Building a Better Prototype
Before you call anyone, you need to decide how much functionality is required in your prototype to communicate the idea and get people to embrace it. A good rule of thumb is to take things as far as you can. The prototype needs to stimulate your target audience, a group that may see hundreds, if not thousands, of submissions. If you need to do more work, you will know after a few pitches.
I remember a product we submitted to PlayTime Toys called Grab-a-Bag. It was an innovative packaging concept for inexpensive toys and games. “You were number eighty on the table today,” I was told by the VP of marketing. I cringed. Having been part of such exercises myself, I could see these decision-makers glazing over by the time they got to number 25.
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When he told me we made the cut, I knew they understood the product and loved it. In this case, being number 80 was reassuring. It obviously stimulated them even after a grueling day.
Our prototype was a flexible snack bag my partner Richard Maddocks cobbled together. He did a brilliant job. Again, this is all about applying the right talent to the task.
Fast Facts
The father of modern rocket propulsion is American Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard. Along with Konstantin Eduordovich Tsiolkovsky of Russia and Hermann Oberth of Germany, Goddard envisioned the exploration of space. A physicist of great insight, Goddard also had a unique genius for invention. By 1926, Goddard had constructed and tested successfully the first liquid fuel rocket. The flight of Goddard’s rocket on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, was a feat as epochal in history as that of Wilbur and Orville Wright off Kill Devil Hill, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Help Wanted
I’ve learned all kinds of shortcuts and tricks over the years when it comes to prototyping and making presentation models. For example, a great way to get parts—and save time and money—is to cannibalize commercial products. But there’s no substitute for someone who has “golden hands.”
If you don’t know model makers or designers personally, it’s not hard to find talent. Using an Internet or Yellow Pages search, look for “model makers” or “prototype makers.” Depending on the requirements of your idea, you’ll know if you need a mechanical engineer, electronic engineer, chemist, or industrial designer, or a combination of skill sets.
Look into local trade schools, universities, and colleges with technical schools or courses of study. You may be able to find student talent at a very affordable price. You also get the benefit of fresh thinking. I love to toss problems to youth. While younger people do not have the empirical experience of more seasoned pros, they are more in a groove, not stuck in the rut of habit. I absolutely love hearing young, can-do talent resolve issues. “What about …?” “What if we …?” This is music to my ears.
Artists are available under headings such as artist, graphic designer, industrial designer, and so forth. Many artists post their portfolios and rates online, together with contact information.
Hobby groups and inventor organizations are great places to network, and all inventors need good prototypes.
They Need to Take a Lickin’ and Keep on Tickin’
Prototypes should be well made because they can take quite a beating as they’re presented and represented and travel among a company’s departments. Sometimes models are sent to remote locations. Don’t be surprised to have your prototype returned broken. This can happen from mishandling or improper packing. It comes with the territory.
On a few occasions, companies have lost our prototypes, and we were paid the cost of replacement. Companies are insured for such instances. Submission agreements often include a line that says the company has no responsibility for the submission. Strike out this clause. Never agree to let a company off the hook in the case of breakage or loss. If the company has any interest in working with you, they’ll delete that clause and repair or replace a damaged submission.
Notable Quotables
Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity.
—Edwin Land, inventor of the Land Camera
Paying for Prototypes
If you don’t have the money to pay for a prototype and you need something complex, think about making the prototype maker a partner. You could strike all kinds of deals. Each project has to be considered on its own merits, but this could be a win-win option.
I have made many such deals. What I have never done is give an engineer a fee plus a royalty. I believe in shared risk and shared reward. There are no guarantees; there are only opportunities. If need be, I remind people that fruit is usually out on a limb.
Bright Ideas
In 1868, New England resident Margaret Knight, working in a shop that produced paper bags, invented a device that mechanically folded and glued paper to form square-bottomed paper bags. This improvement created a bag that would stand on its own. She was awarded U.S. Patent No. 116,842 on July 11, 1871. But she did not stop here. A prolific inventor, Margaret was one of the first women to be awarded a patent. Before she died in 1914, Margaret held as many as 26 patents in diverse categories. She also co-founded Eastern Paper Bag Company in Hartford, Connecticut.
Before You Hire a Prototype Maker
Before you share your idea with a prototype maker (or anyone, for that matter), have the person sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). I’ve provided an NDA template for your convenience in Appendix B.
Be sure the prototype maker you hire or partner with completely understands your invention. And don’t hire someone until you understand the invention and have drawings, specifications, etc. to share with that person. Once you do start working together, be sure that you can communicate effectively and that your milestones can be met. Be sure the prototype maker has no conflicts of interest.
Set the fees, expenses, and deal points in advance, and put everything in writing. If the person is working for fees, have a work-for-hire agreement signed.
Finally, at some point, a licensee will begin the prototype process, in whole or part, all over again. It will have its own people or factories make models and prototypes as they re-spec, redesign, and re-evaluate your submission.
The Least You Need to Know
◆ Strong relationships enhance prototypes.
◆ See how much you can do, not how little you can do.
◆ Partner up, if you need to.
◆ High-tech works only with a high touch.
◆ Surprise people. Make your prototype sing.
◆ Just because a prototype looks good doesn’t mean it will be considered. How many people do you know who are impeccably groomed, but … rather lackluster?
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