Beyond the Big Idea You've got a million-dollar idea; now all you need is a strategy to make it marketable. These inventors brought their ideas to life--and hit it big. Find out how they made it happen.

Brilliant ideas don't get shelf space in big retail storesor airtime on TV shopping channels. They don't have legions ofscreaming teens coveting them. They don't have dozens of VCswriting big checks, nor do they demand a high price on eBay.

The fact is, brilliant ideas are just that-ideas-until they getturned into salable products. And the difference between an ideaand a salable product is extreme-just ask an inventor who tried andfailed to get his product to market, then ask an inventor whodetermined the proper recipe for turning a brilliant idea into amust-have in the minds of consumers.

"A lot of inventors assume people will flock [tothem]," says Robert Smith, president of Rockton,Illinois-based Robert Smith & Associates PR, whoseexpertise has landed clients' products in the likes of Wal-Martand Walgreens, and on home shopping channel QVC. "They findthey're in for a rude awakening. Just because you created theproduct doesn't mean people will buy it."

That's something John Abdo learned when he first attempted to bring hisinvention, The AB-DOer midsection aerobic machine, to market.Granted, the odds were against him: In 1999, he was $100,000 indebt and near bankruptcy, in spite of a successful stint from 1985to 1997 hosting his own weekly syndicated TV series Training &Nutrition 2000. Chronic back pain caused by a cracked vertebraoften made it hard for Abdo, 49, to exercise, and in betweentapings of his show, he would frequently gain weight. He inventedThe AB-DOer to help him exercise without putting undue stress onhis back.

When Abdo first began seeking interest in The AB-DOer in 1994,he met with stony-faced VCs who were less than amused by hisunorthodox investor presentation. Clad in workout gear and totingan "old, funky gym bag" which contained his invention,the Marina del Rey, California, inventor would say:"Gentlemen, guess what's in the bag. There's a hundredmillion dollars sitting [there].

"Needless to say, they kicked me out every time," hecontinues, adding that one such investor had also turned down TaeBo the year before. "I wasn't being arrogant; I was justso confident [in my product]."

Fortunately, one investor happened to be a fan of Abdo's TVshow, which was popular in Chicago at the time. The investor fundedAbdo's product engineering as well as legal costs in exchangefor a percentage of his business. After some success withself-producing an infomercial (in partnership with marketing andproduction companies), in 2001, Abdo was eventually able to securea slot on home shopping channel HSN. Acting as his own productspokesperson, he sold 21,500 units his first day on HSN, for agrand total of $2.5 million in sales.

"I made sure I was secured as a spokesperson," notesAbdo. "I nursed the idea and gave birth to it, and I'm aliving testimonial to it." Continued sales and success on HSNbrought first-year sales to $22 million. Abdo's current salesvolume? He's now sold nearly 3 million units of The AB-DOer todate, and sales have surpassed $320 million.

So I've Got This Great Idea...

If you think you may have a winning product like The AB-DOer onyour hands, you'll want to know how to get it into the righthands. Abdo advises new inventors to study the process of bringinga product to market, from start to finish. Remember, just having agood idea doesn't necessarily mean you've got a goodseller.

"You might have a good idea, but [if] it costs hundreds ofdollars 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 goingwhere, how to secure your intellectual property, how to teachpeople to use your product and teach them in a fun way."

Developing a prototype is one surefire way to determine whetheryour product will sell. You can hire someone to do this for you,but developing it yourself-or at least having a sharp understandingof how your product is put together-has many benefits. Not onlywill you have a better knowledge of how your product works, butyou'll also uncover any glitches in product design. "Buildthe best functional prototype you can, not a duct-tape prototypethat you whip together in your garage," says Abdo."People only understand what you're showingthem."

Also check in with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO),an excellent place to begin your self-education. Browse theUSPTO Web site,and read up on how to obtain patent-pending status, trademarks andother protections. The USPTO also holds an annual IndependentInventors Conference with the National Inventors Hall of Fame,where top USPTO officials, successful inventors and other expertswill advise you on marketing and intellectual propertyprotection.

Hiring a patent attorney like Abdo did is also a good idea. Thatwas just one of many steps that Kelsey Wirth, 35, and Zia Chishti,33, took when first starting Align Technology in midwinter 1997, the yearthey were completing their MBAs at Stanford Business School. UsingChishti's background in computer graphics, and aided by someStanford computer graphics majors who ditched their Ph.D. programsto work for Align, the co-founders created Invisalign, a productthat combines 3-D computer imaging technology with orthodonticscience. The Santa Clara, California, company appeals to adultconsumers who want to straighten their teeth discreetly using thecompany's "aligners," a series of removable, clearplastic orthodontic appliances.

Like Abdo, the Align founders met with initial opposition. Theyput together the necessary computer graphics and brought on a localorthodontist, "but we talked to a dozen VCs, and most of themwere not interested," says Wirth. Finally, big-name SiliconValley VC firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers bit. Excitedby the idea, the firm was willing to take a risk. Wirth and Chishticlosed their first round of financing, $3.2 million, in August1997. They then went on to raise three more rounds as well as gopublic in January 2001, raising approximately $260 millionaltogether.

The co-founders got patients into clinical studies within sixmonths of startup and introduced Invisalign in two test markets:Austin, Texas, and San Diego (the cities where they'd hired twosales reps with experience in the industry). They then trainedscores of orthodontists nationwide, laying the groundwork for a $30million national consumer advertising campaign, launched in fall2000. The partners gambled that if they advertised directly toadult consumers, the product would be so appealing, orthodontistswould jump on board. "Essentially we had a product that weknew ultimately would have tremendous consumer appeal," saysWirth.

