Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power , a column occupied with personal perspectives and products.
Last week’s Reserve Power took you backstage of technology and infomercials, and this week we’re bringing it to its natural conclusion. Catch up by reading last week’s installment here , and catch the remaining just under.
Trends. Not surprisingly, the well-prepared presenters came armed with facts and research, although there have been often many holes. One woman’s pitch raised the question of the way often people vacuum their cars. Another woman pushing a stand for containing multiple pairs of eyeglasses — the same as what one might see at the counter of an optician — asserted that the common eyeglass wearer owns three to four pairs. As is the case in high-tech consumer products, this talent search kept in mind the yankee idle, albeit in contrasting ways. While the primary product presented provided the way to work off several calories even while seated at a desk, the last one presented enabled consumer to take their shoes off and on without needing to maintain tying their laces.
Team. In demo conferences and VC pitches, entrepreneurs highlight their record of feat, how they’ve built and sold companies or at the least run high-profile divisions at successful companies. But folks that had made it to the Telebrands Inventors’ Day came from all walks of life. Some were career inventors just like the identical twins behind Twinnovations, some sold their creations at flea markets — like a family that had created a modular candle that burns in sections — and a few projects grew out of crafts. One of many judges’ favorite products was the primary invented by a definite graduate student — a twig for women’s legs that left them shiny for a couple of hours.
That isn’t to assert that have didn’t count for anything, or at the least the relationships that prior pitches could bring. Sooner or later, perhaps the judges’ two favorite products came from inventors who had already launched successful products. The primary, designed by the brothers at Twinnovations, was a ridiculously simple tilted stand on which one would place a pan on the way to have the fat and oil drip off fried foods, achieving the effect of a poor man’s George Foreman grill.
The opposite, designed by a pediatrician called “Dr. Jen,” was mostly two small plastic squares joined by a hinge to supply resistance. Put on the ground, he device counts the taps of your foot which will encourage exercise while seated, extending the thought behind “10,000 step-a-day” fitness programs. Her previous product was a U-shaped mat with slots for cards to encourage parent-child interaction. Think you’ve a shot? Upcoming Inventors’ Days would be held in Ny and Las Vegas. To use, you will need only send your ideas to inventorsday@telebrands.com.
After the winning concepts are picked, distribution terms are negotiated, and the goods are test marketed to peer in the event that they could make the jump to national infomercial fame. Ultimately much should be weighed before the corporate makes the decision, but you may bet that operators can be standing by.
Ross Rubin ( @rossrubin ) is executive director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group . Views expressed in Reserve Power are his own.
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