and Folf. There is even now a World Flying Disc Federation.

Quite a turnout for a product that initially would not sell.

Major Company Seeks New Technologies

2010-02-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

Companies in the medical products and consumer packaged goods businesses have historically tended to shun product or technology ideas submitted from outside their own firms' R&D departments. Proctor and Gamble has been a notable example of this, for instance.

However, there is one such company that actively solicits new technologies and ideas. This is Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, maker of Lysol, Clearasil, and Airwick products, among others. The company has a Website, Idealink, specifically for soliciting such ideas.

Below is a sampling of technologies the company is currently seeking:

Technology to control the release of pharmaceutical actives at various human physiological sites.

Novel, low cost delivery systems capable of conveniently distributing liquids into air and/or onto vertical or horizontal surfaces (targeted or large area).

Approaches to significantly improve the removal of grease and oil from substrates, delivered in a dilute aqueous environment.

Technologies to promote rapid dissolution of tableted materials in aqueous or human physiological environments and/or improve subsequent active absorption/action.

Technologies to enable active materials to target specific loci in dilute aqueous or human physiological conditions, facilitating direct action at that site.

Technologies to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of household cleaning, antimicrobial, personal care and OTC healthcare products :
•Formulation
•Processing
•Packaging

Technologies or approaches to modify, prevent or control microbial growth on hard, soft and biological surfaces via non-conventional (i.e. non biocidal) means.

Technologies to help protect the body from “attack” by a range of noxious/damaging species, materials and environments.

New developments in the area of surfactants and detergents.

Technologies to treat skin and/or promote healthy skin via control of pathogenic species or restoration of the skins natural defences.

Enzyme systems with increased stability and efficacy at low and high temperatures.

It is probably worth taking a look to see if there are any opportunities for you or someone you may know. The company also allows submission on unsolicited technology ideas.

Angel Venture Fair Opportunity

2010-01-28T06:22:00.001-08:00

I received notice today that the next Angel Venture Fair will be held in April and the application deadline is February 2, 2010. Although this is short notice, I would encourage anyone who is seeking capital to apply. Please let me know if you require assistance. Please see more information at Angel Venture Fair

Ben Franklin Energy Idea Contest

2010-01-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

BFTP has announced a new funding contest for energy-related businesses. Please see the announcement below. FYI, I have been informed that BFTP will not conduct its annual Big Idea business plan contest this year due to funding cuts. The Big Idea contest was open to a wider range of technologies than this present contest.

Please let me know if you are interested in applying. Please also pass this information along to anyone that you feel would be eligible and interested:

Ben Franklin Technology Partners and PennTAP Announce the $35,000 NEW Energy Idea Contest

State College, PA – The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (BFTP/CNP) announce their sponsorship of the “NEW Energy Idea Contest.” The grand prize of $35,000 will be awarded to either an entrepreneur or one early-stage, pre-revenue company in the process of developing a new energy or alternative energy related product/process improvement.

Prize money for the contest is being provided by Ben Franklin as well as PennTAP utilizing a donation made by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Interested entrepreneurs can visit http://newenergyplan.benfranklin.org for rules, entry forms, and FAQs. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2010.

To qualify, contestants must have a viable, new energy/alternative energy-related product or process improvement idea and cannot have received BFTP funding in the past. Additionally, applicants must be located in any one of the 32 counties in the Central and Northern Pennsylvania region. These include: Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Elk, Erie, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Perry, Potter, Somerset, Venango, Warren and York.

“Saving energy and alternative energy is on everyone’s mind,” remarked Stephen Brawley, President/CEO of Ben Franklin. “Improvements to existing technologies, new hardware or software products that increase efficiency, new battery or fuel cell applications, engine and turbine technologies, and agricultural based alternatives are all examples of the kinds of proposals we’re hoping to get from this competition. Ben Franklin is very proud to partner with the PennTAP program, as the technical assistance they provide their clients in energy related initiatives makes a huge contribution in the state.”

