Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Where entrepreneurs come to grow. It's Passage to Profit with Richard and Elizabeth Gearhart.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: And now it's time to talk to Brian Fried. I've been so excited about this segment. So he has spent nearly two decades helping inventors transform big ideas into successful businesses. That's hard to do and you really do need someone like Brian to help. So welcome Brian. Tell us what you're doing and how you're doing it.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: Thank you very much. I'm an inventor with 15 issued patents and I've licensed products that have earned royalties. I still have some products today that I receive royalties. I manufacture products locally and overseas and I've been doing the same thing as the inventor coach for 20 plus years now. So the hardest thing, Elizabeth, is when people have an idea, they're thinking about it from an emotional perspective and not a business perspective and they're excited, so they're making those kind of decisions. So what I do is I help them to figure out if it's something that they should work on or not and then take them through the steps of what it takes to actually see your product to market, whether it's through licensing or manufacturing. And through my journey, I've built the National Inventor Club. I have about 15,000 members. I created an app called Inventor Smart Community which has about 2200 inventors in their subscribers right now. And I've authored three books. My latest one is how to make money with your invention idea. Like I said earlier, I was on QVC for about three years and just keep coming up with new ideas myself. But most of the time I'm working with other inventors to keep them moving forward with their big ideas.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: Well, do you think, because I'm kind of lazy in some ways, do you think it's better to license your invention and let somebody else do all the work and just give you a royalty, or do you think it's better to make it and sell it yourself?
[00:01:49] Speaker A: I would say that there's no textbook answer to that because every person, every product, every industry, every company that you're going to attack is different.
So I learn about you as the inventor coach. I learn about you, I learn about your idea and I help you to make a better decision. So is this something that you want to turn into your full time job? Is this something that you'd like to be just a side hustle and do you have the time? Do you have the money? Is this something that you want to be knocking on doors and making those calls or do you want somebody else to do it? Are You a risk taker? Are you tight on cash? Those are the decisions that I go through with people. And it's hard because a lot of people start off with doing it one way or they think about licensing and listen, anything is possible. But not every product is licensable. It's got to be an A product.
It's got to be enough to sell enough of them to, to make it worth your while and the company that's licensed it their while. Otherwise, you know, making $50 every three months royalty checks just isn't going to work. But I could say that one of the hardest things is thinking about what your idea is and is there a big enough window of opportunity. So just a very quick example. When I was on QVC before I went on, I came up with one of my products, it's called pull ties. And I, I came up with it because I didn't like the twist ties and the plastic tabs that went on the end of the bread. They annoyed me. So I said, you know what, this is going to be great for bread. I came up with this loop and has a button. You pull it up and it seals it tight. So I started to ask people, do you use bread? Do you like bread? Do you eat bread? Maybe yes, maybe no. A lot of people eat bread. But I said, okay. Instead what I would do is say, all right, what other uses can I do for this or use this for?
So I was in the freezer. The freezer bags are left open, the club bags that are French fries or the vegetables. Then I went into the pantry and I saw plastic bags and then my cereal. How annoying is that when your cereal is stale? So I came up with all these purposes and when I was on air on qvc, I basically had to say, how many people have a kitchen? So are you coming up with something that's niche and that's okay, but is there a big enough window of opportunity for it? And is it something that you can call your own?
Because you're going to invest time, money, energy, effort into it. And if it's somebody else's invention, you're going to probably get stopped somewhere along the way. Or if it's something that's not patentable, then somebody else can do it just like you.
So these are the things that I go through with an inventor, or just a lot of people don't even call themselves an inventor right away. You come up with an idea, what do you do next?
[00:04:28] Speaker C: So what are the steps that an inventor should consider? If they are, are seriously considering taking
[00:04:35] Speaker A: A project forward being real. So search with your eyes open instead of closed. And there's more than just going down the aisle of Walmart saying, oh my gosh, I don't see my invention out there. I'm going to be a gazillionaire. So first take a deep breath, look to see if your idea is out there or not. And like I said earlier, you can use AI these days, but you can also do a simple Google search and Yahoo and Bing and go on and just put in descriptive terms of what your idea looks like and click on images and you could see a lot of what's already existing from a visual perspective.
So then what I do is I take what I find and I give it to a patent attorney or agent to do a professional patent search with a patent ability opinion, comparing what I have to what's already existing out there and is it something that I could call my own or am I hitting a brick wall? And I'll wait for my next idea because if you're in that zone, you'll come up with another idea again. So take that step of doing that search knowing that you could call it your own. But again, it's just an opinion because you don't know what the patent examiner is going to find. So you want to give it its best shot. Then what I do is I make it real. So I'll come up with the idea and I will try to make a prototype. I'll take things apart, I will find things that already exist. I will get as close as possible to what I'm envisioning and then make a decision if I'm going to move forward with it or not get some sort of patent protection. Maybe I'll file a provisional patent application which you all know gives you the right for one year to say your patent pending while you're exploring the market. Before the year is done, you convert it to a non provisional patent application or utility patent or you file a design patent, which is ornamental. Right? I'm teaching you. This is your lesson.
