AbsolutelyNew Blog

The latest open innovation winners: Netflix and Phillips

We were very psyched to learn that Netflix this week awarded a $1 million prize to a team of people who invented an algorithm that delivers a 10% improvement in predicting what movies customers will want to see. This ends an open innovation competition that took three years, with 40,000 teams from 186 countries, to break the critical 10% hurdle.

Netflix has already announced a follow-up competition.

Meanwhile Dutch light-bulb maker Phillips may be the winner of a U.S. Department of Energy’s $10 million “L Prize” open innovation competition—yesterday it was the first entry in the government’s contest to invent a more efficient 60-watt bulb. To win, government testing will need to confirm that it meets some very strict criteria including:

• Reproduces the amount and color of light from a 60-watt incandescent bulb, while using only 10 watts of power
  
• Lasts 25,000 hours, which is ~25x longer than a standard bulb
  
• 75% or more of the bulb is made or assembled in the U.S.
  
• Free of the negatives of today’s compact fluorescent bulbs—ie: no polluting mercury
  

Looks like the Dutch may soon get credit for lighting up something other than, well, you know.

More importantly, there are many, many more such contests and prizes out there. So as you’re inventing, especially if you’re working in more advanced or eco-friendly spaces, definitely do your homework on the contests out there. Invention success is a great light at the end of the tunnel… but oh, how much sweeter it would be if you could win big prize money too.

Here are links to newspaper reporting on the Netflix competition and Phillips submission.

The reinvented Amazon and your invention

Did you notice that amazon.com, the company that practically invented online bookselling, has reinvented itself?

The company’s not asking to be called “The online retailer formerly known as a bookseller.” But it’s quietly yet methodically put so much energy into broadening its offerings that, for the first time in its 15-year history, this year amazon’s selling more general merchandise than books, music and movies. In other words, it’s become something of a web Walmart… and more.

This matters to you the inventor for a few key reasons:

1. Walmart may not return your calls (or grant you an appointment), but it’s relatively easy to set up an online store and/or to sell your invention on amazon. In fact, amazon makes it easy to do all this because you’d then be helping bring more people to amazon.

2. Amazon’s become THE online destination shoppers go to for product reviews from real people. So if you believe in your invention and think it provides real value, don’t you want it out there where people can not only buy it but sing its praises very publicly?

3. We don’t recommend producing your invention before confirming there’s a market for it. But if you’ve gone ahead and built inventory, putting it on amazon can be a cheap way to help assess the selling proposition—if it sells well, you’re on to something; if not, you’ve still got work to do. All that said, putting your invention out there too early is risky, so you’d only want to go down this path after thoughtfully weighing the pros & cons.

So, how are you leveraging the reinvented amazon for your invention?

For more info on what amazon’s up to, you can click here for a recent overview in the NY Times (free registration required).

More tips from the Shark Tank

We’ve now seen three episodes of ABC’s Shark Tank. Still love the show, still stand by our August 10 comments about it after its debut episode.

And now that we’ve seen a crop of additional inventors and entrepreneurs enter the tank… many practically eaten alive before a national TV audience… we thought we’d come back to the subject with a few more tips for people trying to sell inventive ideas:

1. Know your ultimate goal. Yes, you want to achieve invention success. But does this mean your #1 priority is to make money, or to establish a business? The two can often be at odds, yet time & again we’re seeing inventors on Shark Tank struggling because they never figured out what they really want. The struggling makes for perfect TV drama, but it's not something you ever want to experience first-hand. Before you engage in any discussions with any companies, let alone try to get on television, take the time to think about what you really, truly want. 

 

2. Know your numbers. You should know the size of your product category, how much it costs to make your product, how many units you’ve sold thus far (if applicable), and so on. If you can’t answer such questions, you’re going to have a very hard time persuading others to give you money. We suspect the sharks actually like these uninformed people—it gives an excuse to tear them apart (again, good drama). But since you don’t want to be shark food, make sure you’ve done your homework and are armed with answers. And stepping back, these answers should help you plot your course of action long before you ever get in front of others.

3. Know your present value. Just about every inventor and entrepreneur on Shark Tank has overvalued his or her proposition. Their common mistake: confusing what they believe an idea may be worth in the future vs. what it's worth now. The distinction really matters. Think about it: would you buy a house based on what it may be worth in 5 years, or based on what it's worth today? Of course you're going to focus on the value today. And businesses are going to think the same way as they consider buying or investing in your idea. So if you’re looking for a deal here & now, you’re going to need to stay more grounded in the present.

Product lessons from the re-re-invention of Brett Farve

Super Bowl winning quarterback Brett Farve is back in the NFL, back from retirement AGAIN to play for the Minnesota Vikings. We all kinda sorta expected this return after his previous tearful retirement and subsequent jubilant return (that time leaving the Green Bay Packers, then joining the NY Jets).