Heidi F. Sullivan
Proposal Coordinator
Ben Franklin Technology PArtners
5340 Fryling Road
Erie, PA 16510
Telephone: (814) 898-6650

Bringing in Investors and Losing Control

2010-01-13T04:56:00.000-08:00

Nearly every entrepreneur I have worked with is highly and irrationally concerned about losing control of their company if they bring in investors. They have heard horror rumors about entrepreneurs being left out in the cold by greedy VCs. I used the term "horror rumors" instead of "horror stories" because the latter term would imply that there is even a wisp of truth behind them, which there is not.

You heard that right: There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that effective entrepreneurs get pushed out by investors.

To prove this point, here is a challenge I throw down to all readers of my blog:

Name one instance of a tech company that reached national prominence through VC investment and in which the original entrepreneur was pushed out by the time the company "hit the big time."

To help you out, I will list a few of the cases in which the original entrepreneur(s) did remain at the helm (CEO, President, Chairman, etc.) as the company grew monstrous, went public, etc. These are the biggest names in entrepreneurial business success, some of them going back 50 years. VCs were involved in most, but not all of those listed below, although massive outside investment was involved. I have included a range of types of companies for your reading pleasure.

Microsoft (Bill Gates), Oracle (Larry Ellison), Google (Sergey Brin), Twitter (Jack Dorsey), Wal-Mart (Sam Walton), Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg), Dell (Michael Dell), YouTube (Chad Hurley), MySpace (Tom Anderson), Starbucks (Howard Schultz), Nike (Philip Knight), Digital Equipment Corporation (Ken Olsen), Best Buy (Howard Schulze), Apple (Steve Jobs), Amazon.com (Jeff Bezos), McDonalds (Ray Kroc), Cisco Systems (Len Bosack), Intel (Andy Groves), Research in Motion [Blackberry] (Mike Lazaridis), Wikipedia (Jerry Wales), Outback Steakhouse (Chris Sullivan), Turner Broadcasting System (Ted Turner), Sun Microsystems (Scott McNealy), Netscape (Marc Andreessen), Silicon Graphics (Jim Clark), FedEx (Fred Smith)Yahoo (Jerry Yang).

Note that in the last case Jerry Yang was forced out more than a decade after the company hit the big time, but the CEO position is never a lifetime guarantee at any major company.

So what are you afraid of? Go out and get the money!

Hiring a CEO Part 2: Who to Look For?

2010-01-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

I have consistently seen that an absolute requirement for a startup CEO to be effective is to posess and deploy high-level sales skills. If the original entrepreneur is the CEO and does not have effective sales skills, then he or she must at a minimum perform the sales function of recruiting someone who does have these skills. Usually the entrepreneur will need to convince that person to come aboard for little or no salary.

Sales skills are required long before an entrepreneur is ready to sell his or her product. Primarily, I am referring to the application of those skills in the task of raising capital. Make no mistake about it: Raising capital is a sales function. And a highly complex one at that.

The personality traits required as the bedrock for effective sales skills are:
1) self-confidence
2) an outgoing personality
3) an energetic drive to accomplish goals

In seminars I have often told groups of aspiring entrepreneurs about the above requirements. Then I tell them this: "If you do not posess this personality then go out and get it." I mean this literally. Either change your personality or hire someone with this personality. Either option is feasible with enough willpower.

There are numerous books and courses on the topic of self-confidence, people skills, etc. and they really do work of one really wants them to. One well-known example is the Dale Carnegie books and courses. If necessary, this would be time and money well-spent. The answer to the question asked in the title of this post: "Hiring a CEO, Who to Look For?" may be YOU.

Hiring a CEO, Part 1: What to Look For

2009-10-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Some entrepreneurs, investors, or board members may think that it is necessary, in the earlier stages of a company, to hire a person with a "marquee resume" to handle the CEO duties for the company.

As an entrepreneur, you need to be sure that you, your investors and your board are fully informed of what to look for when hiring a CEO for a startup. Very often I have found that there is little understanding of this. This is evidenced by the fact that many times young companies are willing to make such a hiring decision based mostly, when it comes right down to it, on a resume.

It is important to realize that previous success as a member of a large organization does not indicate future success as the CEO of a startup. A startup CEO must be high-functioning in a wide variety of business disciplines, especially in implementing effective sales processes. (more on this last point later) Large organizations hire for specialized skills and tend to cultivate those skills. It is very rare to find someone from a large organization with deep experience in finance, sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, human resources, and especially in raising investment capital as a startup.

