Helping inventors get to market
(Adam) I have been looking at different business models that companies have that operate in the loosely defined innovation space and have come across some interesting ways that companies are working with small scale inventor or just people who have ideas.
The first one is Davison (http://www.davison54.com/) who take the initial idea, put it through their workshops and then license the product to companies at the end. They seem to have a lot of products going through this process. It's also well worth having a look at the tour of their office, slightly kitsch but none the less fun.
Secondly there is Trevor Baylis' company (http://www.trevorbaylisbrands.com/) This is from the guy who invented the wind up radio and is now selling his expertise to others to help them realise their inventions. They charge £149 for the initial consultation.
I am assuming that these business models work on the basis of:
1. Finding a good idea
2. Agreeing a percentage of the licensing income
3. Creating a viable product
4. Doing the rounds of relevant companies and retailers
5. Licensing the product
6. Hope it makes money
Although this could be risky presumably these people have a good idea what sells, and use a similar model to venture capital.
The first one is Davison (http://www.davison54.com/) who take the initial idea, put it through their workshops and then license the product to companies at the end. They seem to have a lot of products going through this process. It's also well worth having a look at the tour of their office, slightly kitsch but none the less fun.
Secondly there is Trevor Baylis' company (http://www.trevorbaylisbrands.com/) This is from the guy who invented the wind up radio and is now selling his expertise to others to help them realise their inventions. They charge £149 for the initial consultation.
I am assuming that these business models work on the basis of:
1. Finding a good idea
2. Agreeing a percentage of the licensing income
3. Creating a viable product
4. Doing the rounds of relevant companies and retailers
5. Licensing the product
6. Hope it makes money
Although this could be risky presumably these people have a good idea what sells, and use a similar model to venture capital.
posted by Adam French at 2:48 AM
1 Comments:
I had never heard of Davison... that is pretty mind-blowing (or numbing stuff). Be sure to check out the sister site: http://www.inventionland.com
In his video he mentions that they build more than 200 new products a month. That is what really knocked me back. To your points, Adam, I wonder how much effort the company spends screening ideas? If the criteria are tough... they must be tossing out thousands of ideas a month.
The Davison model feels simpler than you suggest. It seems like a "throw as many ideas against the wall (or store shelf) as possible and see what sticks". It's really, really interesting. If you look at their marketed products, it's stuff you've never heard of or seen before... like animal binoculars.
It's a good case study, because it's an innovation business that is driven by volume / quantity. P&G probably doesn't build 200 products a month - internal processes are too selective. But Davison would seem to be evidence that you don't need blockbusters; a lot of small ideas can generate as much profit as one big one (efficiency debate aside).
Adam - you've really got me thinking about other potential innovation models. This is different from what I've seen before. Thank you for sharing.
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