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SALT LAKE CITY — Making money as an inventor can be very difficult.
Few ideas will make money for their creators, but the right idea does have the potential to be profitable. Chances are, you will need help to turn that potential into reality.
It's been a little over a month since David Toledo's pitch for his Power Pot aired on ABC's "Shark Tank."
“Our first product is the Power Pot. It takes fire and water and makes power from no moving parts. It’s a great solution we use to create portable, on-demand power because it works day or night, rain or shine. The best part — it’s super easy to use,” Toledo said.
Orders for the product are rolling in.
“Our online sales have quadrupled,” he said.
All the Power Pot needs is water, a flame and a USB device to charge.
“Cellphones, tablets, LED lights, radios, anything you have that has USB, the Power Pot can charge,” he explained.
Toledo started out with a pot from his mom's kitchen. Now, his company, Power Practical, ships Power Pots to REI, Bass Pro shops and other outdoor retailers across the country.
“We were tinkering and tinkering and realized we had something that was cool,” he explained. “Once we realized that could be a product, that’s when things got really difficult.”
Jason Burger of Inventor Support Group helps inventors bring their ideas to market where he says there is a harsh reality all inventors face.
“Less than 3 percent of those who get patents make any money with them,” he said.
One reason many inventors fail is they don't properly research their idea, he said. They often come up with a product for a market that's too narrow to succeed.
“Even Edison said, ‘I don’t want to invent something no one wants to buy,’ ” Burger said.
“You’re really talking about an item that probably isn’t going to have broad appeal. The costs of manufacture are going to be too great because the returns aren’t going to be there,” he said.
Michael Horito also helps get inventions to market through his design firm, Rocketship Inc. Horito says the best products will have a high level of usability.
“Meaning it’s intuitive to use, easy to use, ergonomically designed, all these human factors that make a product very likable and usable for the consumer,” he said.
The ability to mass produce their invention is also a major challenge for inventors.
“If it can’t be manufactured, for a certain cost so it can be sold in the marketplace at a price people will accept, then you’re setting yourself up for failure too,” he said.
Inventors can manufacture and distribute their product themselves or sell their idea to another company. And while many products never make it to the shelf, inventors should keep hammering at it.
“Don’t stop thinking innovatively,” Burger suggested. “Just keep thinking about ways of doing things better and getting better results.”
“Don’t hold it too close,” Toledo advised. “People aren’t going to steal your idea.”
Toledo says mentoring is a big part of the success he's had with the Power Pot. By talking with other inventors and entrepreneurs, he found solutions to the various challenges he's faced.
“You’ll make changes to your product. You’ll figure out how to make it unique. You’ll figure out how to get it to market. And if you’re first to market, it’s a really powerful thing,” he said.
During that appearance on "Shark Tank," Toledo and his business partner, Caleb Light, won a $250,000 investment from billionaire Mark Cuban. Toledo said he used the online funding tool Kickstarter to raise money and to see if it's actually something people would buy. So far, he's sold more than 10,000 Power Pots.
