The Invention Stories Podcast Episode 44…Phillipa James and Breathing Relief

How many hours have you spent listening to that person roaring away while you lay awake and…becoming ever more frustrated?  Do you find yourself trying to fall asleep before that snoring partner of your does?  You can nudge them but that will only buy you time.  Now you can wear earplugs but you know you shouldn’t.  And sleeping in another room seems to set the course for disaster.  Isn’t it frustrating to get a lousy night of sleep from the snorer keeping you awake half the night only to have them wake up and tell you they had a lousy night of sleep?  Have you tried all the snoring aids on the market only to find they didn’t work for you?

 

Laurie James

Laurie James was the owner of an international car designing company before he retired.  He designed cars such as the Rolls Royce Corniche.  Laurie was also a keen horse and dog racer and won the Derby, which is a large race in the United Kingdom.

Laurie attended technical college in the UK and trained at Fords Motor Company as a product designer. After graduating, Laurie worked in the United States before starting his own company in Germany. Being trained a product designer meant he thought like an engineer and able to ultimately design the Breathing Relief.

Chronic Snoring

Laurie had suffered from chronic snoring for decades. The ending of his second marriage due in large part to it was the final straw and the impetus to find a cure for his debilitating condition.

Laurie had tried everything: two painful operations, a cumbersome and intrusive C-Pap machine and every type of snoring aids available on the market.  Being the experienced car designer as mentioned previously,  he decided to take matters into his own hands and develop a solution.

“I knew the devastating effect that snoring and a lack of sleep could have on my life. And I just wasn’t prepared to rest until I’d found a cure” said Laurie.

Laurie invested eight years of his life and a tremendous sum of money working with specialists to develop a natural cure for his snoring. He collaborated with an ear, nose, throat consultant and a plastic specialist. Finally, Laurie invented a simple, natural and cost effective product that is clinically proven to reduce, and in many cases, stop snoring.

“The Breathing Relief Nasal Dilator cured my snoring naturally” saids Laurie. “My only regret is that I didn’t do something about it sooner.”

 

Phillipa James

Laurie’s daughter Phillipa was inspired by the effectiveness of the Breathing Relief.  When Laurie passed away, Phillipa continued her fathers vision of helping those with breathing/snoring issues lead a happier, healthier life.    Today, she heads up the company marketing and distributing Breathing Relief.   Phillipa is also a partner in a start-up platform for SMEs (small to medium enterprises) that will be launched this year and the Chair of the Dyslexia Association of London.  Breathing Relief  is currently stocked in more than 400 outlets across Europe with more coming online every week.

 

 

Episode 44…Phillipa James and Breathing Relief Recap

Phillipa James joins us on the Invention Stories Podcast from London, England where I begin the interview by asking her what Breathing Relief is.   She says Breathing Relief is a nasal dilator designed to open up your nostrils. It helps you stop snoring by allowing you to breathe easier.

 

Congressional Expo Opportunity

We are actively looking for inventors to show off their disruptive inventions at the Congressional Expo Open House Exhibit March 14th, 2018. So if you are an inventor with an industry disrupting invention or technology and would like to show it off…as well as have the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs, inventors, and elected officials, please reach out to us for more information below.

Congressional Expo Open House

Where: Capitol Hill – Washington D.C.

When: 3:30PM-6:30PM Wednesday March 14th, 2018

The Congressional Expo Open House is being hosted by IEEE-USA and the Inventors Project.

Please include a brief synopsis of the invention/technology you would like to exhibit, And a little bit about yourself. Do you have funding? What stage of development are you currently in? How did you come up with your idea?

Thank you. We look forward to hearing back from you and promoting innovation on Capitol Hill. 

Contact Here

The Inventors Project website has the Congressional Expo Open House Event Information for March 14 (see Events section of http://inventorsproject.org).  To RSVP to attend, people should contact [email protected]

Hello, I’m Robert Bear, host of the Invention Stories Podcast. And I received this information regarding this congressional expo (above) as an email.  At first, I thought this is a great opportunity for inventors to get some great exposure for their invention.  So I began researching the Inventors Project, including interviewing one of their co-founders, James Edwards.  I’ve learned they fight for the rights of inventors.  Now, more than ever, I believe our leaders need to hear from the Invention Community!

 

The Inventors Project

Inventors depend on strong intellectual property laws to defend their innovations- create jobs- and secure investors. So the Inventor’s Project was created to help protect those laws through education.  Furthermore, the Inventors Project’s co-directors are James Edwards and Charles Sauer.

