Big Boost Even though you've got a great idea, hurdles along the way can stop you dead. Find out how this entrepreneur bashed through the barriers to create a successful product.</P>

One hot summer day in 1998, Stephanie Heroff of Minneapolisdecided she just had to wear a top with spaghetti straps. Soundssimple enough-but, of course, there was that little problemthat women everywhere can relate to: those pesky bra straps peekingout, and no decent alternative but the one-size-fits-allcontraptions that come in cardboard boxes.

Determined to wear those spaghetti straps, Heroff decided to puther ingenuity to work and create a better solution. Her idea? Sewbra straps to the spaghetti straps so they couldn't separate,and then have small hooks in the top to hold a removable bra.Heroff was on to something: She had a tailor make about 30prototypes for her friends to try, and they all raved, commentingon how someone at last understood the problems of summerclothes. "I started taking little surveys wherever I went,asking women if they ever wore tops with spaghetti straps,"recalls Heroff, 30. "When the answer was no, the reason wasalways the same: Women didn't like their bra straps showing,and the shelf bra wasn't supportive enough."

Sound like the perfect product for a success story? Not quite.Heroff had some pretty significant problems from the get-go:

• No one had ever made a product like Heroff's, andmanufacturers weren't sure exactly how it could be done.

• Stores would have to stock a selection of tops in differentsizes and colors and a selection of bras. They weren't sure howto order her product.

• Heroff quickly spent her funds creating prototypes, because shewas producing them at retail. Plus, she ended up needing more than50 additional prototypes before finishing the product'sdesign.

• Finally, while fashion designers were fully aware of thetechnical details of the clothing industry, Heroff was pretty muchin the dark.

In a nutshell, Heroff's product had the potential of turninginto a big sinkhole that would quickly drain every penny shehad.

Finding The Right Prototype

The good news was, Heroff realized she needed help. So shestarted talking to apparel sales representatives, local clothingmanufacturers and virtually anyone she could find who might be ableto help. After dozens of inquiries, she was given the lead of apotential manufacturing partner, Private Label Industries of LosAngeles, which saw the potential of Heroff's concept.

The company agreed to produce prototypes and to help withfinalizing the product's design in return for part ownership inthe company and an agreement that it would manufacturer the productonce it was ready for market. Heroff also had some briefdiscussions with the company about playing a bigger partnershiprole by picking up production costs until orders were paid for."I decided not to ask the company to do more," she adds,"as I felt they had already done so much to help me."

But Heroff wasn't quite ready yet. It took a lot of work tomake her product, and it was going to be downright expensive.Heroff expected her tops to retail for about $48 to $60 and herbras to sell for about $24-meaning she would need to sell tohigh-end women's apparel shops. Lacking the expertise to createthe kind of designer look these shops were seeking, Heroff hookedup with designer Robin Monteith, who proved invaluable.

Manufacturing And Marketing

Heroff's next step was to decide how to pay for and sell herproduct. Her first shot at scoring funding was a bust-oneinvestor wanted her to sell the product herself, but she didn'tlike the idea of being the company's lone salesperson. She thenlocated an investor through networking contacts who felt she shouldsell through manufacturers' sales representatives. Morecomfortable with that idea, Heroff found her representatives byfirst determining what companies had somewhat competitive productsand finding out on the Internet which stores sold their products."I called the stores and asked if they could recommend anyreps to sell my product," says Heroff. "The stores almostalways gave me someone's name."

Heroff still had one more obstacle. She wanted to offer her topsin a variety of colors and fabrics, but she only had initial ordersfrom 30 stores, and the fabric manufacturers had large minimumrequirements for orders. Unwilling to commit to those big orderquantities, Heroff went back to Private Label Industries (which,after all, did own a stake in her company) and asked the owner whatto do. He suggested that Heroff go with "cutting toorder," or keeping inventory to a minimum. The material costmore, but she didn't have to commit all her funds to inventory.It was fortunate that Heroff did order more material than sheneeded to handle reorders-because she started getting themwithin a month of her initial shipments.

The Challenges Of Inventing

Like most inventors, Heroff has had to handle plenty ofday-to-day problems. "One of my biggest challenges iscoordinating the production of the bra strap supplier, the bramanufacturer and Private Label Industries," she says."Producing a quality product has also been a challenge.Workers had never made a product like mine before, and themanufacturer had to appoint a trainer to show each worker exactlyhow to make it."

Heroff started stocking retailers in July, and within 30 days,she had 30 retailers on board. She has an enthusiastic set ofrepresentatives selling her product, and she expects to have a verystrong start in her first year. She's also consideringlicensing the product. But Heroff still remembers the hard times."Every hour I spent on my new top was an hour I wasn'tspending promoting my graphics arts business," says Heroff."I couldn't help but wonder if I was making the rightchoice."

Heroff's success is the result of hard work, persistenceand, most of all, recruiting the partners she needed to get the jobdone. The partners helped Heroff because they liked her, they likedher product, and they liked having a chance to cash in on a greatidea. And it could happen for any inventor-help is there for thetaking. Inventors often struggle because they try to do everythingon their own. Remember: Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

Not A Chance

Stephanie Heroff's product is currently patent-pending. Butshe wasn't willing at first to spend the money on a patent,knowing that introducing a new product was a risky venture. Beforeshe started spending too much money, Heroff wanted to get moremarket feedback. Her lawyer insisted she get a nondisclosureagreement, or Statement of Confidentiality and Non-Use, a documentthat says the person who sees the idea won't disclose or useany confidential information they receive from the inventor.

One step Heroff took to research her idea was to go to theApparel Merchandise Mart in Minneapolis to seek feedback frommanufacturers' representatives. Only one would sign thedocument. "[The others] were insulted or asked me to leavewhen I asked them to sign," she says.

Heroff ran into the same disdain when she talked tomanufacturers and other industry people. She did get some people tosign, but most refused. This isn't unusual, primarily becausethese people rarely see something new. They worry what will happenif they sign a confidential statement and it turns out that theinventor's product is one that they have seen before or areeven working on. Why should they take that chance on getting sued?Another reason industry folk balk at signing is that they feel thedocument is a sign that the inventor is paranoid and will bedifficult to work with.

Be prepared for lots of rejections if you are going to askpeople to sign a nondisclosure document before you show your idea.Unfortunately, your only alternatives are to either apply for aprovisional or standard patent, or to take a chance on showing youridea without a signed nondisclosure agreement. Heroff took thesafest course of action for an under-financed inventor by insistingon getting the nondisclosure agreement signed and accepting thepotential for rejection.

Extra! Extra!

USPTO Today is a free newsletter put out by the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office that offers insights into new patent legislationand the workings of the patent office. The newsletter also includestips on how to make claims more valuable and how to determine ifyou are infringing on an existing patent. You can get the quarterlynewsletter sent to you free through e-mail (Ruth.Nyblod@upsto.gov) or bywriting: Editor, UPSPTO Today, Office of Public Affairs,U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC 20231. You canalso read the newsletter by going to www.uspto.gov.

Don Debelak (dondebelak@uswest.net) is anew-business marketing consultant who has been introducing newproducts for more than 20 years. He is the author of BringingYour Product to Market (John Wiley & Sons).

Contact Source

Heroff Group LLC, (612) 623-4923, www.heroff.com.