[00:06:15] Speaker C: This is great.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: I'm learning a lot. This is your lesson?
[00:06:19] Speaker B: To talk to somebody who actually knows this stuff.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: It's off the cuff at this point because it's just something that is very important to me to make sure that people get the right information and to make decisions and to move forward. Because I spoke to a professional football player recently, I get a chance to speak to celebrities that have ideas also that contact me. And he had this amazing house behind him, his daughter sitting next to him and his wife was into it, and he just showed me something that already existed. I found it. And he's like, but mine is like, it's not enough of a difference, but if you want to do it, we can. I said, you see a little girl right next to you, Save your money, put it in her college fund, whatever you were going to spend on that, and let's work on your next idea together. And ultimately, he's the boss. Whoever it is that I work with, they're the boss. But I really want to make sure that they. They understand what they're in for, if it's something that they're going to manufacture themselves or if they're going to attack the licensing opportunity. But after you come up with that idea and you do your search and you make a prototype, now you also have to figure out those are the questions with the licensing or the manufacturing. You got to make some decisions of what you're going to move forward with or not. And then you enjoy whichever way it happens. You know, a lot of times when people are trying to license it to earn royalties, they. They hit a brick wall. And it's not because your idea stinks or I stink representing it. You got to find the company at the right time that has the pipeline that they need to add another product to. You don't know if they're filing bankruptcy tomorrow, or maybe you're just speaking to somebody that had a terrible day and they don't care what you show them, and they're not interested. So do you stop there? Do you go to B or C players that aren't going to sell as many because you want to go after the players?
The next step is the potential of manufacturing and starting your own business. And that perspective. A lot of people think that it's a gazillion dollars that you need. But I have some really interesting stories of people that I've put into business for themselves that didn't realize that that's all they needed. And it was small. You could test small, explore the market, and then if it works out, you hit it. If not, you just break even.
[00:08:30] Speaker C: Why don't you give us an example of somebody who took that ride?
[00:08:34] Speaker A: So I. I had this lady, she had this haircare product, and she was so into trying to license it, and we were wheeling and dealing and maybe some interest and this and that, but they just didn't feel like it was enough of a market. And I said, you know, at this point, you really wanted to be the brand behind it. You. You love your product, you want to Talk about it. So why don't you manufacture it? Well, I don't have the money to do that. Well, what do you mean? How much you think it is? I don't know. Well, how do you know you don't have the money for it? Take a guess. So she says. I said, let me. Let me get some quotes. China us, you know, trying to figure out. So I said, take the guess. So she said, I don't know. I probably need about 25,000 for the mold, for the tooling, and then how much per unit, you think? Maybe three, $4. Okay, we got the pricing. It was $600 for the mold, $0.80 per unit. But, Brian, how many units? I got to do 50,000 units now. 3,000 units to start. 3,000 times 80 cents. $2,400. $600 to mold, three grand. A little bit of shipping here and there. 3,000 units sold. 5,000. And now she could go back to that company also, which she has for a licensing deal, to say, hey, you would have, could have, should have. But here, now I have some proof. And that's actually happening to me right now. I have a really interesting product that nobody wanted to license because, look, I can easily manufacture things, but I'm at a point where I would like to see it in major retail stores, and I'm okay with earning percentages of royalties. So I have this product called a paper towel topper. I actually have it in my bag here. It's a. It's a whole paper towel holder. So I asked people, usually when your hands are wet or dirty, you're putting it on top of the paper towel roll, right? Here's a paper towel roll. So when your hands are wet or dirty, you pull it on top and you pull the sheet off.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: And.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: And I asked my friends and family to take a picture of the top of the paper towel rolls. And it was disgusting. So what I did was I came up with this cap that goes into the inner tube of any paper towel roll. So now when your hands are wet or dirty, you put it on top, you pull the sheet off, and it stays clean and dry. This product, I have a design patent on it that's issued. It's simple, and people didn't realize that they needed it. So people were like, you know what? It might not be a big enough window of opportunity, but you know what? I found out that people have paper towel rolls in their bathroom, in the kids playroom, in the garage, and here and there. So people are buying four, five, two, three at a time. And the People who said no, they're not interested. Now I have major retailers that are interested and now I'm working a deal for a licensing. But I've been selling thousands and thousands of this product on Amazon, on my personal website, and something simple. But it's effective for everybody.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: Well, because it makes sense. Because you're going to use a paper towel so that you don't use something germy to dry your hands with. Right. And so then if the top of the paper towels are all germy, you defeat the purpose.