 

 

James Edwards, CEO

ELITE Strategic Services

James Edwards advises companies, associations, and organizations on intellectual property and other policy and business matters. An entrepreneur, Edwards co-founded a public affairs firm, where he built a successful consulting practice, as well as founding his current consultancy. Most Noteworthy, James served as an association executive at the respected Healthcare Leadership Council, and spent five years on U.S. Senate and the U.S. House staffs, as well as Special Assistant at the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has advised, led, founded, or mentored more than 50 companies and organizations.

 

Charles Sauer, President

Market Institute LLC

Charles is an economist and policy specialist. He has spent time on Capitol Hill, with a Governor, an academic think tank, and now as an entrepreneur as President of the Market Institute LLC. He has been published on Entrepreneur.com, Fox Business, the Daily Caller,

Congressional Expo Opportunity

We are actively looking for inventors to show off their disruptive inventions at the Congressional Expo Open House Exhibit March 14th, 2018. So if you are an inventor with an industry disrupting invention or technology and would like to show it off…as well as have the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs, inventors, and elected officials, please reach out to us for more information below.

Congressional Expo Open House

Where: Capitol Hill – Washington D.C.

When: 3:30PM-6:30PM Wednesday March 14th, 2018

The Congressional Expo Open House is being hosted by IEEE-USA and the Inventors Project.

Please include a brief synopsis of the invention/technology you would like to exhibit, And a little bit about yourself. Do you have funding? What stage of development are you currently in? How did you come up with your idea?

Thank you. We look forward to hearing back from you and promoting innovation on Capitol Hill. 

Contact Here

The Inventors Project website has the Congressional Expo Open House Event Information for March 14 (see Events section of http://inventorsproject.org).  To RSVP to attend, people should contact [email protected]

Hello, I’m Robert Bear, host of the Invention Stories Podcast. And I received this information regarding this congressional expo (above) as an email.  At first, I thought this is a great opportunity for inventors to get some great exposure for their invention.  So I began researching the Inventors Project, including interviewing one of their co-founders, James Edwards.  I’ve learned they fight for the rights of inventors.  Now, more than ever, I believe our leaders need to hear from the Invention Community!

 

The Inventors Project

Inventors depend on strong intellectual property laws to defend their innovations- create jobs- and secure investors. So the Inventor’s Project was created to help protect those laws through education.  Furthermore, the Inventors Project’s co-directors are James Edwards and Charles Sauer.

 

 

James Edwards, CEO

ELITE Strategic Services

James Edwards advises companies, associations, and organizations on intellectual property and other policy and business matters. An entrepreneur, Edwards co-founded a public affairs firm, where he built a successful consulting practice, as well as founding his current consultancy. Most Noteworthy, James served as an association executive at the respected Healthcare Leadership Council, and spent five years on U.S. Senate and the U.S. House staffs, as well as Special Assistant at the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has advised, led, founded, or mentored more than 50 companies and organizations.

 

Charles Sauer, President

Market Institute LLC

Charles is an economist and policy specialist. He has spent time on Capitol Hill, with a Governor, an academic think tank, and now as an entrepreneur as President of the Market Institute LLC. He has been published on Entrepreneur.com, Fox Business, the Daily Caller,

One Million Dollars

Leslie Adami invented the Shoe In.  She never sold a single unit.  Leslie Adami sold her patent to a sold to a large mid-western industrial boot/shoe company for One Million Dollars. We invite you to listen to this episode of the Invention Stories Podcast to learn how.

 

Buy the Shoe In

Buy the Shoe In

 

 

The Invention Stories Podcast Episode 42 Recap:

Leslie Adami grew up as a tomboy.  She loved playing sports and didn’t get into inventing until much later.  Leslie has always been a very creative thinker.

Leslie attended Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia.  She was a pretty good student but felt she could’ve done better had she stayed more focused.  Leslie was a liberal arts major who believed that fate would become her destiny.

Leslie owned the Forerunner Ski Shop with her then husband for 20 years. There were 10 other ski shops in the area but the competition wasn’t fierce.  Each ski shopped develop their own niche.  The Forerunner Ski Shop was known for selling clothing from Europe.

Inventing

One day while skiing, Leslie was eating lunch and noticed every table was filled with gear the skiers had removed so they could eat.  She believed there had to be a better way.  So Leslie designed a mesh bag that was able to clip on pretty much any chair.  This would allow you to put your glasses, goggles, hat, gloves, scarf, etc. in them instead of on the table while you ate.  She sold a few hundred but the idea just sort of fizzled out.

