If you think you may have a winning product like The AB-DOer on
your hands, you'll want to know how to get it into the right
hands. Abdo advises new inventors to study the process of bringing
a product to market, from start to finish. Remember, just having a
good idea doesn't necessarily mean you've got a good
seller.
"You might have a good idea, but [if] it costs hundreds of
dollars to manufacture, or it weighs too much [to be shipped],
it's not a [direct-response] TV product," notes Abdo.
"You have to know your product, how your product is going
where, how to secure your intellectual property, how to teach
people to use your product and teach them in a fun way."
Developing a prototype is one surefire way to determine whether
your product will sell. You can hire someone to do this for you,
but developing it yourself-or at least having a sharp understanding
of how your product is put together-has many benefits. Not only
will you have a better knowledge of how your product works, but
you'll also uncover any glitches in product design. "Build
the best functional prototype you can, not a duct-tape prototype
that you whip together in your garage," says Abdo.
"People only understand what you're showing
them."
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Also check in with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO),
an excellent place to begin your self-education. Browse the
USPTO Web site,
and read up on how to obtain patent-pending status, trademarks and
other protections. The USPTO also holds an annual Independent
Inventors Conference with the National Inventors Hall of Fame,
where top USPTO officials, successful inventors and other experts
will advise you on marketing and intellectual property
protection.
Hiring a patent attorney like Abdo did is also a good idea. That
was just one of many steps that Kelsey Wirth, 35, and Zia Chishti,
33, took when first starting Align Technology in midwinter 1997, the year
they were completing their MBAs at Stanford Business School. Using
Chishti's background in computer graphics, and aided by some
Stanford computer graphics majors who ditched their Ph.D. programs
to work for Align, the co-founders created Invisalign, a product
that combines 3-D computer imaging technology with orthodontic
science. The Santa Clara, California, company appeals to adult
consumers who want to straighten their teeth discreetly using the
company's "aligners," a series of removable, clear
plastic orthodontic appliances.
Like Abdo, the Align founders met with initial opposition. They
put together the necessary computer graphics and brought on a local
orthodontist, "but we talked to a dozen VCs, and most of them
were not interested," says Wirth. Finally, big-name Silicon
Valley VC firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers bit. Excited
by the idea, the firm was willing to take a risk. Wirth and Chishti
closed their first round of financing, $3.2 million, in August
1997. They then went on to raise three more rounds as well as go
public in January 2001, raising approximately $260 million
altogether.
The co-founders got patients into clinical studies within six
months of startup and introduced Invisalign in two test markets:
Austin, Texas, and San Diego (the cities where they'd hired two
sales reps with experience in the industry). They then trained
scores of orthodontists nationwide, laying the groundwork for a $30
million national consumer advertising campaign, launched in fall
2000. The partners gambled that if they advertised directly to
adult consumers, the product would be so appealing, orthodontists
would jump on board. "Essentially we had a product that we
knew ultimately would have tremendous consumer appeal," says
Wirth.
What Wirth and Chishti found, however, was that consumers who
asked their orthodontists about it were often told to try braces
first instead. "We hadn't done enough of a job convincing
orthodontists that Invisalign worked," recalls Wirth. "We
had tremendous brand awareness in a very short period of time. But
when it came to getting patients into treatment, we didn't have
the results we had originally hoped for."
They refocused their marketing dollars in 2002 to include
general practice dentists, reaching 120,000 dentists nationwide
(compared to about 8,500 orthodontists), and giving the company the
broad appeal it needed. "There are plenty of GP dentists who
can put braces on," explains Wirth, who estimates the
company's 2004 sales will be $175 million to $180 million, up
from $122.7 million in 2003. Wirth stresses, however, that
she's not sure where the company would be without first going
through the national consumer advertising campaign.
To create consumer awareness of your product, you have several
options, including press releases to editors of trade magazines,
direct mail, classified and display ads, and speaking events and
conferences with you as an expert. If your product is off-the-wall,
try getting on a talk show such as The Oprah Winfrey Show or
The Tonight Show, which occasionally have "gadget"
shows. (For more information, see "Lights,
Camera, Action!" in last month's issue of
Entrepreneur.) "The wackier it is, the better,"
says Smith of showcasing your product on a talk show. Just be
prepared to move your product: "Once your product is shown, it
will hurt you if you're not able to meet the demand."
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