We’ll leave the witty commentary to the guys and gals at SportsCenter. Instead, we’ll focus on lessons for your product based on how Brett Farve has re-invented himself, and then re-invented himself again:

1. Change your look. If your invention sales are stalled, consider how you can change it up. Brett put on a new uniform—going purple after a pro career in shades of green—but you might do yourself some good exploring new packaging. This gives you an excuse to show buyers something new. You’ll likely want to do more than just changing a color: if you’re going to change it up, take the time to consider how you can more clearly convey what your product is and why it’s so special. Also, make sure it’s also going to stand out in its most likely retail environments.

2. Keep what works. Farve is keeping his #4. He’s also keeping his Southern Mississippi charm. And in going with the Vikings, which are rivals of the Packers, he’s sticking with a conference where he’s proven himself. The point: continuous improvement is good, but don’t ever rush to change everything. Instead, think about what elements of your invention are working well, or you believe will work well with a few very small tweaks, and keep them. Leverage them. Build upon them. Don’t throw them out.

3. Know yourself… and know when to walk away. Regardless of whether you think Farve should have stayed in retirement or come back for more, you’ve got to acknowledge he’s rightfully getting heat and ridicule for his multiple retirements and comebacks (Reminds us a lot of Cher). You can avoid this by reflecting upon what’s really right for you and your invention. In doing so, be honest about yourself, your invention and the space around you. And don't rush this either.

4. Have fun. Do we even need to explain this one?

Don’t tase your invention

The Today Show this morning featured a segment on NY mom Audra Harmon, who got tased (aka: Tasered) roadside by a local sheriff’s deputy for resisting arrest. Her children witnessed it from inside the family minivan.

We can’t say whether Harmon’s innocent or guilty of the moving violations that led to her being pulled over in the first place (the deputy alleges she was driving while using a mobile phone and speeding), but we can say we know why this made Today: there’s spectacular video from the patrol car… and the video very strongly suggests that the deputy went way too far.

Of note, almost all of the drama, and now the all-too-predictable lawsuit, could have been avoided had Harmon simply stayed in her car. Everybody knows you’re supposed to stay in the car. But she was mad about being stopped, so she got out of the car to demand the deputy immediately show her video proof of her crimes.

Why do we bring this up? Because inventing is hard. Very hard. And turning your inventive idea into a marketplace success is harder still. So when the going gets tough—and it will at some point, unless you’re incredibly lucky—try to keep your emotions in check and don’t do the equivalent of getting out of the car. Said another way, don’t Taser your own invention.

A not-quite-robotic automatic pancake maker

If a couple of pancakes is good, a large stack is better, right? And if they can be made in large quantities quickly by something of a pancake robot (ok, maybe we're exaggerating just a little), better still!

That’s essentially the idea of the ChefStack Automatic Pancake Machine, an invention that recently reached the U.S. at $3,500 a pop. The microwave-sized machine makes stack after stack of perfect, piping hot pancakes—lots of them, from “silver dollars” to diner plate sized—in under a minute. Just load it up with batter and the ChefStack does everything else but eat for you. So break out the Mrs. Butterworth's!

Realistically, ChefStacks are of course designed squarely for commercial use—cafeterias, convenience stores, the OctoMom’s house, the AbsolutelyNew headquarters (hint hint to our CEO). And in that is a good reminder for all of us: whereas many inventors look to create a household item inspired by something in commercial use, there’s also ample opportunity in creating commercial products for everyday tasks… like making pancakes.

More tasty bits:

• ChefStack batter is also apparently 97% fat free, and the makers appear to be playing up the healthiness is their sales materials. Needless to say, it can’t ever hurt to tie your product to health and life trends like this.

• Tapping into the emerging food cart and truck craze catching on in cities like our hometown San Francisco, the ChefStack people are also emphasizing their invention’s cart-ability. Smart. And a lot more appealing than that new French food truck (frog legs anyone?) that just started parking up the street. 

Your invention could be so Atlanta!

Forbes this week features a study on how people buy very differently in different parts of the U.S.

Did you know that Baltimorians these days are loading up on ice cream makers while San Franciscans are buying lots of recycling containers? Meanwhile, people in Austin are buying lots of cameras and people in Portland, OR are buying lots of educational toys.

These findings (and more) are based on an analysis of purchases made from online retailer Shop.com. To be sure, it would be a lot more representative and actionable to see how people’s buying habits vary across different geographies’ Walmart and Target stores... but the findings are informative nonetheless.

And they highlight two key points for anyone looking to advance an inventive idea:

1. You can be highly successful serving a local area needs and preferences. In other words, you don’t need to go national or international to make it big with your invention. This also means if your product works well locally, don’t rush to make changes in order to serve a much broader and possibly different population—doing so could do more harm than good, so really think it through first.

