Millions from the Mind: How to Turn Inventions

Explains how to take an invention from concept to drawing board to market, and includes numerous case studies, interviews, and exhibits

How do some people actually turn their ideas, their inventions into a million dollars or more? What are the key moves made by the winners? What are the pitfalls and mistakes of judgment that bring down the losers? How does it apply to you?

This book brings you the true stories of dozens of innovators who met the million-dollar minimum or more. What they did right gives you a documentary picture of the "do's." And, to illustrate the "don't's," I've included a few sad but true stories of potentially big winners that bombed. Some stories are old enough to be classics; some are brand new examples added to this Second Edition of Millions from the Mind.

To these case histories I've added a large helping of practical actions for commercializing your innovation, all based upon my own twenty-plus years of guiding inventions from the first trickle of an idea to a big revenue stream. Not surprisingly, you will find a bit of bias in favor of the independent inventor.

In addition to optimism and sheer doggedness, converting an invention from a great idea into a flow of cash often requires a real entrepreneur. Esprit, elan, and invincible belief are always valuable. But they are not enough. So, if you yourself are an inventor, a discoverer, a creative idea person, inside or outside of a big corporation, read ahead and enjoy vicariously the successes of others and store away in your memory the imaginative ways they broke through the barriers.

If you are a corporate executive whether in management, marketing or research you'll find clues here for getting the best results from the creative minds within your own company as well as managing the risks of new inventions without upsetting the entire Board of Directors.