[00:11:32] Speaker C: Well, if you put pressure on the tile too, does it make it easier just to pull off one tear? Because that's one of my big issues is absolutely. I pull on the roll and then three sheets come out. Right. And I'm like, well, I only wanted one.
[00:11:44] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you're absolutely right because that's what many users discovered. And I put it in my description. But I have. I think I'm up to almost 600 reviews on Amazon and I'm at 4.7, 4.8. When I'm inventing something, I'm coming up with ideas. Most of the time that annoy me or I'm watching something that somebody else is doing that's annoying me. And that's when I come up with my ideas and I sit on it for a while. I try to come up with different things. A lot of times I let it go. But am I a woulda, should a person? Woulda, should have, could have, or do I take action? And the ones that I think have a good window of opportunity to good marketability and something that is a good opportunity out there, I take advantage.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: That's a great idea. Do you have a question, Dr. Puma?
[00:12:28] Speaker D: I have a comment. I started my journey 28 years ago and I wish I had met Brian 28 years ago. Ideas are really easy. Everybody has tons of ideas and they think they can change the world or do something with it. They need to consult you, they need to read your books before they go down that path. We get passionate about things and you can come at it from a real place of knowledge, place of experience, of what works, what doesn't. What's the path going to be? And show them the path. Because us inventors, we don't know what the path is until we're neck deep in it.
[00:13:01] Speaker B: I have a question for you, Brian. What product is the best one that you've ever helped somebody develop and sell?
[00:13:08] Speaker A: Well, I have some top runners. The pull ties on QVC was fantastic. I actually have the pull ties Here, But I also have another one. I came up with this idea, you know, when people used to put out bowls and you used to stick your hands in the pretzels and the potato chips and all that skeeve me out. So what I wanted to do was replicate. You know, I'm so happy we have a doctor in the house, too.
[00:13:30] Speaker C: Anyway, I'm ready to make a referral for you.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: I know a good psychiatrist trying to stay healthy. What can I say? Anyway, what I did was I wanted to replicate the kind of scooping mechanism of my hand. So I came up with this sphere that has an opening, and it opens up this way.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: And you dip it in, and you take it and you scoop. And then you can eat from it. And if you want to put snacks in here for the kids, you want to put.
[00:13:54] Speaker C: I love that. I mean, she's always mad at me because I just reach into the bag and grab stuff from the bag.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: Well, you don't wash your hands before you do it.
[00:14:00] Speaker A: You see what I'm saying?
[00:14:01] Speaker B: You know where those hands have been?
[00:14:03] Speaker C: I guess we need one of those. And the towel topper and the.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: All right, I got more. I got a collapsible egg tray in there called Extra Space, too. We could do this all day.
But anyway, this one was a really big seller for. For me, Elizabeth, because. Oh, yeah, I thought it would look cool to have a face on it because it was like a mouth that opened up. So I was at another, again, at a trade show, and I went to a company that had storage containers, and he saw my idea, and he said, you know what, Brian? I'm in the middle of working a deal with some major brand property licensing. And sure enough, he said, we're doing a deal. And now, well, then my products have Elmo, Cookie Monster with Sesame street, and all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the first two shows, the ninja movies that were out there. So I have Ninja Turtles, and these were sold to major retailers. Walmart crushed it. Unbelievable. So every time. And just a quick lesson with licensing. So I do product licensing, and then the licensee did brand property licensing. So every time one of my inventions sold, they had to pay me, and they had to pay Sesame Street. So I was very proud of this product, too.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: What I think one thing I'm seeing here that I like about your products, these must not cost a ton of money to manufacture, right? They're very simple. But I think that's where you think if you spend too much on manufacturing, you're not going to make money. Very impressive. And I think people that are looking to start companies, inventors, should go talk to you. How do they find you?
[00:15:34] Speaker A: You can go to inventor coach.com my information is there. I do quick 10 minute calls so I can help to figure out if it's something that I can continue with. Or maybe they have a quick question. But my national inventor club, you know, the reason why I'm here today and what I do, I don't have to do it, but I do it because I want people to find my information first. Because I know that I'm giving the right information, listening to people on a daily basis and knowing what they do, I can help give a good educated advice and decision to keep people moving forward. So again, thank you for having me.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: Yeah, well, one thing I love about what you do in the way that you do it is you don't rubber stamp everything that comes to you because you just want the money. And that's so important.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: Totally.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: So thank you.
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[00:16:30] Speaker A: Learn more at passagetoprofitshow.
[00:16:33] Speaker C: Com.