All of these functions are extrememly critical for a startup CEO, as is the ability to multitask, be highly observant, be able to make accurate predictions based on trends and instincts, be highly driven to success, and to be goal oriented. A startup CEO must be willing to handle intense situations and stress, take risks, work for years at reduced salary, jump on a plane across the country at a moment's notice, and spend long stretches on the road with little sleep. He or she must be a consumate networker, motivator, and "people person." On top of all of this is honesty, integrity, rational decision-making (as opposed to emotional), and lack of hubris.

When your young company interviews for a CEO, ensure that you ask the candidate what qualities are necessary for the position. If the candidate does not respond with the above, or something very similar, it is probably best to let that candidate learn on someone else's dime.

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-08-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, in the entrepreneurial experience, there are plenty of bad days to go around. In fact, sometimes it seems as if nothing can go right. Often, the discouraging things occur little by little and accumulate slowly over time, though occasionally building to a seemingly intolerable level.

This is where persistence and a positive outlook come in handy.

The good news is that things can turn around and the turnaround is often abrubt. It could be a beta trial that goes well and clears the path to commercialization, a key strategic partner that finally signs that contract, the large purchase order that comes in after months of delay, or a vendor who finally gets that nagging quality problem corrected. These positive developments are often the opening of a floodgate... a floodgate to your future.

Keep this in mind as you face discouragement. One day can make a big difference. I have seen it happen many times!

Sell, Sell, Sell

2009-08-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

If you want to be an effective entrepreneur, you must be an effective salesperson.

Almost everything that you do will entail a sales effort: getting people to invest in your idea or company; getting a shop to produce your prototypes; recruiting employees; recruiting mentors; getting a loan; securing strategic partnerships; working out advantageous payment terms with your vendors, and obviously-- selling your product or service.

Nobody is born with sales process knowledge and the skills to apply that knowledge. The sales process is not taught in school. Knowledge of how to sell, how to recruit and manage a sales force and how to properly incent others to sell for you is usually acquired in the workplace.

The key is to understand that if you have not done it before, you don't know how to do it and must go get that knowledge. It is unwise to assume that you automatically understand this complex and important process just because you started a business. It is also unwise to assume that the ability to create a couple of initial sales means that you know how to extend this out to many prospects and to ramp it up "big time."

You must also have or assume an outgoing personality to be an effective salesperson.

Fortunately, you can gain a lot of knowledge by reading books on the subject, attending sales training seminars, working with mentors, etc. Please, please take the time out of your busy schedule to learn about sales if you have not previously been a salesperson and sales manager in a capacity similar to what you are attempting to do and build to.

Simplify and Save

2009-06-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

I often get clients who have attempted to write a business plan using one of the several business-plan-writing software programs that are available, some of them costing upwards of $400.

However, I have not once had a client that was able to write a comprehensible business plan using such programs. In fact, the reason I am writing this post is because I have had two clients in this situation within the past couple of weeks.

My advice is to save your money and not purchase one of these programs.

In general, the problem seems to be that the software is overly complex and tries to make you "slice and dice" your plans too many different ways. You end up repeating yourself unnecessarily, causing confusion for the reader and frustration for yourself as the writer.

I suspect that the publishers of these programs make them long and complex in order to make the purchaser feel like he got something for his money. Many entrepreneurs write business plans in order to solicit money from investors, or in order to get a bank loan. However, potential investors and lenders want a clear, concise business plan.

I have developed a business plan template and instructions that will guide you to solidify your plans and put them down on paper. If you are interested in receiving it, simply post a comment with your request.

Remember the K.I.S.S. principle!

Tweak It!

2009-04-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

If you are not getting the response that you want from your advertising, tweak it!

Many entrepreneurs readily accept that they must continually improve their product or service, but I have found that few of them understand that the same is true of their marketing message.

The easy ability to revise marketing materials is the most powerful aspect of electronic marketing. This power allows you to continually improve the response rates from your electronic advertising. This includes faxes, e-newsletters, Websites, email advertising, Google AdWords, AdSense, and more. It even includes printed matter that you develop yourself and print on your own printer.