What Wirth and Chishti found, however, was that consumers whoasked their orthodontists about it were often told to try bracesfirst instead. "We hadn't done enough of a job convincingorthodontists that Invisalign worked," recalls Wirth. "Wehad tremendous brand awareness in a very short period of time. Butwhen it came to getting patients into treatment, we didn't havethe results we had originally hoped for."

They refocused their marketing dollars in 2002 to includegeneral practice dentists, reaching 120,000 dentists nationwide(compared to about 8,500 orthodontists), and giving the company thebroad appeal it needed. "There are plenty of GP dentists whocan put braces on," explains Wirth, who estimates thecompany's 2004 sales will be $175 million to $180 million, upfrom $122.7 million in 2003. Wirth stresses, however, thatshe's not sure where the company would be without first goingthrough the national consumer advertising campaign.

To create consumer awareness of your product, you have severaloptions, including press releases to editors of trade magazines,direct mail, classified and display ads, and speaking events andconferences with you as an expert. If your product is off-the-wall,try getting on a talk show such as The Oprah Winfrey Show orThe Tonight Show, which occasionally have "gadget"shows. (For more information, see "Lights,Camera, Action!" in last month's issue ofEntrepreneur.) "The wackier it is, the better,"says Smith of showcasing your product on a talk show. Just beprepared to move your product: "Once your product is shown, itwill hurt you if you're not able to meet the demand."

Your Name in Lights

Being able to meet the demand becomes a much more prominentissue with any TV exposure you might garner, including homeshopping channels and any type of direct-response TV. But ifyou're prepared, TV can be a godsend.

To get yourself on a home shopping channel like HSN, QVC or thelike, watch plenty of home shopping yourself, advises MarilynMontross, director of vendor relations for West Chester,Pennsylvania-based QVC. "And not just products in the samecategory as your product, but [also] different kinds ofproducts," says Montross, whose department fields 16,000inquiries per year, with 90 percent of them from entrepreneurs. QVCairs more than 250 new products per week, many of them with anentrepreneurial story behind them. "Develop an understandingof the kinds of things that sell on QVC," says Montross, andon any channel on which you hope to sell, taking a close look atvalue, quality and pricing for the products.

Look at the shopping-channel Web sites for information onsubmitting your product once it's ready to sell; don't justdrop a prototype in the mail, because "samples would overwhelmus," says Montross. Instead, send photos or brochures. QVCalso holds an annual product-search tour event, where QVC visitscities nationwide and holds open casting calls for products."But you can submit anytime," says Montross.

You can also follow Abdo's lead and showcase your product onyour own TV show. Says Smith, "Contact your local cablecompany, and talk to the program director about local access-"free, government-sponsored access granted to taxpayers."That's a full hour on cable [where] you can talk aboutyour product," says Smith.

Another cable-TV option is lease access, which, for a small fee,allows you to get sponsors. "You can show your product andcharge [sponsors] to have product placements," says Smith. Anyprofits you make beyond that initial lease-access charge are yoursto keep.

When No Doesn't Mean No

Like Abdo, the Align founders created their product out ofnecessity-a commonality among successful inventors. Chishti hadbraces as an adult and noticed that every time he removed hisretainer, his teeth would start to shift. "That was the'aha moment,'" says Wirth, who took a step away fromthe business in 2001 to sit on Align's board of directors.(Chishti is no longer involved with the company.)

Beyond creating their products to meet a need, both Abdo and theAlign founders had the courage to bring a product to market becausethey believed in it wholeheartedly. "Have the conviction thatwhat you're doing is worthwhile," advises Wirth. "Youinevitably run into a number of stumbling blocks along theway."

"I truly believe in my product and in my technology,"says Abdo. "Being focused on the future of my product allowedme to never take no for an answer."

Get Noticed!

Planning to pitch to a home shopping channel? With thousands ofinquiries flooding the channels yearly, getting noticed is achallenge-but not an insurmountable one. "It's yourproduct that [will] get you noticed," says Marilyn Montross,director of vendor relations for West Chester, Pennsylvania-basedQVC."Certainly, having a professional, well-put-togetherpresentation is important; but, first and foremost, we'll belooking at 'Is this a product that's right forQVC?'"

Make sure it's a consumer product, not B2B, and onethat's highly demonstrable, "because it's a TVshow," says Montross, so people need to see the benefits."Not all products we sell and [that] sell well are like this,but it's an advantage."

The product should also be something that's unavailableelsewhere and clearly innovative, says Montross: "Productsthat solve a common problem are very appealing to QVCcustomers."

The Great Wal

Ready to take your product to mass retailers? Jordan Kavana,founder and managing director of KGI ConsumerProducts-a $15 million Miami-based toy company that sellsdirectly to mass merchants-says there's no magic formula to getinto a Costco, Target or Wal-Mart, but there are ways to betteryour odds.

"First, marketing research is key. [You] cannot fall inlove with an idea until it is somewhat proven by research,"says Kavana, 26, whose first invention was the SuperStarz KaraokeDance Mat, a dance mat/karaoke machine product he brought to marketvia Wal-Mart in 2001. "Second, it's important to see yourbuyers face to face, more so than by e-mail. Personal contact stillgoes a long way."

You should also walk through the mass retailers to see whatthey're already selling-or not selling. "Wal-Martexecutives say the biggest problem is [that] people try to sellsomething [Wal-Mart] already sells," says Robert Smith,president of Rockton, Illinois-based Robert Smith & AssociatesPR, whose expertise has landed several clients' products in thelikes of Wal-Mart and Walgreens. "Do some grass-roots marketresearch. What is it about your product that does something theircurrent products don't do?"

Karen E. Spaeder is a freelance writer in SouthernCalifornia.