TBIC Celebrates 30 Years

Transcription

1 The Tampa Bay November-December 2013 TBIC Celebrates 30 Years Pages 7-10 Visit our website: GET NEWS UPDATES: JOIN US EACH 2 nd AND 4 th WEDNESDAY EVERY MONTH! Wayne s Words... 2 Recap of Recent Meetings... 3 Attract Venture Capitalists Sites Built for Inventors MEET WITH US AT: Tampa Bay Innovation Center 7887 Bryan Dairy Rd., Ste. 220 Largo, FL Inventors Helping Inventors The Tampa Bay Inventors Council is here to help you succeed, forge ahead, maintain your purpose and achieve what you intend to. Everyone in this group is behind you.

2 C haos or Control. I grew up watching agent 86, Maxwell Smart on the hit TV show Get Smart bumble his way to catching Wayne Rasanen the bad guys and ensuring that the agents of Control would win the day over Chaos. The show was very imaginative and featured tons of inventions that nobody in their right mind would ve considered. Max was talking on a portable shoe-phone while most people were still using a rotary dial. The gadgets were inspiring and pushed the envelope on what James Bond, or Matt Helm were bringing to spy craft. The show was often goofy and the villains of Chaos were always defeated despite the incompetence of Control. I always rooted for Control, but lately have been thinking about what control really means. Control means conformity, the sameness and accountability without deviation from the norm. Control is very organized and structured, it is central planning that runs counter to all of the variety that the marketplace can bare. At the extreme control becomes a police state where all of your actions are watched and recorded in everything you do is monitored by the authorities. I ve come to realize that too much control is not a good thing, especially for inventors. We are typically the nonconformists, thinking outside of the box. We are not satisfied with the status quo and want to find solutions outside of the norm. We develop ideas that the big guys of missed and create products that serve niche markets. Monopolies don t like competition because it provides alternatives and brings prices down. Competition gives people freedom to choose and a wider variety to choose from. Too much competition, however, can lead to substandard products that may even be dangerous and it makes the marketplace chaotic. I believe we must strike a balance between control and chaos. Don t let the bumblers impose total control by embracing a little chaos. Don t allow chaos to destroy all we ve built by maintaining some control. Just like plants choosing between sun and rain, with the right balance, innovators will continue to innovate and the marketplace can thrive. Wayne Rasanen, President, Tampa Bay Inventors Council Need to Reach TBIC? Office: or call: George Mouzakis g.mouzakis@chicagobooth.edu Mailing Address: 7752 Royal Hart Dr. New Port Richey, FL Website Info Visit our website for information about current and past happenings. You can also download current and past newsletters in Adobe PDF format. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. If you don t already have it, go to: to download this free document viewer. Monthly TBIC meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of EVERY month. All meetings start at 7 p.m. at Tampa Bay Innovation Center, 7887 Bryan Dairy Rd., Ste. 220, Largo, FL Information and articles printed in this newsletter are not necessarily endorsed by the TBIC and may not be applicable to everyone Page 2 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013

3 General Meeting Summary Sept. 11, 2013 Tonight s first guest speaker was Kendall Almerico to discuss the upcoming Sum-of-a- Pitch event, which happens 27 Sept. in downtown Tampa. Inventors and product creators often end up in a bind. We spend our time and resources to create the next big thing, only to run into roadblocks while trying to build prototypes, manufacture our products or get them to market. Whether the problems are legal, financial or simply not knowing what step to take next, we could use expert help. Sum-of-a-Pitch gives us access to experts who have been there, done that. We bring our inventions to the event and make our wellrehearsed pitches, then learn from the professionals who have raised money, fought the legal battles, taken products from inception to big sales and know the worlds of manufacturing, marketing and distribution. The pitch will be in Shark Tank like format, but with far less rapidfire pressure and criticism. The panel includes Kendall, plus a new product development specialist and a TV director with connections to HSN. Inventors who make the best pitches could walk away with a marketing and distribution deal worth thousands of dollars. The entire event will be videotaped and all footage of the event may be used in a web video, web video series or television program. The event is open to the public and free for everyone, including inventors who are pitching. Therefore, none of us have anything to lose by participating. Go to Second guest speaker: Lou Caputo describing how to make a good pitch in front of a camera. Lou hosted HSN infomercials for several years, but now is a local self-employed infomercial consultant. His job now is to bring new products and talent to the industry. First, write out your presentation on paper. Begin with a rough draft. Think detailed thoughts about props, demonstrations, video inserts, pictures, graphs + facts + figures. Also, write out why your product matters and what you want the viewer to actually