In the product development game, make smart moves to find a new direction
By Jon Capriola
Editor’s note: First Person is an occasional series of stories from inventors, written by inventors
I’ve often said life is a lot like a game of chess, but in life you don’t necessarily wait for your opponent to make a move. Time is always moving and sooner or later it seems to put you in checkmate.
I was too busy waking up and going to a job that was passionless, much less rewarding financially, and listening to a micromanager week in and week out. It wasn’t at all what I saw myself doing and I began to feel like I reached my checkmate status at a very early age in my career.
I was faced with a dilemma. I didn’t like what I was doing, and I really didn’t like who I was doing it for, but I didn’t really know what I was good at or what gave me passion. All I knew was, like many others in my shoes, I had bills to pay and I wanted to take a vacation now and then.
The dollar lottery ticket wasn’t doing anything for me, but it was satisfying my weekly need of “What if?” I do believe that need is important to have and continually satisfy. Deep down I felt there would be nothing like creating an opportunity and thinking, “What if?” It’s funny how sometimes life directs you into a calling.
Back in early 2002, my girlfriend, who is now my wife, had recurring headaches. If she didn’t have at least three headaches a week, something did not seem right.
One day I was tired of my job situation and my girlfriend’s headaches and I suddenly remembered something from my childhood. There were times when my mother was at work and no one was around and I would get a migraine headache.
When I pushed in on my head with my hands the pressure felt great, so I decided to tie two tube socks in knots and wrap them around my head for a hands-free natural headache remedy.
The pressure of the socks would ease the pain of the headache instantly. I have this flashback, but now I’m in Florida and I need to find some tube socks. I dig through my ski stuff and sure enough I find a pair. I quickly tie them in a knot and wrap them around her head.
She loved it, but she said the knots dug into her head. I instinctively grabbed my wallet and ran out to Joanne Fabrics with a goal…to come back with a product that would ease the pain in her head and the pain in my life!
At the store I saw some flat elastic materials about two inches wide that stretched and would pop right back. I didn’t really care about the purpose of the material. I just knew it would work for my design. I also knew if I could sew some fleece material around it, it would be more comfortable.
I bought the materials and broke out our sewing machine that was purchased for a quarter at a garage sale and sewed up the prototype of what is now known as the Headache Relief Band.
I remember finishing it, with strings still hanging off from my first-time sewing job, and giving it to my girlfriend, telling her to just wrap it around her head. She did and then looked at me and said, “If this were a product, you would be a millionaire!”
Eureka! I instantly thought “What if?”
Although my first invention was a total accident, I believe real innovation comes from solving problems. On the other hand, some of the coolest innovations came from inventors applying their artistic talents.
For example, the Rubik’s cube didn’t solve any problem. If anything, it created one. And it went on to sell millions of units and became an iconic toy.
When I was working two jobs, I did one for the money even though I couldn’t stand it. The other one, which wasn’t really what I wanted to do in life, offered me a touch of “What if?”
But it was still a dilemma for me. I believe a situation like this is where many of us fail to see what truly matters. We work for money rather than self-fulfillment. In hindsight, it’s easy for me to say this. After all, money is a necessity and self-fulfillment is typically put on the back burner so we can pay the bills. Regardless, self-fulfillment, when achieved, is worth far more than any dollar amount.
So once my girlfriend was settled down, I ran off to my computer and started researching. When I found nothing even remotely close to my prototype, I discovered I was an inventor.
That was just the beginning, because my story got to be like the game of chess. When you don’t know how to play the game, you will be in checkmate after several moves…and I found myself in checkmate a lot.
The iPhone has a chess game app that allows you to ask the computer for the next best move and it shows you your best option. I wish I had that kind of advice going through the invention process.
After being denied a patent for my new million-dollar idea, I still went ahead and made the item for mass production.
But I realized soon after receipt of my first order from the factory that the bar code on the packaging was typed incorrectly. I then went from tradeshow to tradeshow being sampled to death.
After a major pharmaceutical company robbed me of my trademark and after I had spent tens of thousands of dollars on marketing, patents, trademarks, package design, and inventory, I decided to move on to another idea.
Even though the Headache Relief Band was my first invention, it was still profitable and enabled me to quit my job.
Despite the frustration, I knew this was my calling and the journey began. Although it is not always a pleasant ride, it has given me a sense of self worth.
I became a serial inventor and eventually came up with Laser Laces, the world’s only fiber optic shoelaces; the cell call blocker, a software application that works with Windows cell phones to block callers; and Laser Hats.
With these experiences I was able to write a book, Making Ideas A Reality, a step-by-step guide for inventors and entrepreneurs. I made just about every mistake known to man, but through those trials I realized that there is a disciplined process or phased approach that needs to be followed to achieve anything worth having.
I outlined the process and drew a road map for others that have a “What if?” calling.
My latest product, Laser Pegs, took first place in two national award programs and major retailers are reviewing the item as of this writing.
It is sold nationally and in some catalogs with a total circulation of 50 million. I am proud of my tenacity. I stuck with my calling because I clearly saw rewards. It literally makes me pop out of bed and say to myself, “I can’t wait to go do more!”
Don’t let time run out and place you in a checkmate status. Before you allow that to happen, make your idea reward you again and again. You just may enjoy the journey it requires and find your calling as well!
