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 Originally Posted by nomofoshobro
congrats on starting a business. hope it works out.
couple of things i haven't seen mentioned here.....not necessarily suggestions, but maybe things to think about.
1. have you patented it?
2. have you ever thought about selling this idea to a large company that can mass produce it? your agreement as inventor could be to receive royalties from every unit sold. you'd never have to work again! 
3. have you thought about getting a booth at a any combination of computer/gaming/toy fair?
naturally, these would all incur costs. #1 is very important, i think. #2 would allow the product to reach a huge audience. not necessary of course, but just wondering if you guys had thought about it. #3 is all marketing and getting the word out. i would bet that after one of these fairs you would have to hire people to help you meet demand.
good luck!
1) No we have not patented it. It really isn't worth it in this day and age. The whole patenting system is really flawed, and it wouldn't be worth investing $8,000+. However, we are taking the provisional patent approach. What a provisional patent does, is basically gives you first rights to your idea if you do infact want to patent it. Say you want to see if your invention will even sell, you can file for a provisional patent (which costs somewhere around $80 - $150). This can not stop other people from creating your invention during this period, however once the year is over you are the only one that can file for an actual patent. It would make companies not want to invest time/money with your idea if they know they will never be able to have the rights. Plus, even if a big corporation did want to take over our idea, how could we stop them? Pay the hundreds of thousands (and in some case millions) of dollars in lawyer/legal fees to sue them? This is why many people believe that unless your idea can gain millions+, a patent isn't even a +ev investment.
2) Yes we have, and this is our ultimate goal. Anything that will create a passive flow of income so we do not have to be there to work, will be great. Currently we are a small business and want to someday venture into a big business. I've read stories of the guy that invented the super soaker. He did the royalties approach and thought "hey this might be a nice side income." That was until he had made over $1 mil and realized it was more than just that! We are currently looking into different manufacturers around the US (they're getting slimmer) and trying to work out deals with popular distributors around the world. Until we feel this can be reached, the sweat shop will live on!
3) Yes, we have a listing of the most popular gaming/computer conventions in the nation and we plan on attending 4-5 this year. Back before our product was set in stone we went to one in Texas back in August, without a booth. We were also suppose to attent the International CES in January, but as things came up and delays happened; we never went.
I really appreciate your interest and kind wishes! This post actually is just a little longer than I expected it to be. Just starting to become a little more excited as the orders are starting to come in!
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The business is starting!! (With pics)
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