do (go to a store and buy it, dial a number and buy it, go to a website and buy it, etc.). Then start to refine. Write a hook; a line or slogan that tells why the person should Past Meeting Summary watch your pitch...how following this pitch will improve his/her life (quickly & easily clean something, cook something, build something, organize your life, entertain your friends, save you money, etc.). But don t explain what the product actually is and does just yet; that s not the purpose of the hook. Just use a generality to arouse interest and get him/her to want to pay attention. Now describe the problem and how your product solves it. Include lots of video inserts, pictures plus live demo. Describe the principle of operation and features, and how to use the product. Show it in action. Keep showing how it solves the problem. But sell benefits, not features. Each feature must be presented to show how it improves the user s life. Then describe what s different about your product compared to the old way of solving the problem. How is yours better? Show it. Next comes what Lou says is the most important, yet most overlooked part of a professional pitch: the Testimonials. It s just talking heads saying the right things about your product, but this is the key to sales. You must have lots of videos to choose from, and you must select just the right ones. The message must be that the product works and is worth the money, but the message must come from many different angles. That s why there must be several carefully selected clips. Each clip covers a different angle. Last comes the Call to Action. This is where you specifically tell the viewer what you want him/her to actually do. This action is what will bring you your income. Lou ran a video of a portion of an infomercial he made several years ago for an ultra-strong glue. He pointed out all the parts as it ran. Once you know what to look for, it all seems so simple. Lou says to keep in mind: n When pitching before a live audience, invite questions, invite interruptions. Be ready to adjust for explanations, hostilities, equipment mishaps. Be ready to jump around, out of your intended sequence. Improvise, ad lib...but then regain control. Bring the focus back to the wonderful happiness your product provides. n Read your audience and react accordingly. Keep thinking Is this interesting to them? If not, shift. n Relax. Audiences generally want you to succeed. Continued on Page 4 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013 Page 3

4 Past Meeting Summary (Continued from Page 3) You can handle one hostile member without the entire audience turning against you. n The more complicated the product, the harder it is to sell to consumers. n To get your product into an infomercial production company, you must already have a warehouse full of your product ready to ship immediately. n Do not attempt to contact a production company yourself. Instead, hire a vendor representative who specializes in infomercials. Find them on the internet. Many types of vendor reps exist, but you need one for informercials. A professional vendor rep removes so many of the headaches that go with trying to get your foot in the door, because the rep already has feet in many doors. n Months before getting in front of the camera, while in the process of convincing the decision-makers of your product s sales worthiness, don t listen to no. If you (and your rep) truly believe in your product and remain persistent and consistent, your product will succeed. General Meeting Summary Sept. 25, 2013 Club president Wayne Rasanen rolled some videos of recent Bar Camp testimonials. Bar Camp is a regular event everyone should attend. It s an international network of user-generated un-conferences primarily focused around technology related subjects. These speaking events are open, participatory workshops with content provided by the participants. You don t have to speak; just go there and listen. Listen and learn! Wayne has contacted the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The organization s staff said they intend assist TBIC in the near future. Stay tuned! Our guest speaker was Kendall Almerico, founder and president of ClickStartMe.com. Kendall spoke to us two weeks ago about the Sum-of-a-Pitch event, in which he was one of the judges. Tonight he spoke about his business and passion: Crowdfunding. ClickStartMe is a crowdfunding portal. Kendall s background is interesting: An attorney who specializes in start-up venture capital funding. In recent years as donation crowdfunding was just getting started, he jumped in. He chose to dig in and learn everything about crowdfunding, but especially from a legal/financial standpoint. He founded ClickStartMe as a donation crowdfunding portal and became an expert in the field, according to Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and other organizations that have interviewed him. Donation crowdfunding has been around for about two years now, but equity crowdfunding is brand new. In fact, it s not even being done just yet. Right now the Securities and Exchange Commission is writing the regulations to govern equity crowdfunding. When the SEC releases the regulations, the doors open wide for startups and small businesses to begin selling equity - shares of stock - online through crowdfunding. Kendall promises to learn the SEC regs forward & back, then expand ClickStartMe to handle both types of crowdfunding; donation and equity. His background is perfect for this. To start