The chances that you hit upon the most effective message the first time you try are just about nil. Therefore, you must segment your list and run A/B test ads with two different headers, messages, designs, or combinations of these. You will typically find that you get a better response from one than the other. Then you take that concept and further develop it by doing another A/B split to test variations on that theme. As you continue to do this over the period of months and even years, you will usually see a dramatic improvement in response rate vs. the original piece.

The best part of all is that this process is FUN!! Most entrepreneur/inventors are both creative and analytical. This will tickle both of those sides of your brain!

Do you have a good story about how you revised your advertising message and saw an improvement (or even a drop-off) in response? If so, please share it with other readers via a comment.

Angel Capital Association Conference

2009-04-20T08:43:00.001-07:00

I just returned from the very informative and well-run Angel Capital Association Summit in Atlanta last week. While there is still quite a bit of investing activity, the "take-away" message that I got was this: The reduction in M & A activity and the near-halt (until last week, that is) in IPO activity has put quite a damper on investment activity. In particular, valuations have been cut substantially.

Interestingly, one speaker, Basil Peters, presented evidence showing that all parties involved make more money upon exit when either angels or VCs are involved as investors, but not both. In other words, the involvment of angels lowers returns for VCs and the involvment of VCs lowers returns for angels. The same reductions follow through to the entrepreneur.

Three Heads Are Better Than Two

2009-03-30T04:42:00.000-07:00

Hey, you know the old saying about the relative merits of two heads as compared to a single such appendage. Well, that concept of course does not stop at two. With that in mind, I would like to add a third head to your arsenal (yours, mine, and this other guy that I am about to tell you about). I know, I know... you already have more than just my head as a reference, but please humor me for a moment.

I would like to introduce you to an interesting blog for entrepreneurs that I recently discovered. The writer is knowledgeable, which is great; has a direct style of writing, which is better, and adds humor and wit to his posts, which is best. Please check it out: http://blog.therisetothetop.com/category/build-your-business/ Simply click on the title of this post on my blog to go to the other blog. Let me know what you think. I feel that the best material on the blog starts at March 16, 2009 and prior.

Subscribe Via Email

2009-03-04T04:22:00.000-08:00

As promised, I have added a new feature to this blog. You may now sign up to receive my new postings (and rantings) via email. To do so, follow these steps: Enter your email address in the form in the panel at the right; click Subscribe; complete the CAPTCHA form that appears; then verify your choice by clicking the link in the verification email that will be sent to you. Then presto! You will automatically receive my new postings (and rantings) in your email. I hope that you find this to be convenient way to stay in touch.

Where Was I?

2009-02-26T04:06:00.001-08:00

A reader posed a question on my Q & A form inquiring where I was during the CIC meeting on the morning of Feb. 25. Well... working like a dog, actually. Preparing to go out of town for three days. I will get back to posting to my blog next week and expect to add a new feature or two then as well.

Business Plan Basics

2009-02-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

I have had a number of inquiries about overall strategies in writing a business plan. Below is a concise, high-level view of how to go about it.

A business plan must be constructed as an action plan. It must not be a general discussion of your business, your products, or various potential marketing efforts. It also must not contain dismissive comments regarding the competition.

A business plan must be based on detailed research, especially research gathered by talking to numerous people in the industry. Research via Internet or government statistics is insufficient. Market potential must be clearly documented. Refrain from vague language such as “work with,” “align with,” etc.

The most important concepts regarding a business plan are: “How?” and How much?” How will you accomplish your goals; how much will that cost; how much profit will that provide?

Throughout the business plan you must define achievable goals, lay out sound strategies based on a real working knowledge of the business and market, and then show the path to success via conduct of fine-tuned, well-orchestrated operational and marketing campaigns.

OODA Loop

2009-01-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

A recent commenter on my blog asked me if I subscribed to Colonel Boyd's OODA Loop Theory. I must admit that I had to look up that term to see if I subscribed to it or not, but what I found was that there is a name for how I view the world around me: OODA Loop!