 

 

One Million Dollar Idea

Living in Vermont can be very harsh.  Every time Leslie needed to go grocery shopping or get the mail she would have to change her footwear. She felt for a variety of reasons that this process should be improved.  It was especially frustrating removing your shoes in mud and snow.

The Shoe In was her answer.  She designed it to clip on your existing footwear.  This would allow your shoes stay to remain on warmly your feet.  She created  open toes , close toes , and a spike version (for ice).

 three separate versions.  You just set your shoe into the Shoe In.  This allowed you to clip into the Shoe In. No hands required. No Velcro required and nothing to tie. Just Kick and kick out.

Leslie believes that dollar stores are a great place to find material for your prototype.  She developed 4 different sizes for her Shoe In.  So there is no left, no right…The Shoe Ins fits either foot.

Leslie shared some of the challenges she faced during patent process.  When her patent paperwork was completer, she had an uneasy feeling.  Acting on her instincts, she sought advice from a more established patent attorney.  The paperwork that she filled out she thought was too ambiguous. So she ended up having her patent paperwork re-written more...

One Million Dollars

Leslie Adami invented the Shoe In.  She never sold a single unit.  Leslie Adami sold her patent to a sold to a large mid-western industrial boot/shoe company for One Million Dollars. We invite you to listen to this episode of the Invention Stories Podcast to learn how.

 

Buy the Shoe In

Buy the Shoe In

 

 

The Invention Stories Podcast Episode 42 Recap:

Leslie Adami grew up as a tomboy.  She loved playing sports and didn’t get into inventing until much later.  Leslie has always been a very creative thinker.

Leslie attended Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia.  She was a pretty good student but felt she could’ve done better had she stayed more focused.  Leslie was a liberal arts major who believed that fate would become her destiny.

Leslie owned the Forerunner Ski Shop with her then husband for 20 years. There were 10 other ski shops in the area but the competition wasn’t fierce.  Each ski shopped develop their own niche.  The Forerunner Ski Shop was known for selling clothing from Europe.

Inventing

One day while skiing, Leslie was eating lunch and noticed every table was filled with gear the skiers had removed so they could eat.  She believed there had to be a better way.  So Leslie designed a mesh bag that was able to clip on pretty much any chair.  This would allow you to put your glasses, goggles, hat, gloves, scarf, etc. in them instead of on the table while you ate.  She sold a few hundred but the idea just sort of fizzled out.

 

 

One Million Dollar Idea

Living in Vermont can be very harsh.  Every time Leslie needed to go grocery shopping or get the mail she would have to change her footwear. She felt for a variety of reasons that this process should be improved.  It was especially frustrating removing your shoes in mud and snow.

The Shoe In was her answer.  She designed it to clip on your existing footwear.  This would allow your shoes stay to remain on warmly your feet.  She created  open toes , close toes , and a spike version (for ice).

 three separate versions.  You just set your shoe into the Shoe In.  This allowed you to clip into the Shoe In. No hands required. No Velcro required and nothing to tie. Just Kick and kick out.

Leslie believes that dollar stores are a great place to find material for your prototype.  She developed 4 different sizes for her Shoe In.  So there is no left, no right…The Shoe Ins fits either foot.

Leslie shared some of the challenges she faced during patent process.  When her patent paperwork was completer, she had an uneasy feeling.  Acting on her instincts, she sought advice from a more established patent attorney.  The paperwork that she filled out she thought was too ambiguous. So she ended up having her patent paperwork re-written more...

Colin Grussing…RootSuit and 52businesses

Colin Grussing is nationally recognized as an entrepreneurial whiz with appearances on NBC’s Shark Tank, Fox and Friends and Fox Business News.   He has launched 5 successful startups and has made several strategic real estate investments.

Colin Grussing has earned a mechanical engineering degree from Yale.  And selling his green man suits online ignited his passion for the entrepreneurship. So Colin is a successful, self-starting expert in bootstrapping startups.

Following the success of BeGreenMan.com, Colin founded 52 Businesses to start a business each week for a year.  His goal was to demonstrate the boostrapping startup process to prove the accessibility of entrepreneurship.

Colin Grussing is seen regularly hanging out on Bob (a.k.a. the 52 Businesses Operations Bus) speaking at Tech or Entrepreneurial conferences and universities and contributing to industry publications such as PolicyMic and theSilicon Bayou News.