a donation crowdfunding campaign to fund your invention product, you must have a PayPal account plus a video, and you must know (and state) exactly how much money you intend to raise though the campaign. All crowdfunding portals require these. Be prepared. Crowdfunding is hard work. The campaign will be your full-time job for 30 to 90 days. Know what you want to get done in that time; have a plan that includes a time-line and stick to it. Organize and prepare your core supporters...your team. These 5 to 10 people will be your biggest help during the pre-launch. They will provide most of the project s push. Get them to donate a few bucks each to your campaign now. The pre-launch donations are an important figure that you must post throughout the campaign. Write a list of contacts for your team to communicate with. They can reach the contacts through frequent blasts because this is quick and cheap. Also, have all donation rewards packaged and ready for shipment. Notify the mainstream media before the launch. Tell them I m launching a donation crowdfunding campaign about... At first they won t print anything about your project, but as you keep approaching your $ goal they will start to print more & more about you. Also notify MyCoolInventions radio show. Set realistic & attainable financial goals. Most donation crowdfunding campaigns are to raise under $10,000. If you need more than that, break it down into two or more campaigns that total the desired amount. For huge amounts Continued on Page 5 Page 4 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013

5 Past Meeting Summary (Continued from Page 4) - over $100,000 - have well-known celebrities and a giant social-media committee. And it better be a fantastic product! Have a good video. Not fancy, but with clear picture and sound, and a clearly communicated explanation of what your project is about, how much money you intend to raise and what you will use the money for. Keep it no longer than 90 seconds. Get the viewer passionate and thinking This invention is cool, it will sell and I want to help. Kendall rolled examples of a good video and a bad one. Launch on time & according to plan. On day 1, post all pre-launch donations. everyone on the list, and be sure the message contains a link to your crowdfunding web page. As time progresses, go to the appropriate bloggers again & again; they won t come to you. Keep them posted about every detail of your progress. Don t worry about excessive detail; bloggers love to ramble on and on about every little thing. The idea is to get bloggers to do a lot of your promoting for you. The 30% trick: After you ve reached 30% of your financial goal, things start to go much smoother. Donations come easier, media gets interested, people call you back. Therefore, you should consider funding the first 30% yourself. It s perfectly legal and ethical, and can be done without the public knowing about it. Just donate that total amount to your own campaign in several separate donations during the first week or so. Then post that you ve reached 30% of your goal, and watch what happens. ClickStartMe has a very impressive website at Next, our club held its annual elections to the Board of Directors. The new board is: Rob Aiken, Voytek Beldycki, Brad Bridgham, Pam French, Diane MacKay, Joe Navarro, Mark Peterson, Wayne Rasanen & Jeff Tyszko. General Meeting Summary Oct. 9, 2013 Tonight s guest speaker speaks publicly about public speaking. Joe Yazbeck is a selfemployed public speaking coach, headquartered in Largo. Prestige Leadership Advisors is Continued on Page 6 PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING COMPLETE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 3-D CAD DRAWINGS Drawn for the Injection Molding process PROTOTYPING Rapid Prototyping in days, not weeks MANUFACTURING Short runs or high volume ASSEMBLY Component and Product Assembly PACKAGING For the retail or wholesale market SHIPPING Directly to your buyer or distribution center sales@delaneymanufacturing.com Web: DelaneyManufacturing.com th Avenue East Bradenton, Florida Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013 Page 5

6 the business name. In the past Joe has owned a few businesses, been a talent scout for music, stage and TV, and has sung on stage. His clients tend to be business people, musicians and actors. As an inventor you might find yourself pitching your business to a group of investors, or describing your invention to a roomful of engineers, or even persuading potential customers to buy your product. But below the surface, you are actually attempting to create confidence in each listener s mind. Confidence about your invention, your business and especially about you. Your listener has preconceived ideas and fixed opinions about you and your product. You have preconceived ideas and fixed opinions about your listener. To overcome all this, honestly ask yourself: n Do I really know how well my product relates to the people I want to sell it to? That is, do I really understand the importance they have assigned to the problem my product solves? If so, how can I show them that I understand? n Do I really understand my audience, my market? That is, do I really understand their message to me? If so, how can I show them that I understand? n Does my message to them really align with their needs? That is, am I really showing them the benefits of what I m offering in a way that moves them to agree? If so, how can I show them that I understand? Your honest effort to understand