For an interesting read, see the article at Wikipedia

Yes it IS Your Problem

2008-11-05T04:02:00.000-08:00

As an entrepreneur you will find, as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, that you are operating within a flawed world. This means that people and organizations that you deal with- vendors, customers, partners, employees, investors- often do not do what they say they will do or achieve the goals that you expect them to achieve.

Of course there are many reasons that others do not perform. Very often it is because the issue lacks sufficient importance to them. They therefore do not go to the considerable effort to figure out exactly what is wrong, then develop a plan, acquire the resources, and carry out the activities to fix it, then finally monitor the situation to be sure no backsliding occurs.

If you are dealing with a well-established organization, such as a vendor company or strategic partner, you should realize that their priorities are probably not the same as yours. Their personnel have many other issues to deal with in their day regarding their own key suppliers, customers, employees, etc.

As a start-up, you simply may not be that important to them, no matter what they tell you. This can cause a lack of commitment to and effort in solving problems that they are creating for you. In short, they do not have that much to lose, although you may have everything to lose.

Other times they do not have the ability to solve the problem for one reason or another, one key reason being that they are average or below-average performers in general.

You must not let the mediocrity of others stand in the way of your excellence!

This means that you must solve problems for others. Problem solving is the number one defining activity of an entrepreneur.

If they won't figure it out, then you figure it out. Define exactly what the problem is, what is causing the problem, what resources are necessary to solve it, how to acquire the resources, how best to deploy those resources, and then bird-dog it to make it happen.

Again, realize that if the problem affecting you goes unsolved, you may go out of business, but that is a very unlikely consequence to your well-established vendor, customer, strategic partner, etc..

Who has the most to lose? That's the key question here.

How? How Long? How Much?

2008-10-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

Many entrepreneurs, when they write their business plan, do a great job of elaborating what they want to do. They have a dream. Some of their business plans have a vision statement nearly as long as the marketing section. (This is not due to an overly long vision statement!)

If you've ever heard someone call someone else a "dreamer," you know that this is usually not a compliment.

If you want to succeed, you must have a plan. The difference between a dream and a plan hangs on determining the answer to one question: How?

For everything you say you want to accomplish, you must lay out, in great detail, how you will do it.

Then you must execute that plan. The difference between planning and execution hangs on determining the answers two questions: How long? and How much?

How long will it take? How much will it cost? How much revenue will it bring in?

Often the problem is not that entrepreneurs ignore these critical questions. It is that they answer them literally on a whim.

You surely know that being an entrepreneur will be hard work. But you should realize that the hard work starts with properly determing the actual answers to these questions by conducting proper research. This research must go beyond the typical "market research." It must be far more all-encompassing "business research."

More on this later...

Venture Capital Feedback

2008-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

You never know what you'll hear back after you give your pitch to a venture capitalist. VCs have a much deeper and more expansive view of the business landscape than most entrepreneurs. Sometimes, what the entrepreneur perceives as a strength, the VC perceives as a weakness.

I recently hosted a venture capital forum, during which a panel of three venture capitalists received investment pitches from three entrepreneurs. One young company had achieved annual revenues of $500,000. In his pitch, this entrepreneur stated that he was seeking $2 million in funding. He pointed out how efficient his company had been to date, getting to its current stage with only $1.25 million in capital. Continuing this efficiency, he projected the need for an additional $2 million going forward.

In contrast, the entrepreneur pointed out, a California-based competitor had raised $40 million in VC funding and still had not achieved the technological or market success of his own company.

This fact was presented as a strong point for the entrepreneur and his company.

However, one VC in particular did not see it that way. This VC saw the $40 million as a "war chest" that the competitor could tap to overcome its current weak position. As this was an unexpected response from the VC, the entrepreneur was not prepared with an adequate answer to this concern. This entrepreneur had heard through the grapevine that the bulk of the $40 million had been wasted and the competitor did not have much of a "war chest" remaining. But at the time of his presentation to the VCs, he did not have strong enough support of this rumor to state this in response to the VC's concern.

Of course, after the event, the entrepreneur is working to verify those rumors so that he will be able to adequately address such concerns in the future.

