I’ve probably seen at least a hundred inventors come into my practice with their new invention, mumbling apologies about their creation and how it’s probably a a waste of everyone’s time to even try to patent. A lot of people think that they need to have invented a "cure for cancer" or come up with a Flux Capacitor (for you Back to the Future fans out there). Nothing can be further from the truth.In this post series, I’m looking at specific inventors whose “small” ideas netted them literal fortunes!
Name: Tara Brown
Annual Sales: over 30 Million/year.
Notable Invention: The Sleep Styler - a hair styling product that allows you to style your hair as the name suggest --> while you sleep!
Interesting Facts: Tara Brown conceived the idea for the Sleep Styler while helping her young daughter pull out the braids in which the child had slept the night before. Her concept was featured on the hit TV series Shark Tank, and set a record for the shortest time from presentation to deal in the show's history to that time. Investor Lori Greiner helped catapult the Sleep Styler from $75,000 in annual sales to a whopping $45 million, in exchange for a 25% stake in Brown's company. Brown is also an opthamologist and mother of two.
How quick did her sales rise? Interestingly enough, the first week after her appearance on Shark Tank aired in March 2017, her sales went from $70,000 to over $3 million and they kept increasing to eventually reach over $30 million/year and there is no sign of slowing down.
While her business acumen is often admired, us patent attorneys cannot help but be impressed at her keen understanding of patents and the important role they play in commercializing a new idea.
She was very wise to have obtained her patent and to have done so well before her going public with the idea on Shark Tank. The United States has moved to a 100% "first to file" system and it is critical that inventors move to file their patent first if they want any chance at securing rights to their intellectual property.
Be sure to come back next week for another inventor profile.
About the Author
John Rizvi is a Registered and Board Certified Patent Attorney, Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property Law, best-selling author, and featured speaker on topics of interest to inventors and entrepreneurs (including TEDx).
His books include "Escaping the Gray" and "Think and Grow Rich for Inventors" and have won critical acclaim including an endorsem*nt from Kevin Harrington, one of the original sharks on the hit TV show - Shark Tank, responsible for the successful launch of over 500 products resulting in more than $5 billion in sales worldwide. You can learn more about Professor Rizvi his patent law practice at www.ThePatentProfessor.com
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