You thought your idea was really good, but meh… maybe a bit too simple?
Let me tell you story about Paul Brown.
Paul made himself a little valve – the type of valve that allows liquids to be stored upside down without leaking.
It wasn’t quite as easy as he thought it would be. He knew what he wanted to achieve in his head, but getting it to work was another matter!.
He toiled away for months on various prototypes.
He shelled out thousands of dollars.
He maxed out his credit cards.
He took loans from friends and family
He was determined!
Finally his 112th prototype worked!
And, in 1991, he patented it.
His next move was to license his patent to companies like Gerber, NASA, Heinz and others in the food and cosmetic industries.
Ever wondered why your ketchup is now in a plastic bottle ?
Blame Paul, especially if you liked fussing with the red gunky glass bottles and screw caps of old!
What Did Paul Do Next?
In 1995, Paul sold his company for $13 million.
As the company owned the rights to the valve, he perhaps could have struck a better deal – to receive a small portion of every product sold in perpetuity, but he walked away with $13m quite happily.
Have you got a little idea, and wonder if its worth patenting ?
Get in touch and we can have a quick chat about it> Click here