them not only melts your own preconceived ideas and fixed opinions about them, but it melts their s too. Then truly productive human communication can occur. People don t like phoney robo-blabbers who tell them what they want to hear. They prefer authentic over synthetic. Authentic Extroverted Expressive Interested Natural Effortless Observant Reaching Looking vs. Synthetic vs. Introverted vs. Impressive vs. Interesting vs. Phoney vs. Forced vs. Opinionated vs. Restrained vs. Thinking Don t sell... make em want to buy! Past Meeting Summary (Continued from Page 4) You CAN move your audience from Who are you, man? to WOW! People don t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Seven ways to make your speech fail: 1) Unclear purpose. Instead, explain why you re about to tell them each new subject, and why they need to know it. 2) Failure to meet audience s needs. Instead, ask them about the extent of their problem that your product solves. How does this particular audience relate to the problem? 3) Unknown result of your speech. Instead, tell them what you want them to do. Give you funding? Join your team? Buy your product? Tell them. 4) Lack of organization. Instead, have appropriate pictures, videos, graphs, charts, props, etc. 5) Information overload. Instead, during preparation, find out audience s ability level to comprehend your details. And explain the what & why, not the how. 6) Insufficient supporting evidence. Instead, present bonafide credibility to back your claims. 7) Vocal monotony and sloppy voice. Instead, speak clearly and make yourself sound motivated and enthusiastic. Six steps to motivate your audience to reach for your product: 1) Get them to recognize the problem. Describe it on their level from their standpoint. 2) Experience their pain. Show them that you understand and that it s a problem for you too. 3) Get them to think about the consequences of their own inaction. Show them that doing nothing won t solve the problem. But also show them the disadvantages of the old solution. 4) Get them to think about the consequences of taking proper action. Have them picture how happy they will be when the problem is somehow solved. 5) Show them why your solution is better than the old one. Get them to agree yours is better. 6) Tell them what you want them to do. Buy the product, invest or whatever. Continued on Page 10 Page 6 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013

7 TBIC Celebrates 30 years of Innovation in Tampa Bay In September 1983, local patent attorney Ron Smith founded our club because he wanted his clients to meet each other, share their experiences, exchange ideas and network. On October 1, 2013 the organization he originated gathered in St. Petersburg College s EpiCenter to honor Mr. Smith, look back at 30 years of progress and look forward to even greater accomplishments. Club President Wayne Rasanen hosted the event. Keynote speaker was Ron Smith, with speeches by Akos Jankura and John Cremeans of My Cool Inventions radio show, and Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank TV show. Next came live pitches from several local and out-of-town inventors. High school students from a robotics club demonstrated their creations. All the while, roughly 25 inventors displayed their products in booths. Altogether, over 100 people attended the event. As closing time arrived, the party spilled over into Mythos Restaurant next door. A great time was had by all! Photos courtesy of Pete Lefferson Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013 Page 7

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10 Past Meeting Summary (Continued from Page 6) Joe gave one last tip: Never rattle off a list of features your invention has. Instead, always describe one feature and the benefit it brings the owner. Then describe the next feature and its benefit, etc. Successful public speaking, especially a speech designed to persuade the audience to take some action, basically boils down to empathy and enthusiasm. The speaker s empathy - the identification with the emotions, thoughts and feelings of another person - induces the listener to feel confidence in the speaker. The speaker s enthusiasm induces the listener to take the action the speaker desires. When the speaker honestly has empathy and enthusiasm, the listener subconsciously feels them. The speech succeeds, deals get done and business progresses forward. General Meeting Summary Oct. 23, 2013 Club President Wayne Rasanen discussed his recent participation - on behalf of our club - in a conference hosted locally by the National Academy of Inventors. The event was to discuss proposed invention innovation courses of study for college students and others. The NAI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization comprised of universities, plus governmental and non-profit research institutions. It contains over 2,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 100 institutions nationwide. The NAI was founded in 2010 to: n recognize and encourage inventors who hold American patents n enhance the visibility of technological innovation produced by universities and non-profit research institutes n encourage the disclosure and dissemination of intellectual property n encourage the commercial translation of its members inventions to benefit society n educate and mentor innovative students n develop relevant invention-based activities in collaboration with various existing institutions. Visit Long-time member and successful entrepreneur