IANE
INVENTORS' ASSOCIATION OF NEW ENGLAND
"EMPOWERING INVENTORS!"
ARCHIVE OF PREVIOUS SPEAKERS & TOPICS
Here is a sampling archive of previous speakers
that you may have missed. It pays to join IANE
and attend our monthly meetings so you won't
miss out on some good information to help you invent better products. Members
only receive the IANE Newsletter
with additional information.
\THIS PAGE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING UPDATED
CHECK BACK LATER FOR MORE INFO.
April 14, 2008: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Donald Job,
President Emeritus of IANE, Product
Development Consultant, author, lecturer and scientist. Founder of
Enbede Co. and IPRS, Inc.;"Lessons
from 30 Years of Inventing".
Dr. Job talked about the process of getting
products to market, pitfalls and strategies for success.
March 10, 2008: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Arthur Venditti of Seneca
Design. Product
sourcing in China and his lifetime livelihood of invention, development,
and licensing, including helping other inventors: concept evaluation, preliminary
design, product development and sourcing manufacturers. Contact Arthur
at vendar@verizon.net
.
February 11, 2008: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Rufus Seder,
founder of Eye Think, Inc, who
has developed and patented fascinating optically animated artwork, in forms
ranging from greeting cards to murals in museums and public buildings.
January 14, 2008 meeting snowed out; rescheduled
for May 12, 2008.
December 10, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
William Schawbel,
entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Schawbel
Corp. in Bedford, MA; www.schawbelcorporation.com.
Bill provided advice to inventors based on
his extensive experience in devising new products and bringing them to
market. Many
of the products Bill
has developed and marketed are based on their ThermaCELL butane cartridges.
These include hair curlers, soldering irons, baby bottle warmers, and most
recently, mosquito repellent. New products are in the works.
November 12, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Scott Keeley of Obvia,
a firm that positions itself as a full service resource for inventors and
small companies. Obvia develops working
prototypes and virtual prototypes, arranges for appropriate patent protection,
and brokers the product to prospective licensees.
www.obvia.biz
October 8, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Bob Hausslein, President
of IANE
. The meeting addressed member questions and
comments. Bob
discussed about what he has learned from the
300 presentations at the Inventors Clinic
over the past eight years and the surprising
insights he has gained from choosing among several invention developers.
September 10, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Warren Tuttle
of Bear Mountain Marketing; housewares
specialist. Warren, and his business partner Ed
Ryan, have well over 50 years of combined
housewares industry experience in retail buying, sales, product development,
fulfillment, distribution, and marketing. Warren has led the introduction
of such products as Smart Spin, container storage system; MISTO, The Gourmet
Olive Oil Sprayer; StirChef, The Hands-Free Saucepan Stirrer; and
“Toss and Turn”, raised edge fry pan. Finding unique, kitchen
related products, patents and inventors, and then introducing these unique
products to market, is the key to their unique business model.
July 9, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
The featured speaker for the July 9 meeting
was IANE member
John Westcott
on using Brainstorming methods to
improve inventiveness. John has taught
this subject to corporate groups. Recall he addressed the group in
July 2005 on the subject of 3D mechanical design.
June 11, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
The featured speaker was our IANE
Recording Secretary, Nancy Kerrigan.
Most of us know Nancy
as the inventor/developer of such pet products as the Harness
Play Pack, the Harness Raincoat, and the Sleep-N-Store Pet Bed.
At the June meeting
she described and demonstrated her new product venture - a
dog feeding bowl that is being developed by
Evergreen IP in Colorado.
Recall that Gus Bigos
from Evergreen
has spoken to us on two occasions.
MAGGIE her dog was the hit of the meeting.
www.petsatplay.com
May 14, 2007
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Herb Loeffler
spoke to us in 2005 about Easy Down, the device he developed to escape
from tall buildings. At the May meeting, he described his method
of design that considers as many alternatives as possible in order to achieve
a superior product. After managing his own design firm (Loeffler-MacConkey)
which had a dozen employees, he now works independently. Herb
has degrees in both mechanical engineering and industrial design and is
an IANE member.