2. Always remind yourself that different areas may have different needs and preferences, so you may not have “the next big thing” just because your closest friends and neighbors love your invention. Before you invest too much of your heart, soul and bank account, you’ll always do yourself some good by getting feedback from people outside your circle. Whether you get it from a distant relative, an old college roommate, or a company that’s in the business, just be sure to get it.

You can click here to read the full Forbes article... and find out what people are buying in New York, LA, Atlanta, etc.

Invention lessons from Billy Mays (1958-2009)

The invention world has lost one of its greatest champions: TV pitchman Billy Mays died unexpectedly over the weekend.
 
We sometimes laughed at Billy’s larger-than-life style, but we also greatly respected the fact that he got behind so many individuals' inventions early on... and used a louder-than-life selling approach to make them very big hits. From OxiClean to Mighty Putty to Mighty Mend-It, Billy’s fingerprints (and signature hand gestures) are all over the success.
 
In tribute to Billy Mays, here are three lessons learned from the black beareded, blue-shirted master (and yes, we’re tempted to write in ALL CAPS... but Billy was really much more nuanced than that once you study him carefully):

1. Convey your benefits. Billy understood that most people don’t want to hear about the 19 different features of an inventive new product -- they want to hear the top 3 benefits they’ll experience, with tangible examples to drive the message home. What’s more, Bill always made sure to show at least one dramatic visual torture test to close the sale. Remember when he poured OxiClean powder into iodine water and the liquid turned from red to clear before your eyes? When Billy Mays sold it, you knew the exact benefits you’d get. You should do likewise as you sell your product.

2. Test it. In his Discovery Channel TV show Pitchmen, Billy and his co-host made sure to put each invention through its paces before deciding how to proceed. For a salon product, he gave it to women at a nearby salon in exchange for their candid feedback. For a cleaning product, he asked a professional housecleaner to evaluate it. To be sure, we’re fans of deeper research than the show depicted, but we appreciate the realities of a TV show... and we appreciate the broader point that Billy made sure to dig in and learn before moving into selling. Everyone out there should follow such a path.

3. Be passionate. Within the advertising world, Billy’s critics (yes, there were a few) accused him of “yelling not selling.” But the fact is, Billy effectively sold a whole lot of products. It’s the only reason he was able to stay in the business. Why was he so good, even when he was so loud? Among other reasons, because shoppers saw his loudness, his boldness, and his conviction for what it really was: genuine passion. We’re not saying everyone should try to mimic Billy’s style; however, being passionate about your product will only serve to excite others too. And isn’t that what selling is all about?

RIP King of Patents

We’re going to miss you, Jacko.

In honor of Michael Jackson, aka: the “King of Pop,” we wanted to highlight the artist’s inventive side: Jackson is the primary inventor named on U.S. patent 5,255,452, granted in October 1993, for a “Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion.”

It’s true. Moonwalking thru the 80’s was one thing... but Jackson wanted to further defy gravity in the 90’s. This time around, he needed a back-up device to support him and his back-up dancers. And when the Gloved One found no such device to enable the moves he envisioned, he invented one of his own. The specifics:

• Jackson wanted to include leaning far forward—far more than is humanly possible—into his dance routine.

• The artist explored various waist cable support options but reportedly dismissed them because they didn’t work well for him during concerts.

• Thus he created (or, more likely, imagined for others to subsequently build) a shoe-based system that allows a dancer to engage (and disengage) supports in the stage… and pull off some moves that were just plain awesome.

You can click here to see Jackson’s patent. RIP King of Patents.

Tap into crowdsourcing

Nokia recently told its design team to take a break while it let the general public design a new cell phone. Meanwhile Starbucks created a special website for people to submit tips and ideas... and was reportedly quickly inundated with 17,000+ ideas... just related to coffee.

What’s going on? It’s part of a broader movement to “crowdsourcing,” and it’s growing fast – VERY fast, in fact, since a few people first started talking about in 2006 – because companies are increasingly recognizing the benefits of outside thinking: more new ideas and inventions, obtained at lower cost than if developed internally, every so often unearthing a gem that’s perfectly in synch with a target consumer segment’s wants & needs.

It helps that the web has made crowdsourcing a whole lot easier to handle...

... at least until the ideas pour in and a company needs to review them, which is where crowdsourcing becomes a double-edged sword for the company as well as all the smart people submitting ideas.

So what are you doing to tap into this movement? And what are you doing to go above & beyond everyone else trying to play here, to be seen as a gem among those 17,000+ others who now suddenly believe they also have a real shot at success?

BTW, to bone up on crowdsourcing, you might want to check out these links: Wikipedia, Wired, BusinessWeek.