Bruce Elliot briefly announced the formation of his own on-line newsletter about recent business ventures (including inventions) at The target audience includes angel investors and venture capitalists. Guest speaker Suzette Marteny, a practicing patent attorney in Tampa, discussed what to do if your patent is being infringed. Suzette is self-employed but also does all the IP research for the staff of MyCoolInventions radio show. And she s a courtroom fighter with lots of patent litigation experience. Her website is www. MartenyLaw.com. Suzette says if you believe you are being infringed, DON T PANIC! Sometimes what looks like infringement really isn t. Look at your own patent, especially the claims. Lots of inventors don t really understand their own patent claims, she says. Map yours out. Then look closely at the alleged infringer s patent claims. Compare. Do this before running to your patent attorney, because you must pay him/her by the hour. If you ve made the comparison and you re still convinced your patent has been violated, then take both patents (yours and the infringer s) to your patent lawyer. If your patent lawyer is convinced, have your business lawyer write a letter to the infringer - on the lawyer s letterhead stationery and in a businesslike manner - explaining about the infringement and politely stating that royalties are due to you. Include a copy of your complete patent document. Most infringers are not aware that they are infringing. A letter from a business attorney with patent enclosed usually brings royalty negotiations quickly. But if that doesn t work, it s time to get nasty. Or is it? Suzette says to first consider the effect of bringing an infringement lawsuit. Is the infringer a big business? Are you? Have a long talk with your patent lawyer about the advisability of going forward with a lawsuit. How much will it cost you? Many small inventors have won infringement cases against big corporations, only to have all the money go to lawyers and court fees. Are you and your attorney absolutely sure that the likelihood of winning is more than 50% and that you can afford to remain in the fight all the way to victory? This could take years. Also consider how much will it cost your business if you don t litigate. If you decide to go forward, Suzette recommends you do so in federal court with a jury; not in arbitration. Arbitration isn t quicker or cheaper than court anymore. And an arbitration case lacks the passion that can sway a jury Continued on Page 14 Page 10 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013

11 What it Takes to Attract the Venture Capitalists by Jerry Chautin [Editor s note: This is the second in the series of three articles about angel investors and front-end venture capitalists.] I n last week s column, I wrote about several sources of seed money - venture capital for an emerging business. These sources exist, and yet less than one percent of those who submit business plans for venture capital receive funding, according to Ralph McNeal. McNeal is a Las Vegas, Nev. based former angel venture capitalist who volunteers as a business mentor with SCORE. He has financed startups and emerging businesses in the $100,000 to $500,000 range, the typical range for an individual investor. Angels are most often wealthy individuals who have retired from corporate or entrepreneurial careers but who are too antsy to spend their retirement on a golf course or watching their bonds gather interest at two percent per year. Instead, they enjoy spiking their endorphin levels with small business investment risks. McNeal also likes to watch businesses grow and prosper. He says most of his deals came from personal networking with bankers, economic development staff and large venture capital firms. These referral sources often see proposals that are too small for them, in the wrong industries or that do not meet their criteria. Ninety-eight percent of his doable deals came from networking and only two percent were from entrepreneurs who shopped their business plans to him without knowing his requirements. Notably, angels hang out together and know when offering packages are widely shopped throughout their local investment community. This taints your deal because the perception is that it has been turned down elsewhere. And if it is not good enough for their peers, they say, Why should I bother to review it? Furthermore, fishing too far from your home base is unlikely to hook a deal. That is because angels prefer to stay within two hours driving time so they can keep an eye on their investment. Local accounting firms and financial advisers are good sources for you to network with when searching for angel investors. Even so, you will have to convince these intermediaries that your company is a good investment before they are willing to introduce you to their clients. Beyond intermediaries, you will need to prepare a more persuasive pitch for actual investors. The Naples based GulfCoast Venture Forum is an angel investor group operating throughout Southwest Florida. According to its website, Before submitting your business plan for our consideration, you must determine if angel capital - and specifically capital from our group - is right for your company. We look for teams of high quality entrepreneurs with a track record of leadership and performance. Loners with great ideas will not qualify. Venture capitalists want teams with the passion and capacity to make their great ideas realities. They must demonstrate a