April 9, 2007 SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Wayne Strattman,
founder and president of Strattman Design
(www.strattman.com).
He shared his experiences in bringing 11 inventions successfully to market
in the toy/fascination item industry. As Wayne states it, " I think
I can give people an idea of how business is really done in this industry.
It’s a lot different than most people think it is. There are more
back room meetings amongst known players than there are formal meetings
about licenses and patents. Its important to learn to identify who
the “players” are and to do some diligence before venturing forward".
March 12, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Dave Hoch, a
full time inventor/entrepreneur, who has started and sold several companies
he has built around his products. The topic is Hokey
Spokes, illuminating light blades that display
designs and messages on bicycle wheels at night. See the video at
http://www.hokeyspokes.com.
Dave also talked
about a new "low-tech" product of his - Growing
Grids, a home gardening aid. He discussed
the whole process from concept to patenting, manufacturing in the US and
in Asia, marketing using trade shows and the internet, and distribution.
February 12, 2007: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Peter Nieves,
patent attorney and faculty member of the Franklin Pierce Law Center.
His presentation covered US patent practice and patent protection, intricacies
of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, differences between US
and Foreign statutory bars, and things to consider prior to attempting
to obtain US or foreign patent protection. His bio is at http://www.sheehan.com/attorneys.asp?id=1076.
January 8, 2007:
SPEAKER/TOPIC: James
Richardson of Richardson and Associates, Inc.,
an experienced inventor and consultant operating out of southern Maine.
For the past 25 years he has developed products for entrepreneurial clients
and is now also licensing products of his own. His website (www.richardson-assoc.com)
shows a good sampling of his work. He has given talks to inventor
organizations over the years and is now a regular speaker at the University
of Maine patent program for inventors.
December 11, 2006:
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Chris and Sonia
Hillios, inventors and developers
of SeaDine Snorkel Snax,
underwater fish food seadine.com.
They described their ups and downs getting their business launched
and also used the audience to comment on a proposed medical product
unrelated to Seadine.
November 13, 2006:
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Dave Kaufman, President of Hemetrics Development Corporation
who discussed his hydration meter HEMETRICS
on behalf of independent inventor Dave
Hoch, who has started and sold several companies
he has built around his products and
could not attend. He planned to talk about Hokey
Spokes, illuminating light blades that display
designs and messages on bicycle wheels
at night. See the video at hokeyspokes.com.
October 16, 2006: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Darleen Flaig,
founder of Product Solutions International
productsolutionsintl.com
. Darleen
advises on product development and global sourcing. She has spoken
at numerous IANE
meetings. Her topic this time will be "Lessons
Learned" from her perspective. She
introduced Cory Costintino of
Tekstyl Inc.
who has fought in the marketplace to
launch his patented computer case and the lessons he learned about his
custom computer case business.
September 11, 2006: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Mark Gies,
COO of Inventors Workshop
inventorsworkshop.net, a
subsidiary of Big Idea Group. Inventors
Workshop specializes
in promotional products. Unlike Big Idea Group, which licenses
inventions, Inventors Workshop sets up the manufacture and distribution
itself. Mark explained their business model, and products they are
commercializing, and described inventor relationships.
July 10, 2006: SPEAKERS/TOPIC:
Dave Cormier and Karyl Lynch product
scouts of Pelham West Associates, product
scouts having a long time connection with the IANE.
They described the kinds of products they are looking for and examples
of ones they have brought to market. www.pelhamwest.com
JUNE 12, 2006
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
George Tlucko,
IANE member,
discussed the invention, development, and commercialization of his high
performance ice skates. See www.okolosports.com
MAY 15, 2006
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Gus Bigos of
Evergreen IP
www.evergreenip.com
spoke on Commercializing Your Invention,
including trends in open innovation at consumer product companies, key
attributes of successful new products, pros and cons of various routes
to commercialization, including (but not only) a discussion of the approach
at Evergreen IP.
Note that some inventions of IANE
member Nancy Kerrigan are being developed by Evergreen
IP.
