V1.0

One habit I’ve started for myself is that whenever I show someone the Headset Buddy, before I tell them what it does, I ask them if they can tell me what it does. The point of the packaging is to quickly,clearly, and concisely communicate (not necessarily describe) what your product does.

What I found after asking a handful of business contacts, friends, and acquaintances, is that my insert card was doing a good job telling people what the Headset Buddy does. Just from the name people assumed it was for a headphone or a headset. Some people thought it was a splitter that allows two headsets to be used on an MP3 player. Others thought it was for a phone headset instead of a PC headset.

At first I thought that I was asking the wrong people, but almost everyone was not understanding, within a few seconds, the purpose of the Headset Buddy. So I went to radio shack and looked at other packaging to see what they were doing that I was not. One of the main things other packaging did was have a picture of someone using the product. Also, I realized that my icons on my first design weren’t clear that the adapter was for a PC headset to connect to a phone. I also noticed that most packaging left the detailed specs such as “Mic/Audio 3.5mm to 2.5mm” on the back of the packaging instead of the front.

So for my second design, here are the steps I took to quickly, clearly, and concisely communicate the intended use of the Headset Buddy:

1. Just like I saw on other examples of packaging, I added a picture of someone using a PC headset. Because of the small size of the card insert, unfortunately the picture is smaller than I would like.

2. I changed the icons from this:

to this:

3. I moved the technical specs of plug sizes to the back of the insert.

4. Although this seems like a small change, I modified the description from “Use One PC Headset With Computer & Phone” to “Use Your PC Headset With Phones”. The reason for the change is because people were confused by the dual use of “Computer & Phone.” It should be implied that the PC Headset can be used with your computer, so I just made the statement clear that it can now be used with phones.

5. I also added what the Headset Buddy is compatible with, and trademark/copyright statements to the back of the card.

I’m sure there’s more steps I can do to improve the design, and that will happen by continuing to survey customers. Continuous improvement is the life of an inventor and entrepreneur.

- Bryan Daigle

Dual 3.5mm to 2.5mm Headset to Phone Adapter

I purposely create products where I’m a customer. There are plenty of benefits in doing this, two important ones being that I’m committed to my product, and I know what the customer (me) wants. I’d like to talk about that second point a little more today.

Knowing what the customer wants is incredibly important for design of the product, the marketing material for the product, product differentiation, sales points, packaging, keyword search terms, and even knowing where to sell your product. That’s why it is so important that you would be a customer of the product, so you can get in your potential customer’s head to know what he wants.

However, there are limitations when trying to get in someone else’s mind. People may buy things for different reasons; some may focus on cost, some on utility, some on emotion. To capture the largest market share for your product, you have to go after all these customers, not only the ones who think like you. The best way to understand why ALL of your customers is to ask them “why they buy” with a product survey.

I’ve used surveys to better convey what makes my products different from other products on the market. I’ve used surveys to improve my packaging. I’ve used surveys to make it easier to find my products online. I’ve even used surveys to find out where I should place my products.
So if you want your customers to be able to find your product and feel compelled to buy your product, then get to know your past customers with a survey.

There are numerous online tools you can use to send out a survey, including Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey, GoDaddy’s survey tool, and plenty of others. It doesn’t matter what tool you use, just as long as you use one! Here are a few questions you can start asking your customers:

1. Why they bought your prouduct? i.e. Price, Convenience, Gift, etc.
2. How they found your product.
3. Ideas they have for improve your product.
4. Where they would expect to buy your product.
5. Demographic information such as gender, age, occupation.
6. Psychographic information such as magazines they read, programs they watch, and radio they listen to.

Those are just a few questions to get your started. Trust me, although you’re already ahead of the game because [hopefully] you’re a customer of your product, you’ll still be amazed at the information you receive from your customer surveys. I know I was.

- Bryan Daigle

Instead, develop your product one step at a time. One of those steps, after you’ve started manufacturing your product, improved your packaging a few times, and tested it out online, is to approach brick and mortar stores and online retailers. The big retailers won’t want to see your product if it hasn’t been proven in a retail environment.

I finally reached the point with the Headset Buddy that I felt comfortable approaching some online and offline retailers. But how do I know what stores to contact?

Fortunately, ever since I started selling the product online, I’ve been getting customers to complete surveys. One question I ask them is “What retail store would you first look for this item?”

Based on their answers, I researched some of the companies selling headsets and contacted their purchasing department. I provided samples to at an independently owned Radio Shack, local computer store, and a local UPS store to see how sales would do in those markets. I also asked some chain retailers the best way to get into their system.

