Why Are You Inventing?

Money is NOT the One Reason.

Money is an important byproduct and profits must be available to everyone in the supply chain for an invention to be commercially successful, but money alone does not explain why most inventors invent.

If all you care about is money you can make it faster, easier and in far greater quantities by investing in stocks or real estate.

The act of creating a new product, of taking an idea in your mind and turning it into something that other people use and pay for, is like medieval alchemy, like turning lead into gold. It's a kind of magic. Even if you don't make any real money, seeing your idea as a real product being used by a stranger is a wonderful feeling. Even if your product never makes it to a store shelf, it's fun to show pictures of it to friends and family and hear them tell you how wonderful it is. Even if all you do is think about it as you drift off to sleep, it's something that gives your life purpose.

At Invention City we look at inventions almost solely in terms of profit. Money is the purest and easiest yardstick to use in evaluating whether or not we should invest in an invention. But sometimes we are so tickled by an idea that even we look beyond profit and proceed with an invention just because we want to see it become a reality.

- Mike