previous track record of implementing ideas and growing their previous company s value to a much higher level. Furthermore, investors want to know how you intend to prevent larger companies from entering your space and competing for your customers. They will ask if your products are patented, how you protect trade secrets, whether your idea is difficult to emulate because competitors lack the ability to duplicate your systems and technology. GulfCoast Venture Forum says Typically, we look for pre-money valuations below$3 million. It targets companies with valuations as low as $250,000. Its goal is to add value so that they get a substantial return on their investment. Its evaluation methodology is discussed at Your cash-flow projections, and how believable they are, are the basis for forecasting the value in your exit plan, when your investors will sell their stock. Do you envision an initial public offering? Will you sell out to a large corporation? Or does your exit plan anticipate paying off your investors with revenues from the company s cash flow? However you plan to do it, your investors will want assurances that their payday will come within three to five years. A great idea alone is not enough to interest venture capitalists. You must convince them of your ability to turn your idea into a fast-growing, value-added company that will provide them with a substantial return. Jerry Chautin is a volunteer with Manasota. SCORE.org, a local nonprofit SBA resource partner offering free business advice and mentoring. He is SBA s 2006 national Journalist of the Year and a former entrepreneur, commercial mortgage banker and business lender. He writes and blogs about business and commercial real estate strategies for several publications and financial organizations nationwide. Contact him at jkchautin@aol.com. Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013 Page 11

12 WEBSITES Brief descriptions in parentheses. U.S. Gov t. U.S. Gov t. General Information Site USPTO Depository Library (UCF, Orlando) SATOP-Space Alliance Tech (NASA helps inventors; free) SBIR/STTR (gov t. wants inventions) Nat l. Standards (gov t. helps inventor s business) D.O.D. Tech Match (military R&D) Patent Offices, Patent Search U.S. Patent & Trademark Office European Patent Office Google Patent Search State Gov t. Florida Department of Revenue New Business Start Up USF Technology Incubator (free help to inventors; Tampa) Tampa Bay Innovation Center (STAR TEC, business incubation; Largo) Gazelle Lab (biz incubation; Tampa) Inventor s Education, Advice, Books, Lessons, Info, Etc. Edison Inventors Ass n. (non-profit inventor s club; Ft. Myers) Inventors Council of Central Fla. (non-profit inventors club; Orlando) World Intellectual Property Organization National Inventor Fraud Center United Inventors Ass n. (large nat l. org.) Inventors Digest (magazine) Patent Café (inventor s issues) InventionScore(evaluation service, Patrick Raymond) Inventor s Blueprint (training, Ryan Grepper) EdisonNation (education, contests, info) Everyday Edisons (P.B.S. show, contests) Idea Next Step (on-line contests) From Patent to Profit (Bob DeMatteis) Inventor Mentor (Jack Lander) The Basics of Patenting & Innovating Ask The Inventors Inventions.com (inventor s directory) Lloyd Marketing Group (Lisa Lloyd) InventNet - Inventor s Network MIT-Lemelson Inventors Site Intnat l. Federation of Inventor Ass ns. (Budapest, Hungary) Intnat l. Development Enterprises (nonprofit, 3rd world inventing) Innovation TRIZ (problem solving method) ASIT (inventor s problem solving method) Invention Machine (R&D problem-solving software) KeyWord Patent Search (workbook) Stephen Key (inventor s blog, coaching) Product Design, Prototyping, Manufacturing R&R Associates (product design, prototyping; Sarasota) Invention-Aids (rendering & virtual prototypes, Mal Greenberg; Tampa) Duracon, Inc. (Voytek Beldycki; Venice) Delaney Manuf ing (Injec n molding, product des., prototype; Bradenton) Chapman Mold (Brooksville) Source Direct (design, manufacture, distribution; Tampa) Oaks Partners, TAEUS (design strategy, Dan Messick; Tampa) Trident Design (product design, prototyping, licensing) EMS, Inc. (product design, prototyping; Tampa) emachineshop (product design, prototyping, free CAD) Machine Design (rapid design & prototyping info.) Society of Manufacturing Engineers (Tampa) Marketing Services Innovative Product Technologies (Pam Riddle-Bird; Gainesville) Hill, Coniglio & Polins (market research, planning, ads; Tampa) My Marketing Dept., Inc. (Allen Jernigan; St. Pete) Grapple Hook Marketing (mkt. research for industrial products; Tampa) My Cool Inventions (radio show, marketing; Tampa) Package Management Group, Inc. (packaging & marketing; Tampa) Market Launchers Idea Village Wal-Mart (new product contests) Impama (invention marketplace) One Stop Invention Shop (Don Debelak) Page 12 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013