I’m still waiting for the results, but I’m hopefully that at least two of my traditional retail stores and several of the online stores will prove worthwhile. You just have to be patient because the turnover for small retail stores for a single SKU can be half a dozen to a few dozen units per year. So it can take anywhere from a few weeks or a few months for that store to determine if it’s worthwhile to carry your product.

Remember, you’re competing with other products on their shelf, so your product has to make more money for the retailer than something else on their shelf. If you keep in mind these tips, you’ll do much better when your product is ready to be introduced to the retail market.

- Bryan Daigle

Here’s a sample Pitch to America segment from September.

Once we have video of our inventors, we’ll definitely be posting that on our InventBay.com Blog.

Along with this great news, brings up the questions, “how were these individuals so lucky as to have their invention or business on NATIONAL television? Here are my thoughts on that . . .

Although each opportunity for publicity will be different, I think there are just a few simple things that entrepreneurs need to keep in mind in order to get publicity:

• Be persistent. I actually went to a presentation last night by 5-time Emmy Award winning reporting Shawne Duperon, and she said that in order to get something in the news, you need to pitch it 27 times. 27 TIMES! “I don’t have time for that,” you say. Well she also gave a shortcut. Build a relationship with a reporter and skip this waiting line. But to even build a relationship with someone will take persistence: going to networking events, calling, etc. So #1 reason these inventors are on TV tonight, they never gave up. They went to shows, they met people, they built those relationships.
• Energy. I know that energy definitely came into play with the Tiger Taco guys, Chris Miller and his partner. Those guys are full of energy and people just love being around them because of that. They radiate positive energy! For example, they gave InventBay expo staff members samples of their own products to help the unloading of boxes. And they helped stuff bags for the expo. And then they ran around the expo all weekend meeting everyone they could. To get publicity, it greatly helps to be enthusiastic (but not overly enthusiastic, that’s called crazy) about your product.

In my opinion, energy and persistence were the common variables in the publicity success of these inventors. Once you have publicity once, it’s much easier to get more, because that gives your product credibility in the eyes of journalists. So if you are lucky to get publicity, use it to your advantage.

Bryan Daigle

Of the four people whom you must have to launch an invention – a patent attorney, a marketing expert, a manufacturing expert and yourself – the most important person is the marketing expert, since often inventors aren’t good salesmen or marketers. For whatever reason, the side of the brain that helps people think of inventions, seems to conflict with the side needed to market inventions. And to make money, you need to sell your product.

Having a marketing expert on your team as early as possible is absolutely necessary, because your success as an inventor depends on whether you can sell your invention. For that to happen, you have to successfully market your invention. How well your product will sell is not dependent on patents, because patents don’t mean your product will sell.

You might be a brilliant inventor, but a marketing professional on your team will help you evaluate the market needs, inform you about your customers, and determine exactly where and how to market to customers in order to earn a profit.

Since marketing types are expensive to hire, consider bringing them in as a partner. That’s what we did with ideatango, and boy has it paid off. Just be sure to do your due diligence when looking at anyone. I suggest using a trial period where either party can back out if it’s not working out. However you do it, make sure you have someone with the right marketing mindset when getting your product or business off the ground.

- Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of ideatango.com – the #1 site for inventors & invention ideas For more good info & advice, check out the official IdeaTango Blog

A marketing plan should cover the following:

• Market research: surveys, focus groups, or secondary research
• Target market segments: characteristics, needs, trends
• Competitive analysis: what do your competitors offer, for what price, what features do they have
• Differentiation: how will you be unique and different from your competitors, you need to stand out
• Pricing strategy
• Marketing and advertising execution strategy
• Sales strategy

Start with an outline of the marketing plan, and then write as you go. Your plan is a living document and will change over time. After a few major revisions, consider starting from scratch with a clean slate to help you think clearer.

- Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of ideatango.com – the #1 site for inventors & invention ideas For more good info & advice, check out the official IdeaTango Blog

To know what your market wants, you need to conduct a market survey. However, before you start, prepare a list of questions to ask your target market customers. Here are some examples to get you thinking:

• Will they buy your products? If so, how much will they pay?
• How would they improve the product?
• What are the problems that you face and want them solved immediately?

An experienced inventor once told me he would sit outside his grocery store and ask passers-by the above questions.

