1. Inventing Is Dead
…or inventing
as we knew it
Mike Collins  Big Idea Group  Bedford, NH

2. What’s changed
Past Today
• Problem ID  • Job to be done
• Lone inventor  • Collaboration
• Costly, slow prototyping  • Rapid, cheap prototyping
• License or start company  • Crowdfund, microbusiness
• Huge marketing &  • Internet retail, crowdfunding,
distribution challenges social media, niche distribution
1 in 1,000 makes money  1 in 10 makes money
2

3. “Jobs to be done”
 Discover a “job to be done”
 Alternatives are poor and you can
create a solution to be “hired” by
consumers to do the job
 HBS Prof. Clayton Christensen’s
milkshake example
OLD NEW
I have an idea I have a better candidate
3

4. Open mind/open door
 Explore many ideas
 Collaborate with professionals
 Get real-time market feedback
OLD NEW
I’ve been working on this idea in my This idea has been team developed and
basement for the last 15 years. market-tested.
4

5. Organic & efficient
 Concepts evolve, businesses pivot
 Rapid prototyping technologies
 Cheap, photorealistic renderings
 3D printers
 Tech/maker shops
OLD NEW
Expensive, slow Fast, cheap, iterative
5

6. Small, cheap launches
 Crowdfunding provides capital and
momentum—or proof that you need
to move on
 Emergence of niche, single-purpose
brands and pop-up businesses
OLD NEW
License or sell: the slow death march Crowdfund
Start a business with $1m Microbusinesses for $100k
6

7. Social media marketing
 Become expert in “job to done.”
Various ways to monetize.
 Emergence of niche, single-
purpose brands and pop-up
business concepts
OLD NEW
TV, radio, print Blogs, vlogs, Pinterest, FB, Twitter,
podcasts, viral videos, AdWords, SEO
7

8. Virtual storefronts
 Online-only works: Viable to sell direct
and via curated direct web outlets
 Less cost, complexity—with direct
feedback and real-time tweaks
OLD NEW
Mass market, indirect Curated, direct
8

9. The Swan Light
 Job to done
 Development
 Prototyping
 Crowdfunding
 Monetization
 Marketing
 Distribution
9

10. What BIG does
 Help inventors prep &
execute crowdfunding
campaigns
 From initial product
development through
post-campaign strategy
10

11. Welcome to 2.0
 Inventing 1.0 is dead
 But 2.0 is the golden
age of innovation
 BIG can help 2.0
inventors
11