Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook: Advice on Inventing Success - from the creator of SKYY Vodka, the D-Fuzz-It sweater comb, and scores of innovative products - Hardcover

Kanbar, Maurice; Baechler, Phil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1571780998 ISBN 13: 9781571780997

Publisher: Council Oak Books, 2001

Synopsis

When the fuzz from his sweater was pulled off by a brick wall he was leaning against, Maurice Kanbar had a brainstorm. Soon he had patented, produced and successfully promoted the D-Fuzz-It sweater comb, and made his first fortune at the age of twenty-two. In this engaging “master class” Kanbar’s real world hits and misses illustrate the concrete steps every inventor must follow to successfully take his product to market.

About this title

About the Author

Maurice Kanbar is an American entrepreneur and inventor who is known for his creation of SKYY vodka. He owns more than three dozen patents on various consumer and medical products. Kanbar invented the D-Fuzz-lt comb for sweaters, Tangoes Puzzle Game, the Safetyglide hypodermic needle protector, a cryogenic cataract remover, a new LED traffic light, and Zip Notes, among others. The creator of New York’s first multiplex cinema, the Quad Cinema, he has long been a supporter and benefactor of the performing arts as well as a film producer. He produced the animated film Hoodwinked! which grossed over $100 million worldwide. He has received honorary degrees from Philadelphia University, Kenyon College, Bar-llan University, and Yeshiva University. He lives in San Francisco. Phil Baechler is a former newspaper journalist and the original owner and developer of the Baby Jogger Company.

From the Inside Flap

Plenty of people have smart ideas for handy new tools, toys, and other products, but they often don't know the first thing about taking their ideas from point A to point $. In this engaging inventor's master class, packed with examples and anecdotes, Maurice Kanbar uses the hard-won experiences of his own hits and misses along with a lifelong passion for solving problems to show would-be inventors how they can turn that clever idea into a best-selling new product by following his five fundamental steps. Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook is loaded with helpful tips, ideas, and resources; inspiring quotes; and an appendix full of practical information including publications, suppliers, organizations, phone numbers, and websites. Working inventors use a bound notebook with numbered, dated pages to keep careful records of their original ideas. In Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook, enormously successful inventor and entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar (holder of over thirty-six successful patents) cracks open his own notebook to walk aspiring inventors through his five proven steps to turning a good idea into a fortune. The steps aren't mysterious, but understanding them thoroughly and carrying them out ruthlessly is crucial to the success of a new product. Each chapter of Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook examines every aspect of one of these necessary steps, using the hands-on story--from conception to launch--of one of Kanbar's many products. Kanbar's first invention came from an encounter with a wall. When the pills on his sweater were pulled off by the concrete wall he'd been leaning against, Kanbar wondered why, and his answer proved extremely lucrative. Soon he had patented, produced, and successfully promoted the D-Fuzz-It Sweater Comb, achieving his first fortune at the age of twenty-two. When his favorite after-dinner drink gave him a headache, Kanbar questioned his way to a unique new distillation process and another wildly successful product: SKYY Vodka, the fastest growing vodka of the last decade in the U.S. From the D-Fuzz-It, that first irresistible gadget, to Tangoes puzzle game, the Quad Cinema in New York (first multi-plex), state-of-the-art medical devices, and SKYY (guerilla-marketed by its own inventor who whizzed around San Francisco on his scooter converting bartenders, buyers, and consumers one on one), Maurice Kanbar has turned his idiosyncratic genius for creative thinking into a colorful and rewarding career. Now workshop tinkerers determined to ratchet up their creative thinking with marketing savvy and a millionaire mindset can access the personal, practical, and road-tested advice and encouragement of an independent entrepreneur whose remarkable success speaks for itself.

Reviews

Told with verve, this delightful tale of a restless, curious inventor and entrepreneur is packed with practical advice for creative endeavors. Kanbar's 36 successful inventions (from various medical devices to Skyy vodka and the D-Fuzz-It Sweater and Fabric CombR) all started with difficulties anyone might encounter: hangovers, accidents with hypodermic needles, fuzzballs on sweaters. In each case, Kanbar knew nothing about the problem he set out to solve. Unlike many inventors, who hand off their ideas at an early stage through licensing agreements, Kanbar has often set up businesses to market his products and stayed involved in every detail along the way. He takes the reader on engaging journeys from initial conception to research, implementation, testing, refinement, legal protection, packaging, distribution and marketing. General readers will enjoy these unaffected stories of a straightforward, successful guy. Would-be inventors and anyone engaged in independent creative activity will benefit from the distilled aphorisms ("Thou Shalt Not Bullshit Thyself") and no-nonsense information. It's a rare author who can end his foreword with "I look forward to reveling in your success" and make the reader believe it. With the help of a $50,000 marketing campaign, Kanbar (the publisher of Council Oaks books) is supporting this book with the same care that he's brought to marketing his other products. While none of his inventions, except for Skyy vodka, are household names, would-be inventors will find both inspiration and beneficial tips in his affable guide. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Council Oak Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1571780998
• ISBN 13: 9781571780997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208