The First Pitch
Before pitching an idea, realize it will be shot down by at least a few companies, if not all of them. Like batters in baseball, many executives don’t swing at the first pitch. Only once or twice in my career has a concept sold to the first looker.
Bright Ideas
Tired of the stains made by his fountain pen, Hungarian journalist, painter, and inventor Laszlo Biro (1899-1985) and his brother, George, developed a pen with a ball point that wrote without leaving ink blotches. Laszlo is credited as the pen’s inventor, although he was not the inventor of the first ballpoint pen—or the best design. During World War II, the ballpoint pen became standard equipment in military aircraft because it worked at high altitudes—and with this capability came recognition for this innovative writing instrument. In 1945, a New York City department store introduced a ballpoint pen and sold 10,000 units in one day at $12.50 each. Today billions are sold worldwide, many for pennies apiece.
In the late 1980s, our Adverteasing board game was rejected by Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and too many other companies to list before Cadaco, a small, family-owned publisher from Chicago, licensed it. The game requires players to recall advertising slogans, jingles, and trivia. Introduced in 1988, it has sold over 1 million units to date and is still on the market. Two companies rejected the concept for our animatronic Furby before we pitched it to the courageous mavericks at Tiger Electronics. Furby, now marketed by Hasbro, has sold 50 million units since its debut in early October 1998.
In the early 1980s, not a single publisher was willing to take on Richard C. Levy’s Secrets of Selling Inventions, so I self-published the 200-page, soft-cover book and sold it by mail order for $45 plus $4.50 shipping/handling. (There was no Internet at that time) Once the book had proven itself, earning about $120,000, an enhanced edition was licensed to Gale Research. That book ultimately morphed into the first edition of this book, the proposal for which was seen by no less than a dozen publishers before Mike Sanders at Alpha Books saw its potential. He and his colleagues put their tray tables and seat backs into the upright position, fastened their seat belts, and signed on for the ride.
Fast Facts
In fiscal year 2008, inventors from California were issued 22,122 patents, making it number one out of the 50 states in patent awards. The fewest patents, 28, were issued to residents of Alaska. Four patents were awarded to inventors living in the U.S. Pacific Islands, including American Samoa, Guam, and miscellaneous U.S. Pacific Islands.
These are just a few of more than a few hundred such instances in my own career across multiple disciplines; film, television, publishing, journalism, toys and games. The moral? Never give up. Be persistent and consistent. Follow the light of faith. It alone can trample underfoot the status quo, smite yes-but-isms, and devitalize onslaughts of skepticism and negativism.
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