 

Invention Stories Podcast Episode 41 Recap

Colin Grussing shares that he was born in Los Angeles, California to parents who were artists.  Their family spent six months selling their art while driving across America and wound up in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Colin has an engineering mindset who as a youth, enjoyed pulling apart his grandmothers television to see how it worked.  Unfortunately, he was unable to put it back together.

 

Colin was attending Yale when Hurricane Katrina hit and shares how New Orleans has changes for the better, however more work needs to be done.  He shared why he choose Yale, how it felt like a small college, and had a great option for taking classes.  Colin has always been a confident person so the challenges of attending this ivy league school didn’t intimidate him.

 

BeGreenMan.com and the Root Suit

 

Colin Grussing shares the story behind BeGreenMan.com and the Root Suit.  He tried to find a green man spandex suit to purchase for a friend and didn’t find one.  Colin shares how he built the first website and how he managed to reach the top of the google results for green suit.  He started creating other root suit options and as of today, has sold over 60,000 units.

 

Colin decided on a manufacture by entering Spandex Body Suit Manufactures on Alibaba.  He shares some of the problems and tips for communicating better with overseas manufactures.  Initially, he had the Root Suits manufactured in the US, but determined the best factories with the best prices are in China.

I asked him why he didn’t patent the Root Suit.  Colin believes in being first to market rather than spending the time and money on the patent.  This allows him to spend more time on other ideas.

 

Shark Tank

Colin was a contestants whose episode was interrupted by a commercial which he believes gaves his Root Suit even more exposure.  He share how a friend encouraged him to watch Shark Tank and really like it.  So he reached out to become a contestant and they invited him.

 

52businesses

 

Colin would have friends ask his advice on how to start a business.  His advice was not to quit your day job until you validate it.  He believes he could validate any business within 5 days.  Colin is a brainstormer and when an idea for a business comes to him, he writes it down.  He has stored over 300 businesses on his list and has them ranked best to worst.  When Colin first thought about starting a business a week for 52 week, he thought he would use only his own ideas.  The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to help other people start theirs.

Below is the list of 52businesses he started.

We would like to thank Colin Grussing for allowing us to interview him on the Invention Stories Podcast.  We invite you to listen,

Colin Grussing…RootSuit and 52businesses

Colin Grussing is nationally recognized as an entrepreneurial whiz with appearances on NBC’s Shark Tank, Fox and Friends and Fox Business News.   He has launched 5 successful startups and has made several strategic real estate investments.

Colin Grussing has earned a mechanical engineering degree from Yale.  And selling his green man suits online ignited his passion for the entrepreneurship. So Colin is a successful, self-starting expert in bootstrapping startups.

Following the success of BeGreenMan.com, Colin founded 52 Businesses to start a business each week for a year.  His goal was to demonstrate the boostrapping startup process to prove the accessibility of entrepreneurship.

Colin Grussing is seen regularly hanging out on Bob (a.k.a. the 52 Businesses Operations Bus) speaking at Tech or Entrepreneurial conferences and universities and contributing to industry publications such as PolicyMic and theSilicon Bayou News.

 

Invention Stories Podcast Episode 41 Recap

Colin Grussing shares that he was born in Los Angeles, California to parents who were artists.  Their family spent six months selling their art while driving across America and wound up in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Colin has an engineering mindset who as a youth, enjoyed pulling apart his grandmothers television to see how it worked.  Unfortunately, he was unable to put it back together.

 

Colin was attending Yale when Hurricane Katrina hit and shares how New Orleans has changes for the better, however more work needs to be done.  He shared why he choose Yale, how it felt like a small college, and had a great option for taking classes.  Colin has always been a confident person so the challenges of attending this ivy league school didn’t intimidate him.

 

BeGreenMan.com and the Root Suit

 

Colin Grussing shares the story behind BeGreenMan.com and the Root Suit.  He tried to find a green man spandex suit to purchase for a friend and didn’t find one.  Colin shares how he built the first website and how he managed to reach the top of the google results for green suit.  He started creating other root suit options and as of today, has sold over 60,000 units.

 

Colin decided on a manufacture by entering Spandex Body Suit Manufactures on Alibaba.  He shares some of the problems and tips for communicating better with overseas manufactures.  Initially, he had the Root Suits manufactured in the US, but determined the best factories with the best prices are in China.

I asked him why he didn’t patent the Root Suit.  Colin believes in being first to market rather than spending the time and money on the patent.  This allows him to spend more time on other ideas.

