Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Everyone,

I designed an accessory for a very popular brand new electronic device.  I then had it 3D printed and it's really, really nice. I have shown it around and even did an Adwords campaign and got over 3000 people interested.

The issue now is that I have no way to get it manufactured because from my research that is far far too expensive.  Is there any alternatives? What exists as options?

I'd appreciate any advice!

I'm guessing you have your idea protected or you wouldn't have made it public like you did (congrats on creating the groundswell) ... so let's assume you have it nailed.

You can license ... Roger Brown says he's gone that route for as little as $8.00 ... I'm a bit of a skeptic, but that's me ... the most complete and informative site I've found on this option is Steven Key's InventRight ... the basic idea is that you have already done your part and now it's just a matter of finding the right company to finish it.

You can partner ... there are people who have more money than ideas (gasp) and you can pitch for the capital needed; you can find a lot of online sites for this but one that seems to cover all the bases is the Go BIG Network ... a starting point if nothing else.

You can enter contests ... to the right as I write this are ads from www.pitch.co (granted you're not an online play) but you can find all kinds of contests from companies who are building community by giving away free money and services.

You can "rent" services ... my personal favorite is Chris Hawker ... his main site is Trident Design and you need to crawl around to get a feel for him and his companies (and get his free eBook on inventing as it's a great read) ...  his "The song of the PowerSquid" is also worth your time.  I can't think of someone better than him to go this route (and I might start here if I was you).

So ... I guess what I'm saying is that you still have a lot of options and they all have bits and pieces of each other ... where you go from here is going to be a matter of what you want back from your idea/time and what you can realistically bring to the party as you go forward ... so keep going and please keep us posted!

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Chris Miller, a simple taco maker:
The Tiger Taco home in the U.S.A.
Tiger Tacos in Australia
Tiger Tacos in the United Kingdom

Chris,

Thanks you Immensely for the guidance. I am checking out the links now!