April 10, 2006:
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
John Adams successful
inventor on translating ideas into commercial reality; application of inventive
skills to manufacturing and marketing. John
was Secretary of the IANE in the late 70's.
He showed two products he developed which are at www.proportionalreading.com
and at www.indoorwindowgardening.com.
March 13, 2006: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Mike Marks invention
developer of Invention City
www.inventioncity.com.
Mike discussed
the ups and downs of developing and licensing the PaperPro and PowerShot
staplers, which have generated over $250 million in sales. This
is similar to the talk he gave at the 2005 Yankee Invention Expo,
which was very favorably received. Examples of products he
has helped inventors develop are at http://worktools.com;
http://endeavorproducts.com; http://paperpro.com and http://sandjamr.com.
February 13, 2006: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Arthur Venditti
– Independent Product Development Consultant
with over 35 years experience in developing
consumer products and toys, spoke about and answered questions relating
to his experiences in all aspects of the product development process.
As an Industrial Designer, he has invented,
patented, licensed, named, and commercialized a wide variety of consumer
products. Although Arthur has spent most of his career in the Toy industry,
much of what he has experienced can apply to most mass market product areas.
He has spent the last 10 years sourcing and developing products to be made
in China and will share his insights for those who have thought about doing
the same. "How
To Get My Product Made in China". E
MAIL
January 9, 2006
SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Courtney Heath
of Z Corporation provided an introduction
to 3D printing and rapid prototyping, showing samples ranging from the
simple to the complex - including moving parts. www.zcorp.com
December 12, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Michael Antino of Merchant
Media, the "concept to consumer" product development company that
brought Smart Spin, rotary storage device
for plastic containers and lids, to commercial success. Merchant
Media has similarly brought to market many other top selling
direct response TV products such as Pasta Pro, Gator Grip, and Singer Smart
Scissors. www.merchantmedia.com
November 14, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Joseph R. Birkner, M.E., Registered
Patent Agent, Inventor, IANE
Member (Webmaster).
"How To Turn Your Idea Into An Invention and
Patent It" CLICK
HERE TO READ THE NOVEMBER 14, 2005 IANE Presentation.
Discover the inventing process steps ranging from Idea to Invention to
Patent to Marketplace "I-I-P-M" (TM).
Coming up with the idea, what, how to invent, inventions, patents, marketing
your invention and more. www.gis.net/~starco/jrb
October 17, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Angelo Tortola, IANE member and President
of Venture Technologies in North Billerica, inventor and developer
of the Game Light (over six million sold),
the Electronic Swing Groover golf training device featured in Brookstone
and Sharper Image, plus medical and military equipment. TOPIC:
"The Business of Inventing" www.venturetechnologies.com
September 12, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Jeffery Conley, President of Eureka Medical
in Burlington, a resource for independent inventors with ideas for
medical devices and healthcare products, offering no-cost services to refine
and present product ideas to the best-matched medical supply companies
www.eurekamed.com
July 11, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
John Westcott,
Iane member and
president of 3D Mechanical Design,
3D Solid Modeling is a handy dandy tool for inventors. John can be reached
at 508-529-6558
or e mail: john@3dmechdesign.com.
June 13, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Michael Collins,
founder and president of the Big Idea Group,
product scouts in frequently contact with our members. www.bigideagroup.net
.
May 9, 2005SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Joe Schappler, owner
and president of Helix Design,
a product design and development firm in Manchester NH, spoke on the product
development process. www.helixdesign.net
April 11, 2005:SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Ronna Cohen, principal
and founder of the 20-20 Group
ww.the20-20group.com
spoke on Success
Takes More than Having a Great Product.
Common mistakes that entrepreneurs make in bringing their product to market,
strategies to avoid, pitfalls and missteps that can cost you time, money
and perhaps your business were presented.
March 14, 2005SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Herb Loeffler,
veteran product designer and post 9/11 inventor of EasyDown, a rappelling
device to escape from tall buildings. His group formed EasyDown
Corporation to commercialize the product.
www.easydown.com also article
in Boston Business Journal at www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2004/10/25/story3.html.