 

Shark Tank

Colin was a contestants whose episode was interrupted by a commercial which he believes gaves his Root Suit even more exposure.  He share how a friend encouraged him to watch Shark Tank and really like it.  So he reached out to become a contestant and they invited him.

 

52businesses

 

Colin would have friends ask his advice on how to start a business.  His advice was not to quit your day job until you validate it.  He believes he could validate any business within 5 days.  Colin is a brainstormer and when an idea for a business comes to him, he writes it down.  He has stored over 300 businesses on his list and has them ranked best to worst.  When Colin first thought about starting a business a week for 52 week, he thought he would use only his own ideas.  The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to help other people start theirs.

Below is the list of 52businesses he started.

We would like to thank Colin Grussing for allowing us to interview him on the Invention Stories Podcast.  We invite you to listen,

Immersive Reality…Aris MD uses a patent-pending Augmented and Virtual Reality system to help bring medicine into the 21st century.

Aris MD an immersive reality company using virtual and augmented reality technology to enhance surgery, avoid complications, and save lives. They are using diagnostic images (MRI, CT, Xray, Ultrasound) and overlaying them over the patient, during surgery. This gives the surgeon a guided map of the patients anatomy and  pathology or injury. This shows the surgeon where not to cut and, more importantly, where to cut.

Every person’s anatomy differs on the outside and the inside. My heart and liver are not located exactly where your heart and liver are located. The surgeon has a general idea of where your main organs and arteries are, but not exactly. This leads to complications and avoidable death. With the Aris MD immersive reality map, they know exactly where they are going by looking at you. This saves time the patient spends in the OR under anesthetic, and saves lives.

The Aris MD Immersive Reality System allows…

The Aris MD immersive reality system allows the surgeon to practice performing the surgery in virtual space. A doctor has the ability to performed a practice surgery in virtual space as many times as they need to in order to feel confident before they operate. It’s also a great tool for medical students and residents.

The Aris MD immersive reality technology also provides a diagnostic component that radiologists can use before surgery. An MRI, for example, is taken in 3D space and then converted into 2D and viewed in slices. It’s better for physicians to view it in 3D where they can see the true shape and size and depth of a tumor or other pathology.

Aris MD’s  immersive reality is helping improve the efficiency and accuracy through every step of the process, from initial diagnosis to the surgical intervention.

5 Aris MD Links

First of all…Aris MD Inc. | LinkedIn

In addition…Aris MD (@ArisMDinc) | Twitter

Another…Aris MD Inc. | Crunchbase

Most Noteable…Aris MD – CB Insights

Finally…Aris Md Inc inventors nm2.php patents list (updated weekly)

 

About the Founders

Chandra Devam

Chandra Devam is a visionary.   Her out-of-the-box thinking and ambitious ideas push the boundaries of what’s possible. And she has a passion for innovating. Within her she has a flamboyant creativity, married to a simple practicality that allows her to think big and solve large puzzles. She has a passion to create and build new things the world needs in a different way.Chandra’s been an entrepreneur in a way that challenges her and the people around. She leads without having to ask.

Work Experience

Aris MD Inc.

CEO

March 2015-Present

 

3 Point Development

Project Manager

Jan 2011- Aug 2015

Project Management, Client Relations, Employee Relations

 

Microsoft

Xbox Marketing

Sep 2004- Jul 2007

 

TELUS

Communications

Jan 2002- June 2004

 

 

 

 

 

Immersive Reality…Aris MD uses a patent-pending Augmented and Virtual Reality system to help bring medicine into the 21st century.

Aris MD an immersive reality company using virtual and augmented reality technology to enhance surgery, avoid complications, and save lives. They are using diagnostic images (MRI, CT, Xray, Ultrasound) and overlaying them over the patient, during surgery. This gives the surgeon a guided map of the patients anatomy and  pathology or injury. This shows the surgeon where not to cut and, more importantly, where to cut.

Every person’s anatomy differs on the outside and the inside. My heart and liver are not located exactly where your heart and liver are located. The surgeon has a general idea of where your main organs and arteries are, but not exactly. This leads to complications and avoidable death. With the Aris MD immersive reality map, they know exactly where they are going by looking at you. This saves time the patient spends in the OR under anesthetic, and saves lives.

The Aris MD Immersive Reality System allows…

The Aris MD immersive reality system allows the surgeon to practice performing the surgery in virtual space. A doctor has the ability to performed a practice surgery in virtual space as many times as they need to in order to feel confident before they operate. It’s also a great tool for medical students and residents.

