The Inventor's 101 Intro from Manufacturing to Selling/Crowdfunding with Special Guest Ariel K. from iSubTECH @ CrowdFunding Planning Offices in Irvine, CA Topics Covered: - Best Practices - What to watch out for in the Industry - The process from Idea to Product - How to go from Product to Selling/Crowdfunding

1. INVENTOR’S EVENT SERIES
PRESENTED BY CROWDFUNDING PLANNING
SPECIAL GUEST FROM ISUBTECH

2. WHAT IS THE INVENTOR’S EVENT SERIES?
➤ We decided to organize these Meetup’s because we’ve seen
countless entrepreneurs with great ideas/vision but lacking
the information and resources that they need.
➤ We want to dispel some of the things that been told by people
who just want to make a buck off entrepreneurs.
➤ Ultimately, over the course of these Meetup’s we aim to
introduce you to the tools and information you will need to
move forward from whatever stage you are at!

3. DEBUNKING THE RUMOR WE’VE ALL HEARD
➤ We’ve all been warned about people stealing our ideas and
making it their own.
➤ However, the most important thing to remember is that Idea’s
are just that, ideas.
➤ There seems to be a notion that if you share your idea it will
get stolen. Rest assured, ‘your’ idea is probably someone else’s
idea just tweaked around.
➤ This isn’t to say that there are rare cases out there but the vast
majority of ideas have been seen before in some shape or form.
➤ We consider this to be the most important thing we try convey
tonight.

4. DEBUNKING THE RUMOR WE’VE ALL HEARD (CONTINUED)

5. THE “B” WORD
➤ Business Plan, probably the most daunting thing about getting
started with any kind of entrepreneurial effort and definitely
one of the most important.
➤ What is a Business Plan?
➤ A well-thought out document that puts into perspective
your short and long term goals for the invention/
business. Also an outline on how you will achieve those
goals.
➤ The first draft must be written, we stress this because
having to write something down and looking at it is much
more powerful in goal-setting than seeing it on the
screen.

6. THE “B” WORD (CONTINUED)
➤ Why do you even need a Business Plan?
➤ We’ve been asked many times “why do I even need a
business plan I just want to see if this idea is going to
work”
➤ A Business Plan acts as a blueprint, just as you wouldn’t
start building a home without a architectural blueprint
you shouldn’t start working on an invention without a
business ‘blueprint’
➤ A good Business Plan defines your management (doesn’t
mean employees this can include partners or advisers),
your financial planning, how and when you will go-to-
market, when you will aim to break even or ideally
become profitable.

7. BEST PRACTICES FOR ENTREPRENEUR INVENTORS
➤ Plan meticulously, objectives and goals often change but a
failure to plan is a plan to fail.
➤ Document everything
➤ Seek and build all kinds of connections, for example; if you
happen to meet someone in the packaging/fulfillment
business but you are working on tooling don’t ignore the
potential, if you end up going into online sales this
connection will be invaluable
➤ In Real Estate you hear Location, Location, Location in
Entrepreneurship think Social Media, Social Media, Social
Media
➤ Introduce yourself to productive productivity tools ;)

8. OUR FAVORITE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

9. WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
➤ All business involve some kind of risk and unfortunately unsavory
character’s that may try to take advantage of entrepreneurial
newcomers
➤ We would like to minimize your exposure to that by covering a few
common thing’s we’ve seen
➤ “Partners” or companies that refuse to sign NDA’s
➤ Extensive charges for Patenting
➤ Unreliable manufacturing partners overseas
➤ Lack of financial planning and goal setting

10. FROM IDEA TO PRODUCT
➤ The requirements of going through the process from a thought/idea to
an actual viable product (either B2B or B2C) takes some weeks to
convey, in this first 101 Meetup we’re going to run through the top few!
➤ Research your idea extensively (find existing variations or lack thereof)
➤ Find the correct partners or advisers that can assist you
➤ Develop a prototype of your invention (again, more on this important
topic later)
➤ Protect your idea e.g. Patenting (if necessary)
➤ Determine your marketing plan
➤ Find a manufacturer either overseas or locally based on your budget
and/or marketing plan

11. INTRO TO ISUBTECH
➤ iSubTECH has the resources to
help you begin design, move to
molds and tooling, begin
manufacturing, and beyond.
➤ iSubTECH is an online
marketplace where entrepreneurs
and startups sign up to build
connections and get exposed to
the people they need in order to
do; product design, tooling,
manufacturing, and more.
➤ iSubTECH empowers and allows
entrepreneurs to save money by
letting multiple vendors bid on
their project

12. Prototyping
Manufacturing
Planning,
Brainstorming,
& Business Dev.
Sales and Growth
Marketing
Ideation and Development

13. PROTOTYPING
➤ Creating a prototype is very important but creating the right
prototype is much more important.
➤ Your prototype needs to clearly illustrate the functionalities
and creativity of your invention.
➤ It needs to show progress
through different stages of
development.
➤ The impact of being able to
physically hold and experience
a product versus simply
describing it or showing a
drawing makes a big
difference.

14. FROM PRODUCT TO SELLING/CROWDFUNDING
➤ Once your research is completed, your prototypes tested, and
your interest gauged (through social media) you are ready to
refine your go-to-market plan
➤ If you need capital to continue moving forward you can look
into rewards-based crowdfunding (e.g. Kickstarter, Indiegogo,
RocketHub) or maybe equity crowdfunding if your invention is
suited for that
➤ If not you can jump into relationship building and contacting
retailers or online sales.
➤ Depending on your specific type of invention and the market
for it your go-to-market strategy will be different and involve
in-depth strategizing

15. SOCIAL MEDIA
➤ As we’ve mentioned before Social Media is
essential. Entrepreneur Inventor’s sometimes
tend to place social media towards the end of their list of
priorities and tasks.
➤ While this is somewhat understandable, Social Media’s role is of
utmost importance in any Invention or potential product/
business.
➤ SM is usually most effective for B2C inventions/products however
in some cases can be effective for other types of products as well.
➤ We are planning a Social Media focused Meetup to cover all
aspects of social media exposure, engagement, and sustained
presence.

16. “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making
ideas happen.
-Scott Belsky
co-founder of Behance

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