February 14, 2005SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Amy Smith of MIT,
a 2004 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Award, which includes a $500,000
grant. Amy
has dedicated herself to solving daily problems in the developing world,
including simple means to produce clean drinking water, grind grain, and
make cheap charcoal. She also wants to change what it means to be
an inventor. In a world obsessed with gizmos costing hundreds of dollars,
Ms. Smith wants
instead to focus minds and imaginations on simple solutions for big problems.
For more, Google Search: amy smith mit
January 10, 2005: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
David Allen,
founder of Cogent Products, Inc.
COGENT PRODUCTS and
inventor/developer/marketer of Helper's Handle Push Bar (for children's
bicycles), Oar Secure, and FRS-1 Forearm Rifle Support. Ken
Bibby, who makes his living from inventing
to order, and Bob Hausslein
added a few examples from their own experience to stimulate discussion.
December 13, 2004: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Pat Rega and
Seymour Sallett
from the Boston office of SCORE, the Service
Corps of Retired Executives talked about the
steps involved in forming a new business and the face-to-face counseling
that SCORE provides.
Such advice and contacts are also vital to inventors who choose to license
their product rather than go into business themselves. The SCORE
website is SCORE
or SCOREBOSTON
or call (in Boston, MA 10 Causeway Street) for help: (617)565-5591..
November 15, 2004: SPEAKER/TOPIC:
Elizabeth D. Chicknavorian,
who spoke on the effective use of trademarks
as an aid in the commercialization of inventions. Ms. Chicknavorian's
sole practitioner law practice in Dover, New
Hampshire focuses on providing legal services for startup, small and mid-sized
businesses pertaining to business formations, contracts, trademarks and
copyrights.
October 18, 2004: SPEAKERS/TOPICS:
Brent Short and Donald Job.
Brent is founder of Flex-Safe, Inc. http://www.flex-safe.com
which markets perimeter control technology such as collapsible barriers
that he invented and developed. The title of his talk is "Pedestrian
Management for the 21st Century". Don
Job, longtime IANE
supporter and invention consultant, has acted
as an advisor to Brent during the development of his invention and business
launch. His companion talk is entitled "Elements
of Success".
September 13, 2004: SPEAKERS: David
Cormier and Karyl Lynch of Pelham West Associates, who
as product scouts bring products to market under licensing arrangements
and as consultants help determine the
best commercialization opportunities for products. www.pelhamwest.com
TOPIC: "Strategies for Making Your Product Attractive to Potential Licensees".
July 12, 2004: Speaker:
Bob Krentzman of Chain Reaction Logistics;
Topic: "Product Solutions from Concept to
Consumer - integrating the functions of development,
marketing, sales, distribution, warehousing, and fulfillment."Chain
Reaction Logistics is a successful organization dedicated to customer
service by linking retail product development, marketing, sales, fulfillment,
warehousing, and distribution. www.chainreactionlogistics.com
June 14, 2004: Speaker:
Dr. Richard Pavelle, President of Invent Resources,
Inc.; Topic: "
Setting up an Invention Creating Business". Invent
Resources, Inc. is a business
of creating inventions for clients, based on the premise that companies
need and desire to outsource innovation. Dr.
Richard Pavelle, will describe their method of doing business and
offer suggestions to those who may wish to consider setting up such a business.
WEINVENT
May 10, 2004: Speaker:
Rick Malagodi of Opus Venture Group, LLD.,
a new company started with
George d'Arbeloff (of the Big Idea Group).
TOPIC: "Products for Television Media
(QVC, HSN,
etc.)." Web site:
http://www.opusventuregroup.com
.
APRIL 12, 2004: Speaker:
D. S. Kim, Ph. D. TOPIC:
"Opportunities for the Independent Inventor in Automotive
Power Systems". Hybrid gas/electric engines and fuel cells are
not necessarily the wave of the future. Longtime inventor/entrepreneur
D. S. Kim, Ph. D. has developed power
technology both as an auto industry insider and outsider. He
shared his views and demonstrated some underappreciated alternatives.