The lesson learned is that it is always good to look at your presentation and plans from all angles... could something that you perceive as a strong point be perceived by others as a weak point, and vice versa. If you do this analysis before approaching investors and have your responses prepared for either perception, you will not only make a better presentation, but you will have a more complete view of your business opportunity.

In defense of the entrepreneur, I must admit that I assisted him in preparing his presentation and the VC's perception caught me off guard as well! After the fact it seems so obvious. This is one reason that it is good to get feedback from as many people as possible when preparing such presentations. Usually, one person cannot think of everything.

It's a Flawed World After All

2008-10-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

As an entrepreneur, you are forced to create success within a flawed world. The fact is that most entities and people that you will deal with are only average or are below average (this is by definition of the mathematical concept of "average.")

Success comes from realizing this fact and getting up each morning expecting it. You can help others that you deal with to rise above their limitations.

I have seen entrepreneurs grow frustrated by the flawed system they have to deal with and then become self-limited by that frustration. Don't let this happen to you. Dealing with a flawed system is what you signed up for when you became an entrepreneur.

Why You Need More Money Than You Think

2008-09-26T04:48:00.000-07:00

It is very difficult for you, as an entrepreneur, to predict how much money you will need to start a company and fund it until it generates enough cash to be self-sustaining (cash-flow positive). The obvious problem is that you are predicting the future, which is basically impossible. When weather forecasters predict the future, they look at certain indicators. The key is knowing which indicators matter and to what degree.

Inexperienced entrepreneurs usually look at the wrong indicators when attempting to predict how long it will take them to sell enough product to sustain their company. In particular, they look at the market need for their product in making this judgment and little else.

The market's need for your new product-- or lack thereof-- will almost certainly not be the primary factor in determining when you will achieve self-sustaining status and be able to stop raising capital. This is extremely crucial to understand, because if you do not achieve positive cash flow as planned and then have to go out for more capital, you will be doing so as "damaged goods."

I guarantee you that this will put you in a very tough situation.

So, you ask, what are the indicators that I should look at. The answer is: I don't know, and neither does anybody else. Again, this is because it is predicting the future.

However, I can impart some wisdom that helps you deal with this enigma and succeed in spite of it. This wisdom comes from personal experience, reading many case studies, and watching many entrepreneurs go through the process.

Here's the gist of it: Nothing ever goes according to plan.

You lay out these nice plans for when things will happen: first prototype delivered; patents issued; capital infusions received; quality commercial product produced, and you attach projected dates for each to occur. Each event directly affects time to cash-flow-positive, but these interdependent events never fall neatly like a row of lined-up dominoes.

There is a problem, and it's name is "Murphy." Murphy's law, that is.

Most entrepreneurs never get the chance to test the market demand for their product within the expected time frame because something goes wrong that gums up the process before they get there.

For one person it will be that his vendor missed delivery dates; for another person it will be that the vendor delivered on time, but the product was poor. For another, a capital infusion does not come in in the amount expected or at the promised time. Perhaps-- heaven forbid-- the entrepreneur or another key employee becomes ill or has an accident. Maybe that salesperson or rep group that you hired, in whom you had great confidence, turns out to be inept or ineffective.

Perhaps an employee embezzles money. Perhaps...

The list of possibilities goes on and on and on, and that is crux of the problem. You can't possibly avoid every single one of them.

The key, then, is to know this and plan for it. The way to survive these events is to have a cash cushion to take you through them to your (delayed) cash-flow-positive position.

One way you do this by finding initial investors with "deep pockets" and being up-front with them that you will be coming back to them for further funding. Another way is to put your sales projections much farther out into the future than your tidy little everything-will-be-just-peachy plans predict.

Funding Follow-up

2008-02-29T05:37:00.000-08:00

A commentor on my previous posting asked where he/she might find information on how to raise capital for their business. There are a number of books and online resources available. A Google search will turn up many references. Most of these focus on the "how-to" aspects of the process. Of couse this is important to know. However, with this blog I want to focus more on insights and strategies.

One useful reference is a publication that I wrote on the process of product commercialization. It has a section on financing your business. You can access it on the Web at http://www.pasbdc.org/what/consulting/dev/02.asp Select "Technology Commercialization Resources, then "New Product Commercialization Guide."

