[Fredslist] Fwd: Seth's Blog : Selling ideas to a big company

Mon Dec 15 08:23:14 EST 2008

Seth Godin is a marketing rock star.
This blog post may very well be useful for some Gothamites.

A

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Seth Godin <blogmailfromseth at yahoo.com>
> Date: December 15, 2008 8:11:48 AM EST
> To: amiller <amiller at adrianmiller.com>
> Subject: Seth's Blog : Selling ideas to a big company
> Reply-To: Seth Godin <blogmailfromseth at yahoo.com>
>
> [You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's  
> blog.]
>
> Selling ideas to a big company
>
> I have been selling ideas for a long time, and decided to become a  
> book packager (which I did before doing what I do now) solely  
> because it's an industry that makes it possible to sell ideas.
>
> One project took more than five years (selling Stanley Kaplan on  
> creating a line of test prep books, finding a publisher and then  
> creating them and launching the series) and one book took a day to  
> invent, a day to sell and three days to write. I learned a lot of  
> lessons the hard way--I got 900 rejection letters my first year and  
> sold exactly one project.
>
> Two things have to happen before a big company buys your idea:
>
> 1. They have to be in the business of buying ideas.
>
> The book business buys ideas. The toy industry does, but only  
> through a tiny number of agents. The car industry... hardly ever.  
> Apple doesn't buy ideas, but they don't mind stealing them.
>
> A company that likes buying ideas has a process. They make it  
> relatively straightforward and they have no upside in stealing from  
> you. A company that isn't in that business puts up barriers. They  
> troll around trade shows looking for ideas to take (and there's  
> nothing legally or morally wrong with that, imho).
>
> Years ago, I invented the first fax board for the Mac. Our plan was  
> to build a prototype and then sell the rights to one of the many  
> Mac peripheral companies. The experience was eye opening. We talked  
> with more than a dozen companies and had meetings with more than  
> six. Some companies were clearly professionals at this, others were  
> just fumbling in the dark.
>
> I also invented a version of the wireless music player (sort of a  
> precessor of the Sonos). We spent a lot of money and built a  
> prototype and brought it to various hi-fi companies to license. One  
> of the first stops was Polk Audio, a leading speaker company with  
> direct mail experience looking for growth. It seemed a perfect fit.
>
> We had a nice meeting, but I was sure we were out of luck before it  
> started. To get to their offices, we had to walk through the  
> factory. Polk is basically a furniture company that makes speakers.  
> The entire culture was focused on cutting wood and shaping it into  
> speakers. They had no experience or desire to make an electronic  
> device off shore and market it.
>
> Short summary: if you have an idea for a company that doesn't know  
> how to buy it, move on. And if you want to be in the business of  
> selling ideas, find an industry that has experience buying those  
> ideas.
>
> 2. They have to trust you
>
> This is far bigger than it sounds. Venture capitalists, for  
> example, appear to be in the business of buying ideas. They're not.  
> Far from it. They are in the business of funding entrepreneurs. The  
> ideas are secondary, easy to find, not so important. The  
> entrepreneurs, the ones you can trust to stick it out, to push  
> through the Dip, to tell you the truth, to hire and lead and  
> inspire... that is the scarce resource.
>
> The reason that big companies don't want to hear from you is that  
> they don't trust you. They don't trust you to understand their  
> industry, or to understand implementation. They don't trust your  
> judgment about whether it's a good idea. They don't trust you won't  
> flake out, or sue them, or sell your ideas to multiple parties.
>
> You may be tempted to seek out a middleman, someone they do trust,  
> an idea scout. While I'm sure there are a few reputable people out  
> there, in most industries, they're just scam artists looking to  
> take your money. Again, in the book business it's different, there  
> are reputable agents, they never charge their authors and they all  
> charge about the same commission. But in my experience, there are  
> very few analogues to this in other industries.
>
> So... if you want to be in the business of selling ideas to  
> industry (as opposed to getting that once-in-a-lifetime idea off  
> your chest and cashing out), the thing to do is find an industry,  
> one where you are likely to be trusted, one where you have a sense  
> that they understand how to buy ideas. Invest in that industry,  
> spend time, speak at trade shows, earn your right to credibility.  
> Then, over time, day by day, you'll have the ability to bring them  
> profitable ideas.
>
> Side note: the more complicated your idea is, the better off you  
> are patenting it. Dean Kamen made his fortune patenting wheelchairs  
> and other devices that you and I could never hope to build. On the  
> other hand, if your idea is simple enough to dream up in a week,  
> the only way you're going to protect it is to build it, fast and well.
>
>
>
> • Email to a friend • Related •  •
>
>
>
> More Recent Articles
>
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