March 8, 2004: Speaker(s): Bob
Hausslein, President of IANE
speaking from the perspective of an inventor,
and David
Rardin, President of Synthetic Intellect Corp.from
the perspective of a patent professional.: TOPIC:
"Minimize Time and Money Spent on Intellectual
Property Protection".
FEBRUARY 9, 2004: Speaker: Susan
LaPlante-Dube, President
Precision Marketing Group:
TOPIC: "Build It & They Will Come - How
to Sell the Value of Your Invention". PRECISION
MARKETING GROUP
JANUARY 12, 2004:
Craig Carlson
spoke on Successful Invention Development and Commercialization.
He holds several US Patents
in the areas of inertial measurement and telecommunications, particularly
relating to automobile accessories.
DECEMBER 8, 2003:
Maureen Lincoln
spoke on Designing Plastic Parts for Your Invention. Maureen Lincoln
is a product design consultant and founder of Applied
Engineering Solutions.
NOVEMBER 10, 2003.
Jim Levine
of FitnessLab,
a fitness equipment
product development and licensing company,
was a guest speaker. He presented a body-based product.
OCTOBER 20, 2003. Alaric
Naiman, Phd. a consultant specializing in technical and organizational
innovation. His presentation, Targeted Innovation:
Effective Development Of Your Ideas, focused
on a selection of "mind tools" for innovation, plus a discussion of key
factors that can hinder or help you. Alaric is now principal of Transition
States (www.transitionstates.com),
a networked consultancy providing product
and process innovation and management training.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2003.
The "BIG IDEA GROUP (BIG) "
conducts IDEA HUNTS for companies seeking new inventions to be put into
the marketplace. Michael Collins,
CEO spoke about how BIG
operates and what kinds of products are needed. Michael
Collins is the founder and CEO of Big Idea
Group (BIG), an invention development agency. Big Idea uses a variety of
methods to bring together independent inventors and idea-buying companies.
Among its techniques, BIG conducts nationwide Roadshows, where inventors
confidentially present ideas to a panel of industry experts, and Idea Hunts,
where client companies solicit BIG’s inventor network for ideas relating
to market opportunities. Since its inception in 2000, Big Idea has developed
or licensed over 30 ideas, working with such companies as Target, Toys
“R” Us, Avon, Hasbro, QVC, Basic Fun, Skil-Bosch, Binney & Smith, Dremel
and Staples, among others. Mike received his undergraduate degree
from Darmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School. After graduating,
he worked as a venture capitalist for four years, then headed an educational
startup at Pleasant Company, maker of American Girl Dolls. That experience
inspired him to create his own children’s product company, Kid Galaxy.
There he invented a number of award-winning specialty brands, including
the action figure line Bendos and the Stardust Classics fantasy dolls.
At Big Idea, Mike continues to work with inventors and companies to bring
a variety of innovative concepts to market. Among the company’s projects
in development are a plush concept, a file storage system and a tableware
invention. BIG is headquarted in Manchester, New Hampshire.
BIG IDEA GROUP
July 14, 2003 SPEAKERS: Joanne
Hayes Rines, Publisher/Editor of Inventor's
Digest Magazine and Robert Rines,
Patent Attorney and member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Their
talk was entitled "There Really are Secrets to Success as an Inventor ?"
APRIL 14, 2003
SPEAKERS: Dave
Cormier and Karyl Lynch of Pelham
West Associates www.pelhamwest.com,
match manufacturers and distributors with independent inventors.
Acting as product scouts, they help their client companies grow by finding
new products developed by independent inventors. They are seeking
new inventions ready for licensing in selective product areas that they
represent. They state that there is never a charge to inventors for
submission to them and they spoke on invention from an investor's standpoint,
with emphasis on licensing.
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Disclaimer: This web site is provided for information
purposes and is not legal advice. Anyone seeking legal advice should
contact a lawyer, patent agent or patent attorney. Jurisdiction
is in Massachusetts, USA.
Copyright 2002-2005 Inventors'
Association of New England P.O. Box 335 Lexington, MA 02420-0004