13 Licensing Agents Invention Home (household products) DaVinci Legacy Group Planet Eureka (Doug Hall) Next Techs (patent sales broker, venture capital) Patent Lawyers, Patent Agents, Legal Services Att y. Referral Service www,attorneyreferralonline.com Ed Dutkiewicz (reg. patent att y.; Dade City) David Ellis (patent att y.; Largo) Dave Kiewit (reg. patent agent; St. Pete) Smith & Hopen (reg. patent att y.; Clearwater) Stephen Powers (patent agent; Tampa) Mike Colitz (reg. patent att y.; Dunedin) Brent Britton (reg. patent att y.; Tampa) Inventor s All-In-One Services Big Idea Group Quirky (crowd-sourcing, evaluation & assistance) Idea Connection (innovation hosting) Innovative Consulting Group, Inc Obvia Design Design My Idea Jetta Co. (toys, electronics; Hong Kong) Trade Shows Invention Connection Trade Show Nat l. Network ERA Invention Showcase (Electronic Retailers Ass n.) Catalogs, Mail Order Nat l. Mail Order Ass n. (info. about catalogs) Catalog Link (info. about catalogs) Catalog Times (learn to sell thru catalogs) Tilbury Direct Marketing (agent representing many catalogs) Business Data & Info. SCORE (Service Core Of Retired Executives) Small Business Development Center Small Business Administration (loans & loan info) Entrepreneurial Education Start Up Nation (business education) Florida Women s Business Center World s Market Research Thomas Registry Hoovers On-Line Industry Analysis Funding, Angel Investors, Venture Capital Angel Capital Ass n. (angel groups, non-profit) Alliance of Angels (angel groups) National Venture Capital Ass n. (VC groups, non-profit) Florida Venture Forum (VC education, non-profit) Quintic Capital, LLC (angels, VC, coaching; Tampa) Go4Funding (angels, VC) AngelList (secret website) CEO Space (international networking club) ClickStartMe (donation & equity crowd-funding, Tampa) FundAGeek (crowd-funding) KickStarter (crowd-sourcing) Indiegogo (crowd-funding) CrowdFunding Boot-Camp (June Hollister; Tampa) TIE Tampa (Intnat l. biz network; Tampa) CAD Software (Computer Aided Design) CAD Std (free 2D) Alibre (free 2D & 3D) CoCreate (free 3D) Parts, Supplies, Materials Don s Salvage Yard (used stuff; Clearwater) Skycraft Electronic Parts (new parts, Orlando) American Science & Surplus (mechanical & electrical) W. M. Berg, Inc. (small parts supplier) McMaster-Carr (industrial supply) American Plastics Supply (supplier & manf er.;clearwater) ADVERTISE WITH TBIC! TBIC is now accepting advertisers for the TBIC Newsletter! If you would like to place an ad please contact the TBIC Main office at: Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013 Page 13

14 Past Meeting Summary (Continued from Page 10) in favor of the little guy. Of course, out-of-court settlement is preferable instead of going to trial or arbitration. Suzette says a patent troll can be your friend. The internet has brought about the phenomenon of trolling for patents. A patent troll (also called a patent assertion entity ) is a small business that enforces patent rights against accused infringers in an attempt to collect licensing fees, but does not actually manufacture or sell the product that the patent covers. They cruse the web looking for noticeable trends within high tech industries. After identifying a specific industry, they compare new products to recent patents in hopes of finding infringers. Finding one, they contact the patent owner and offer him/her money in exchange to have him/her transfer the patent rights to the troll company. Upon getting the rights, the troll spends its own money to sue the infringer. The winning payoff is many times greater than the outlay, and that s the troll s income. The patent troll s business model is entirely that; lawsuits. The troll does not use the patent to actually manufacture and sell the invention, but only to sue an infringer. Suzette says What s wrong with that? If you ve been infringed, consider using a patent troll to do the dirty work. When assigning the rights to a troll, be sure to retain - in writing - your right to manufacture and sell your patented invention, and/ or to licence it to whomever you wish as long as the troll agrees. This should be no problem to the troll, because it does not interfere with the troll s business model. The troll gets damage costs from the infringer and royalties from units the infringer made and sold, but you can still get royalties from whomever you license to. Just be sure to get all this in writing from the troll BEFORE you assign your patent rights to it. You must work closely with your patent attorney, your business attorney and the troll s people. Arrange to have everyone in the same room in each meeting. Patent trolls have a very good record of success at tackling big corporations in court; independent inventors do not. Each troll company is a team of patent lawyers and business lawyers who usually have access to investors with deep pockets. Their practice is legal. Suzette says if you ve been infringed, one of your options is to search the internet for a troll that specializes in your invention s field. Just type in patent troll and the name of your industry. TBIC Members are entitled to receive Discount Subscriptions to Inventors Digest Magazine! Inventors Digest is the official publication of the United Inventors Association. TBIC is an affiliate member of the U.I.A. and therefore TBIC members are entitled to a discount on the price of Inventors Digest subscriptions. Regular Price Discount Price $36 for 1 year$27 for 1 year TBIC Members can get this discount when subscribing (or renewing) ONLY by phone or snail-mail, not through Inventors Digest s website. Phone: (800) Ask for the Account Manager and explain that you are a TBIC member and ask for the discount. Snail-Mail: Send your check and a note that explains the above to: Inventors Digest 520 Elliot St., Suite 200 Charlotte, NC Page 14 Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013

