ABC-TV Shark Tank Pro Kevin Harrington on innovation
Each month we interview a different expert for their insider’s perspective on innovation. This month: Q&A with Kevin Harrington, the infomercial pioneer who’s worked behind-the-scenes to launch more than 500 inventive products over 25 years—generating more than $4 billion in sales and making dozens of inventors into multi-millionaires. Kevin’s now also one of five on-camera business “sharks” who evaluates (and sometimes invests in) inventions on ABC-TV’s hit reality TV program, The Shark Tank. He’s also a new member of AbsolutelyNew’s board of advisors. Here’s perspective from Kevin:
Q: Inventors approach you daily with new product ideas they want to sell on TV. When this happens, what’s the first thing you do?
Kevin: The first thing I do is ask if the product is manufactured, so that it’s ready to sell. This is a business that’s all about paying the rent, making money, and splitting the profits—so if the product isn’t yet ready, you can’t start making money selling it on television.
Q: And then what?
Kevin: I then ask, “Has it sold successfully before?” You can give me all the details about the product, the market, and the competition, but what I really want to know next is if it’s ever been put to a rubber-meets-the-road test, and if so, what happened. I won’t invest big money before seeing a track record of success.
Q: How is selling on TV different from selling in stores and catalogs?
January 2010
In this issue
- ABC-TV Shark Tank Pro Kevin Harrington on innovation
- Does Europe beat the U.S. on patenting?
- Case study: Double Grip™ pliers launch lessons
- FYI: Upcoming tradeshows for new inventions
- More headlines from AbsolutelyNew
- Invention quote of the month
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AbsolutelyNew is the consumer goods company that partners with inventors to launch innovative products. As a Certified Professional member of the United Inventors Association, the company also offers services including product development, marketing and licensing. www.absolutelynew.com
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Does Europe beat the U.S. on patenting?
Recently, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine—yes, we know it doesn’t sound like the most enjoyable reading… but it’s full of practical content when it comes to patent law—published interim findings from surveying 468 patent & intellectual property lawyers on their views of the world’s leading patent agencies.
The survey is still underway; however we thought you’d want to review the early findings now because they could help you decide how best to protect your invention idea. Among the survey highlights:
• In-house corporate lawyers say Europe beats the U.S. on patent agency quality… while both beat out top Asian patent agencies. Here’s how many of them assign “excellent” or “very good” quality ratings to the different agencies:
European Patent Office (EPO) 70%
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) 56%
Japan Patent Office (JPO) 54%
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) 25%
China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) 18%
Case study: Double Grip™ pliers launch lessons
Every product experience is unique, but each also offers learning that can be leveraged by others.
This month we go deep into the Double Grip™ pliers—which will reach some very large stores later this year—sharing the behind-the-scenes story and lessons from the road to launch.
FYI: Upcoming tradeshows for new inventions
Tradeshows are great for showcasing inventions and/or making contacts with industry leaders. The key is to plan ahead, to get the most out of each show you attend. So looking beyond this month, here’s a list of U.S. tradeshows happening in the February to May window.
More headlines from AbsolutelyNew
• "If at First You Don't Succeed, You're in Excellent Company"
Invention quote of the month
“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”
— Andre Gide, 1947 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, 1869-1951