10 Pitfalls Inventors Face and How to Avoid Them

Not every great idea makes it to the world stage. It could be outpaced by competitive solutions, not utilised to best advantage or even never get off the ground in the first place. The most common pitfalls inventors face can be summed up as:

1. Not doing basic research

Before investing any time or money in an idea, it’s vital to have a clear understanding of the problem trying to be addressed and where your solution sits in the market. Has anyone else tried to solve the same problem? If so, to what extent? For instance, have any patents already been granted which could hinder your product development?

2. No mock-ups and prototypes

You might have discovered a real problem enough people face, but without having tested your idea you won’t know how well your product meets their needs.

Building a mock-up or prototype with which to experiment allows feedback to be gathered from potential customers about how well the idea solves their problems. You might even discover potential enhancement possibilities not previously considered, which could put your product in an even better position.

Test-customers can also provide more confidence in the idea to encourage you to take the next steps.

3. No IP strategy

Many startups fail due to improper protection of their intellectual property so that they are quickly copied and outpaced by stronger, quicker competition.

Even patenting your invention does not always provide complete protection. If its claims are too narrow, competitors can easily circumvent the patent or if the claims are too wide, it can make it impossible to get your own invention patented.

Decisions like patentability, copyright/trademark protection or just keeping your idea confidential as a trade secret vastly influence your investment needs, risk profile and need for speed.

Always put an intellectual property strategy in place as early as possible – preferably supported by an experienced IP lawyer.

4. Ill-timed financing

At a certain point, the majority of inventors need to raise funds in order to progress the business.

Starting fundraising at the right time is crucial for success.

Starting too early without having a convincing offering or prototype often leads to rejection by potential investors. While starting too late may lead to going out of business before even really launching.

Securing funding can take a long time so aim to start the process six months before the money will actually be needed.

5. Not having the right partners and team

An invention or start-up project can take years, with good and bad times, and ups and downs, which you will only be able to manage by having the right partners on side, supporting each other through it all.

Knowing partners from earlier projects is an advantage, as is having diversity in characters, age, gender and expertise so that everyone complements each other and can bring in their own skills and experience.

Choose your teammates and partners wisely.

6. No business model or plan

A business plan is the blueprint for your success. If properly defined, it will point to all the aspects of the business from value proposition, key partnerships and customer segments through to resources, marketing, distribution channels, cost and income generation.