15 Student Member A Student Member at the $25.00 rate must be an active student enrolled in an accredited school. They may attend Officers & meetings and receive the Newsletter. Board of Directors Sustaining Member Student Member Wayne Rasanen - President President A Sustaining Member ($75.00 per yeara Student Member at the $25 rate must be an active student goodharbinger@yahoo.com Wayne Rasanen see below) enjoys the benefit of They attendenrolled in an accredited school. may attend meetings ing meetings, seminars, socializing and Vice President Andrew Yauch - Vice President and receive the Newsletter. networking with other members, receivpam French Sustaining ing the Member Newsletter and participating as Gayla Kilbride Treasurer Secretary Aa Sustaining Member ($75 per yearsee below) enjoys the reviewer in our Focus Groups. They Rob Aiken benefit of attending meetings, seminars, socializing and are allowed to present their protected Robert Aiken - SecretaryTreasurer networking with other members, receiving the Newsletproduct to all of the various companies (such informercialas and ter andasparticipating a catalog reviewercomin our Focus BoardGroups. Members; Mark Peterson panies) cometotopresent the TBIC find They arethat allowed theirtoprotected product to all Wojciech Beldycki Board Members for the market. Voytek Beldycki ofnew theproducts various companies (suchmembers as informercialearl and Deen catalog usually findthat other members with the companies) come to the TBIC to find new products Brad Bridgham Kirk Hamlin prototyping knowledge need, andother members for the market. Membersthey usually find with Allen Jernigan Diane MacKay pay that member for their time and for the prototyping knowledge they need, and pay that member Mark Peterson Joe Navarro prototyping materials used. Sustaining for their time prototyping materials used. Sustainmembers mayand askfor to have a free Focus Founder ing members ask toproduct have a and free are Focus Group doneron on E. SmithJeff Tyszko Group done may on their Founder their product and aretheir allowed to display allowed to display product in our their product in our Ron E. Smith designated display area. designated display area. Officers & Dues Descriptions Board of Directors T.B.I.C. Prorated Sustaining Membership Dues Schedule $75 per year, prorated. Renewal date: 01 January. People who join in the month of: pay this amount: until... Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. $75 $69 $63 $57 $51 $39 $33 $15 $45 $27 $21 $9...until the following Jan. 1st. Then they renew their membership for a full year at $75. Visitors Welcome Welcome Visitors The Board of Directors of TBIC Theto Board of Directors of TBIC wants welcome all visitors. Adwants to welcome all is visitors. mission for visitors $5.00 Adper meeting, for unless accompanied an mission visitors is $5.00byper active member. hope that you meeting, unless We accompanied by can see the benefits of becoming an active member. We hope thata member! Our allow visitors you can see thebylaws benefits of becomto attend two meetings withoutallow obliing a member! Our Bylaws gation to to join.attend two meetings visitors without obligation to join. Please Respect Respect the Please theother OtherMembers Members Ata arecent recentboard BoardMeeting, Meeting,several severalmembers memberssaid saidthey At theyreceived have received complaints talking in the have complaints aboutabout talking in the backback of the of the meeting room while the meeting is in progress. room themembers meetingare is in progress. Some ofas oursuch memsomewhile of our hard of hearing, and bers hard oftohearing, as such find it competdifficult to findare it difficult hear theand presentation if it is hear the presentation if it is competing with other noises. ing with talking in background. While we acknowledge that networking is vital for of us, we ask the for future While we acknowledge thatallnetworking isinvital all of that to network before or after the or preus, weour askmembers that our try members try to network before after sentation. It would also be appreciated if all cell-phones the presentation. would during also bethe appreciated were put on silentit answer meeting. if all cellphones were put on silent. Thank you! - Your Board Of Directors Thank you! - Your Board Of Directors Members are invited to write letters for inclusion in the newsletter. to robertraiken@verizon.net or aletha@alethalady.com, fax to or mail to TBIC at our office address. Letters should be brief, to to write forname, inclusion inaddress the newsletter. to robertraiken@verizon.net, the Members point, andare be invited accompanied byletters member and phone number. Letters may be edited forfax to mail toletters TBICwill at our office address. clarity, taste andorlength. be printed as room Letters permits.should be brief, to the point, and be accompanied by member name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. Letters will be printed as room permits. Page 15 Newsletter Staff Executive Editor George Mouzakis Contributing Editor Robert Aiken To submit articles, send s to: robertraiken@verizon.net Submissions must be received by the first Tuesday of odd months. The Tampa Bay Inventor s Council (TBIC) is a corporation as defined in Chapter 617, Florida Statutes, as a not-for-profit. The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. The TBIC is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation, which allows the receiving of tax deductible contributions of goods and services. There are over 150 active members willing to share their expertise and experiences with fellow inventors. Tampa Bay Inventors Council November-December 2013 Page 15