Entrepreneur's Toolkit: Inventing Your Business

Inventors see the world in a different way, but sometimes they’re so focused on their innovations that business fundamentals and good old-fashioned common sense gets lost in the shuffle. Edward Caner, executive director of the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program at Case Western Reserve University, offers his advice on avoiding some common inventor pitfalls.

Make sure your product works. Yes, this seems obvious, but Caner says he’s seen companies build and sell products that attempt to defy science and ultimately end up failing. “You can’t fix physics,” he says.

Don’t always listen to the customer. “The best market researchers don’t take their customers at their word,” Caner says. There’s a big difference between telling you they like your product and translating that into actual sales, Caner cautions. Don’t just listen to a customer who might be trying to be nice, but research the market, find the need and prove it before investing large amounts of money in a new product.

Be realistic. “Some inventors are so caught up in their inventions that they’re like kids in rock bands that see themselves on a big stage before ever getting up on a bar stage,” Caner says. Don’t fall in love with your invention without first asking what value is added or what your product really saves a customer. Caner says a true breakthrough will give 10 times the performance for one-tenth of the cost.