In the world of invention agents, there are two business models: Those who largely fund their business from inventor services and those who make money for themselves and inventors by licensing ideas.
As most of you know, Big Idea Group is in the latter camp. We run an aggressive campaign to find great new consumer products in order to represent those inventions. In most cases, we license ideas when they're very early in development--either at rendering stage or a very rough prototype. It's usually most efficient for everyone to keep the "refine it" in our "find it, refine it, and sell it" model relatively short.
However, with certain opportunities, BIG determines that the value potential of an item can greatly increase if BIG and the inventor push a concept further down the development curve. For example, with Scoop 'n Grind, we took inventor Doug Gaus' concept for a combination coffee scoop/grinder and redesigned and re-engineered the product. Through this process, we enhanced the form's usability, improved the grinding technology, and switched the power supply. These changes made the product much more licensable.
Time's Up!, from inventor Bryon Thompson, was another invention that was brought to us at a Roadshow. This device allows parents to set a weekly or daily time allowance for children's use of a gaming system or TV. We immediately felt this item had strong potential. However, we were concerned about securing a good licensing contract in this category with just a drawing to show. So BIG fueled the development, design, tooling, and packaging of the item. And while we will still plan to eventually license the product, we intend to introduce Time's Up! to the marketplace ourselves. A solid sales history will make the device all the more attractive to manufacturers and enhance our negotiating power.
We recognize that inventors can become frustrated with BIG because we choose to represent very few products. But since we never charge inventors money, every time we look at an idea or meet with an inventor, we're investing in you. Ultimately, we pick few ideas because we must limit that investment and pursue those ideas we think have the greatest chance of making money for ourselves and inventors. The upside of our selectiveness is that when we do get involved, we do what's necessary to maximize the value of your idea.
Think innovation. Think BIG.
Mike Collins |
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Big Idea Group was created by Michael Collins. Mr. Collins is an inventor and serial entrepreneur. Mr. Collins has an undergraduate degree in engineering from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He founded Kid Galaxy, a specialty toy company and producer of the award-winning Bendos line. Mr. Collins is a frequent speaker on the business of innovation, appearing at industry conventions, university forums, and inventor groups. He can be contacted at