The Aris MD immersive reality technology also provides a diagnostic component that radiologists can use before surgery. An MRI, for example, is taken in 3D space and then converted into 2D and viewed in slices. It’s better for physicians to view it in 3D where they can see the true shape and size and depth of a tumor or other pathology.

Aris MD’s  immersive reality is helping improve the efficiency and accuracy through every step of the process, from initial diagnosis to the surgical intervention.

5 Aris MD Links

First of all…Aris MD Inc. | LinkedIn

In addition…Aris MD (@ArisMDinc) | Twitter

Another…Aris MD Inc. | Crunchbase

Most Noteable…Aris MD – CB Insights

Finally…Aris Md Inc inventors nm2.php patents list (updated weekly)

 

About the Founders

Chandra Devam

Chandra Devam is a visionary.   Her out-of-the-box thinking and ambitious ideas push the boundaries of what’s possible. And she has a passion for innovating. Within her she has a flamboyant creativity, married to a simple practicality that allows her to think big and solve large puzzles. She has a passion to create and build new things the world needs in a different way.Chandra’s been an entrepreneur in a way that challenges her and the people around. She leads without having to ask.

Work Experience

Aris MD Inc.

CEO

March 2015-Present

 

3 Point Development

Project Manager

Jan 2011- Aug 2015

Project Management, Client Relations, Employee Relations

 

Microsoft

Xbox Marketing

Sep 2004- Jul 2007

 

TELUS

Communications

Jan 2002- June 2004

 

 

 

 

 

Freelance Inventor, Louise White been an award-winning Industrial Designer for over eighteen years.  She specializes in plush toys, plastic toys, fabrics, and accessories for the infant – teen market. So Louise has designed individual products and entire lines for some of the biggest companies in the industry including; Toys R Us, International Playthings, Rashti & Rashti, Bestever, Alex Toys, Ohio Art, Mary Meyer, Brainy Baby, Dolly, Summer Infant, Infantino, Kids II, Prestige Toy, Goody Products, Crown Craft, Sassy, and many others. Her “Taggies” product line for International Playthings was a highly successful and lucrative license.

Louise White has been the President and Head Designer at Me First! Designs since launching it in 1998.  Her designs have earned more than twenty awards including the prestigious Oppenheim Best Toy award, the Dr. Toy Best Toy award, and the Parenting Media award. Louise designs have also been featured in numerous publications and she is considered among the elite in her field.

The Invention Stories Podcast Episode 39 Recap

We are often contacted by inventors on how to become a successful freelance inventor.  Louise White has made a career of being a freelance inventor/designer.  So she has spent nearly 20 years working as a freelance inventor, developing products from ideas. And that is why we contacted Louise to interview on the Invention Stories Podcast.

Freelance Inventor…

We started off by asking Louise about the recent Toy-R-US struggles, it didn’t catch her off guard.  One day while presenting some ideas them, she learned of the layoffs.  Louise believes that Toys-R-Us will rebound but they will still need to learn to compete with Amazon.  She shares her ideas on how they can do just that.

As a Result

As a child, Louise wanted to be an artist.  Her parents were teachers, so higher education was encouraged.  They also collected antique toys that fascinated her.  Louise learned about industrial design and choose to attend the Pratt Institute in New York City.  She shares the details of some of her assignments.  Her father drove her to college each day and has been an integral part of her success.  Louise’s father has a mechanical engineering mind and they work together on her freelance invention today.

So…

So Louise has a freelance inventor mindset. Meaning that everywhere she goes if she sees something that does work efficiently, she imagines how to fix it.  I have spoken with many inventors who think the same way, it’s very common.  In fact, they HAVE to imagine the improvement, it’s not an option.

Working In-House

So Louise shares how she ended up working at Prestige Toys and what she learned there.  So she found out quickly that she didn’t want to work in-house.  Louise likes the freedom that comes with being a freelance inventor and shares the pros and cons.   Being a freelance inventor, her design can end up being modified, occasionally for the better but sometime for the worse.

Would Rather Work in Partnership

Louise prefers to work in partnership with another inventor.  She believes two minds can create a better product.  So having been burned by companies who stole her idea she shares her theory behind partnerships.  There are “quality” companies she prefers to work with and Louise happily shares her best ideas with.

Rather Recieve a Royalty

I talked with her about how she is being paid.  So Louise enjoys receiving a royalty agreements with an advancement.  Some companies only give royalty agreements and that can be risky.  Other companies pay you and you’re done.