Brutally Honest Inventing

Most all of us can handle the truth. But sometimes it takes time to digest. And what we believe is true can change when additional information becomes available.

A core value at Invention City is telling inventors what we believe is true. Often that means saying an invention does not look like a good licensing opportunity to us, based on the information available at this time. What's critical in that statement is that new information can change our opinion.

Last year a young mom on a tight budget submitted an idea to us that, at first glance, I thought was terrible. Really bad. We did a Brutally Honest Review on the invention and the result came out better than I expected, but still not great.

We then did a survey for the idea. I expected the result to be a clear thumbs down. It came back thumbs up. We offered her a deal and went out to try and license the invention at no cost to her. We didn't succeed in getting a licensing deal - it's a fashion related item and those are super hard to license - but I sincerely believe that if she makes and sells the product herself, she has a good chance of making money with it.

When we say "Brutally Honest" we say it with a willingness to reconsider when new information is presented. We promise honest feedback and consideration based on the information presented and our decades of experience. We're right most of the time, but not all of the time. That's the truth.

- Mike