Funding is Like Fishing

2008-02-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

If you ever want to develop your invention into a profitable business, you will probably need to seek funding from outside investors. Most banks simply will not loan for purposes of trying to develop and market an invention.

When you seek outside investment, you need to have the right frame of mind and approach the process with the realization that you are basically "fishing" for investments.

Those who have ever gone fly-fishing (or watched the movie A River Runs Through It) understand that fishing works like this:

You try to find the best fishing hole and the best fly to use there. The fly should "match the hatch," which means it should imitate the items that the fish in that hole are currently feeding on. Of course, this means you must first determine what the fish in that hole are feeding on!

Next, you cast your fly to a likely looking spot. As your fly drifts downstream, you need to make constant adjustments so that it moves along with the current as naturally as possible (referred to in fly-fishing circles as the "presentation"), thus increasing the likelihood that a fish will bite.

The large majority of the time the fly floats to the end of its drift without any fish taking the bait. Occasionally a fish swims up to take a look. But often it sees something suspicious in your presentation and darts immediately away.

Sometimes a fish strikes at the fly but does not get hooked. Usually, when this happens, you make another drift past that fish. Sometimes a fish gets hooked, and it feels like a big one, but it gets off within seconds. Sometimes you hook one and bring it into your net, but it's a small one.

Sometimes you get very excited because you have obviously hooked a very big fish. You play it for a seeming eternity with great skill so that it does not break off and get away. You're completely exhausted from the epic battle. But when you get it into your net and examine it, it turns out to be a carp, not that lunker brown trout that would be so delectable in your frying pan.

But occasionally-- very occasionally-- you hook that big fish, bring it in, take it home, fry it up, and it tastes absolutely delicious!

Of course, in this example, the fish is the funding.

If you don't know how to fish, you will probably be ineffective. If you don't have the equipment or the patience of a good fisherman, you will probably be ineffective. Especially, you must have the perseverance and the fortitude to go out there, rain or shine, and flail away at that fishing hole!

Make Them Want It

2007-03-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

If people are not buying your product it is because you have not made them want it badly enough.

If your target customers want your product enough they can almost always find a way to pay for it. They are making choices with their money and they are choosing to spend it on things other than your product or service. You must change their priorities for them!

Think of the guy who comes home with something and his wife says: What the HECK did you buy THAT for; you don't need that!!! (Answer: "Because I wanted it.")

If you can get this to happen to your customer, you have done your marketing job!

Of course I say the above tongue-in-cheek, but it illustrates a point regarding marketing: Think about convincing people to buy your product even though they do not need it. If you can deliver a message this effectively, you will have little problem with those who do need it.

A lot of this is related to things like: peer pressure; being trendy/on the cutting edge; being respected/admired/looked up to; getting a promotion at work; looking/feeling better; gaining wealth; etc. These are emotional aspects of life. The real need is to have the emotional aspects of our lives fulfilled; your product is a tool that you are offering to your customer to accomplish this.

Now, can you apply this to your offering and your customers?

You shouldn't completely ignore the "need" aspects of your product, but you should understand that the basic triggers that get people to act are usually emotional ones.

Who cares about your new business?

2007-03-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting post from SportsLizard Entrepreneur Blog: Why no one gives a sh*t about your new business . This is the crux of what entrepreneurs need to learn to be successful. The trick after that is developing and implementing a plan to do something about it!

2006-09-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

Posting Files to a Blogger.com-Hosted Blog

As you may be aware, I have been trying to provide the PowerPoint file for my USPTO blog presentation to my readers via a link on this blog. I am finding that this is not as easily done as I had first thought (see previous posting). Yesterday I thought that I was onto the answer by signing up with the file-sharing service Ares. In theory, I should have been able to post my file to the Web for download or allow file sharing directly off of my computer, thus allowing readers to access my PP presentation from this blog.

My (it turns out, rather diabolical) plans were proceeding along well until I had a technical question and contacted my employer’s IT dept. to assist. Well, it turns out that IT departments do not like their network users to download and use file sharing software. This is because of security holes that file sharing programs can create. The result was that I ended up removing the Ares software from my computer.