Another inventor told me he would approach people in the area of the store where his product would be found, and survey people. Here was his trick; he would tell them he was doing a survey for his friend’s invention so the person being surveyed was more likely to tell the truth (rather than avoid hurting the inventor’s feelings).

Try some of these techniques and develop your own process. The most important thing is that you have a process for surveying customers.

- Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of ideatango.com – the #1 site for inventors & invention ideas For more good info & advice, check out the official IdeaTango Blog

• No business plan: You must have a business plan in place beforehand; otherwise both you and your business will most likely get off course. Even if it’s only a few pages, the process of writing the plan will help you think through the proper steps. As many smart entrepreneurs have said, the benefit of the business plan is not the document itself, but the thinking process that goes with creating it.
• Insufficient cash: Most small businesses fail due to lack of cash. To avoid this, create a rough financial outlook and estimate what you need to have before the business starts generating its own cash. Because we entrepreneurs are naturally optimistic, take your expenses and double them and half your revenue. This gives you a more realistic financial outlook.
• Wrong business structure: It is essential that you can understand the business structure that is right for your business to flourish. Consult an attorney or accountant for expert advice that could save you big time in the long run.
• Not giving time or effort: You cannot get maximum benefit with minimal effort. Be ready to spend endless hours at office, or as much time you need to get the job done.
• Not doing market: Only a great idea is not sufficient to have a successful business, you need to have a good understanding of the market, the industry, and your competition. If the market is not ready to receive your product or service, then your idea is of no use.

- Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of ideatango.com – the #1 site for inventors & invention ideas For more good info & advice, check out the official IdeaTango Blog

I’ve read just a few life-changing books. First, it was Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad that got me interested in personal finance, real estate, and entrepreneurship. I read Warren Buffet’s and Peter Lynch’s books on stock picking. Then it was another Kiyosaki book, Before You Quit Your Job, that made me want even more to start my own company – now a reality in the making.

Three months ago I started another life-altering book, The 4 Hour Workweek, a NY Times bestseller by Tim Ferriss’. I heard of this book in June 2007 from a contact of mine that runs the Bay Area Inventors group, because Tim had mentioned the group and some of their products in his book. I didn’t think much of it at first. Then one day on Amazon I got the urge to purchase it – spontaneous consumption is what keeps the country great!

By page twenty I was utterly and completely sold on Tim’s way of life. He has been able to learn a handful of languages, win martial arts championships in Japan, compete in Tango dancing championships in Argentina, earn $40k per month on 4 hours of work a week, all before the age of 30!! Since then, I’ve recommended the book to almost every friend, they’re probably sick of me talking about it. But that tells you how good it is!

Nonetheless, Tim is an extreme case of success, but the methods he uses and tips he gives to aspiring entrepreneurs is extremely valuable. Not all of us want or will be able to get to a 4 hour workweek, but we all want more time with our friends and family, right?

I’ve been able to apply some of his tips to both ideatango and my personal life. Here are some of the ones that I’ve found valuable:

• Outsource – get a virtual assistant. I’ve been working with one since last November and it has dramatically lowered my workload. Go overseas to get them from prices as low as $3/hr or up to $15/hr for skilled workers.
• Cut back on news overload. Do you really benefit from reading/watching/listenting to the news everyday? Cut back to only the most essential reading material – in my case Inc and Entrepreneur magazines.
• Batch email and phone. This is a huge time-saver if you can pull it off… lump all your email and phone activities to a designated time during the day. Set an auto-responder with your cell phone to people to call you for urgent matters. Turn off your office phone and have it go straight to voicemail. Check your email and voicemail only once per day!
• For people running their own business, figure out how to automate as much as you can. It’s easier when your selling a product than a service. I’ve made changes at ideatango to automate and streamline more.
• Forget possessions, get memories. Give up your flat panel TVs and fancy cars. When you look back on life, the only thing that will matter are the people around you and the wonderful EXPERIENCES you’ve had. Think memories, not stuff. A $3,000 trip across South America is worth more than that fancy TV anyway.
• Test market first. Don’t spend your life savings on a business or invention before you make sure it will sell. He has some practical ideas on how to quickly and cheaply see if people will buy your product.
• Dream BIG. This is the most important underlying philosophy of the book. Don’t wait for retirement at 65 (or 75 for my generation) to have fun. Have mini-retirements along the way. Do what you’ve been dreaming of. I want to learn kite-surfing, a 3rd language, go to Oktoberfest and Carnival. I’m getting off my ass to plan these things (not all at once of course), and you need to too!

