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Partnering to commercialize an idea - Q & A

Kenneth calls wondering what kind of commercialization partners to look for to help him market his design.

Rich Sloan:  We've got Kenneth out of Evansville, Indiana.  Welcome to the show, Kenneth.

Kenneth:  Hey.  Hello, how you doing? 

Rich Sloan:  I'm doing great how are you? 

Kenneth:   Well, right now we got a big thunderstorm warning going on down here in Indiana.

Rich Sloan:  Uh-oh.  So, that means -- that means we better get to this quickly before the lightning bolt hits the phone line.

Kenneth:  Oh, definitely.  That's why when I was sitting here waiting, I got kind of nervous. 

Rich Sloan:  Okay.  Well, the -- hopefully the lightning bolts that happen will be brilliant ideas that occur to you and not ones sent from the heavens right now.

Kenneth:   Yes, definitely.

Rich Sloan:  Okay.

Kenneth:  Okay.  My question is well, basically I have this design I came up with, and a lot of people across the world can relate to this issue.  It's something simple but it makes a lot of sense.  And, like I said, I don't have the resources to make it into reality, and I've talked to some of these invention companies that you see for, you know, admission ideas and all that.

Rich Sloan:  Yeah, right.

Kenneth:  But I don't really trust them because you never know who you're talking to over the phone.  And I also --

Rich Sloan:  Good for you.  Good for you.  That's smart that you don't trust them.

Kenneth:   Yeah.

Rich Sloan:  Any time.  Here's what we say about that, just so you know, Kenneth.  And we've got about a minute left here before the break.  Can I address the issue of using those kinds of services? 

Kenneth:   Yes.

Rich Sloan:  Yeah.  What we say is that if anyone is making money off of helping you do some packaging and sending, mailing off your invention to a list of people that they may have, uh, instead of telling you that they'll make money if you make money, that's when your hackles should go up.  That's when you should be asking yourself, Do I really want to trust this party because they don't have the same incentive that you have.  They're making money off of, essentially, doing a mailing for you but not off the success of your great idea and what you want to find are people who will say I'll help you get this commercialized.  I'll get it in the hands of the right people, and if you make money on it, I'll make money on it.  That's the spirit you're looking for, and those are the kinds of companies and commercialization partners that you need to find for something like this.