I also checked with my IT department about using FTP transfer to provide the presentation, and they have similar security concerns about this process. They did suggest one other potential alternative, which I will check out.

What we have learned so far, though, is that it apparently is not easy to provide access to files using the Blogger.com hosting service. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I would appreciate hearing them.

USPTO Presentation in this Blog

2006-09-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

One of the attendees at my second USPTO session had a good suggestion that I post the presentation PowerPoint file to this blog. However, it does not appear that Blogger allows this. I assume that this is due to space requirements on their server. I haven't given up hope, however, and will try a file sharing service. Hopefully, I can then provide a link to the file on my blog. I am not sure whether this will work. I will try it and let you all know the results.

Thank You for the Comments

2006-09-13T04:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you to those who have left a comment. Thank you also to those who have sent me emails after the session. I have received quite a few more emails than blog comments, probably because that is what people are familiar with. We'll bring them around, though! ;-)

I want to point out to those who have left comments and to those who may do so in the future, that your comments first come to me in an email. I then must choose to publish the comment to the blog. This is for purposes of moderating comments for spam, etc. The result is that comments will not show up immediately. Note that I do not see your email address when your comment comes in via email and I also cannot respond to the email.

I rarely check that email account over the weekend, so comments currently will not get published until Monday. If readers feel that this is detrimental, I can make it a point to review the comments and publish them over the weekend. Please let me know your thoughts.

Welcome New Readers from USPTO Conference!

2006-09-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new readers of my blog who attended one of my sessions at the U.S Patent & Trademark Office's 11th Annual Inventors' Conference.

I created this blog several months ago, but have not yet been diligent about posting to it. Now that I gave out the address at a conference, I guess that I'll have to get on the ball!

I hope that you take the time to read the booklet that I handed out at the conference. This should give you a good feel for my background regarding inventions and new product marketing, which should keep you coming back here for more.

The processes of inventing and marketing are demanding, complex, and require deep commitment to the goal. As independent inventors, you will need all of the horsepower behind you that you can get. That is what this blog will be all about.

Please take the time to add a comment to this post, letting me know that you are a conference attendee and have read my blog.

As I mentioned in my presentation, blogs are relatively new, and quite new to inventors (of whom I am one). Just 12 months ago I was wondering, like many of you were when you came to my session: "What are these 'Blog' things with this weird name, anyways?" Well, I studied blogs and blogging diligently over the past year and I saw how useful blogs can be to inventors. Apparently, I was successful in conveying this to you if you are reading this!

However, I readily admit that I am a novice when it comes to actually blogging. You may notice that I am using a blog hosting service called Blogger. This really is a service that a more well-established blogger would consider as too basic. As you and I become more sophisticated in blogging, I may move the blog to a service with more customization tools, etc.

Here are instructions for subscribing to my RSS feed for this blog:
1) Open a new browser window, go to www.bloglines.com and set up an account
2) Come back to my blog
3) In the bottom of the right-side panel of my blog, click on the Bloglines chicklet (icon)
4) Scroll to the bottom of the Bloglines screen (that should automatically open) and click Subscribe

The feed should now show up in the My Feeds tab in Bloglines

Thank you for your interest. I plan on adding a posting at least once a week.

Please subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, and don't forget to leave me a comment.

I should say to my readers that I have a deep but rather dry (I prefer "dry" to the term "warped") sense of humor and I like to use it, so hopefully we can connect on that level as well.

Good luck as we go forward!

Inventive Rants

2006-05-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

Inventive Rants

Inventing the American Dream

2006-04-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

A quintessential "American Dream" is to invent a product, see it manufactured and sold around the world, then bask in the adulation of one's family and friends. Of course, taking big fat checks to the bank figures prominently in the Dream as well.

Unfortunately, a dream is all that many inventors have to show for their money and effort, and many times it is truly a nightmare.

U.S. Patent Office surveys reveal that 98% of patents never make money for the inventor. Why is this? What can you do to increase the odds that you are among the 2% of those who benefit from their toil and talent?

That, my friends, it what this blog is all about.

Let's talk about it...