Take these to heart and start implementing them today. Don’t wait, otherwise they’ll never get done. I hope you read the book, let me know what you think.

Our award is largely in part to Lisa Lloyd, who gave a fantastic elevator pitch to a crowd of 300 at Rice University, in Houston, TX.

Not to put all the spotlight on ourselves, several other innovative companies also walked away with the award. Notable standouts were opmom.com, a social networking website that connects and organizes Moms. Another good presenter was podcastready.com, a service that simplifies creating, listening, and subscribing to podcasts. Typically Apple has dominated this space, but podcastready is hoping to simplify the podcast process even further.

The headline speaker was Jeff Henley, Chairman of Oracle. Here are some notes from the talk (we’ll have an audio link up here tomorrow).

• Worked with successful entrepreneurs i.e. Larry Ellison
• Oracle has $5B cash flow
• Larry didn’t want to dilute, wanted control
• Software can do it with little capital.

Steps for successful startup
-Need a good idea
-Need smart people, don’t forget to look overseas
-Work hard & fast

• Google monetized existing technology
• Bill Gates bought IP
• Larry Ellison borrowed (legally) ideas
• Oracle wants niches or way to scale up
• No VC Oracle fund anymore

Here are some other semi-legible notes from speakers, presenters, and the Venture Capitalist feedback panel. We’ll have audio files & photos posted here in a few days.

New Venture Presentations worth noting:
Tritaur, creators of Opmom.com
Social networking site that help moms interact, communicate, & organize their day. Helps brands get word of mouth awareness. The rest of the info can be pulled from the program.

PodcastReady – great speaker, already have VC money
Player that integrates & makes podcasting easier.

Whiteboard Labs
Created MotionNotes, kind of widget that allows user to attach a personal message to a video or widget. Say you have a youtube video of you doing something stupid. You could preface the video with a motion note that says “don’t try this at home” or “I was drunk”.

VC Feedback panel to New Venture Presentations – see program for panel members
OpMom
How get users? – Oprah, book club
Get online advertising guru
Get 75-100k users before going to VC
Need to figure out how generate big audience with little $.
Risk types – market risk, technology risk, execution risk. Mitigate those.

PodcastReady
How get user adoption?
Go for mass consumers or enterprise users?

Whiteboard
Focus on consumers or enterprise?
What’s the product roadmap for future products
How to integrate into ecosystems – facebook, shutterfly, flikr
Use focus groups for user interface improvement, huge issue since going up against apple

Cool elevator pitch companiest:
IdeaTango OF COURSE!!
Fluid innovation – site that helps big companies license their patents
m@keido – sync your cell phone data
openteams – my buddy Tory Gattis, wiki-like software to make big companies more entrepreneurial
Qtags – keyword-based text messaging programs
Sk*rt – women’s site for what’s cool
Tipdish – connecting advertisers & PR w/ social media influencers
Youdesignit kinda like threadless.com

Afternoon Keynote speaker from DataCert. DataCert is an IT solution that helps companies reduce, track, & analyze legal expenditures. Read program for more info.
Started in .com boom
Bootstrapped because had to
Investors currently like vertical plays, didn’t like that in 90s.

Founder must
Articulate a message & communicate it
Build team
Convince everyone around him that the business will succeed

To get noticed, make noise in market.
Form partnerships w/ competitors.
Make a “good enough product” and then improve it.

Always takes longer than expected.
Turned down investors when previous investors would lose share value.
Watch out for strategic investor with “first offer and right of refusal” built into contract

Blair Garrou – DFJ Mercury, closing speaker
Likes capital efficient deals
Invested in Podcastready, unwired nation
Consumers want: personalized info, stay in touch with others, entertainment
Merger & acquisition best exit strategy right now w/ IPO tough due to Sarbanes and Private Equity in the tubes from the last few months.
What’s hot: ad network tools & platforms, central communications, foreign knockoffs of youtube/myspace/etc
Facebook ecosystem big, but won’t last forever
Likes community in a box – i.e. Ning

Is Web 2.0 a fad?
Too much capital w/ too few good deals
How to monetize
100k users not much anymore
Adolescent fickleness

What is Web 2.0 about?
Communication, self expression, shared knowledge & opinion, honesty, not reinventing the wheel

Big 5 acquirers – AOL, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo, Microsoft
Google in league of its own
Get 100k users before talking to VC

You can listen to some of the recordings on IdeaTango.com. For more information, check out the Houston Startup Blog at www.startuphouston.com.

Happy Startup-ing!

Bryan Daigle