How to Sell an Idea: Contact BIG Companies the RIGHT Way

If you're struggling to get your product idea in front of big companies, this video is for you! Join Stephen Key and Dana Knowles as they share essential strategies for breaking through the barriers and getting your foot in the door with large corporations. Learn the secrets of navigating gatekeepers, building relationships, and crafting the perfect message to grab the attention of decision-makers.

New to the licensing business model? Educate yourself first.

*About Stephen Key, inventRight Cofounder*

Stephen Key is an award-winning inventor, renowned intellectual property strategist, lifelong entrepreneur, author, speaker, and columnist. He has over 20 patents in his name. The dozens of concepts he has brought to market have retailed in Walmart, 7- Eleven, and Disney stores and parks worldwide and been endorsed by Michael Jordan, Alex, Trebek, and Taylor Swift. He has defended his patents in federal court against the largest toy company in the world, Lego.

In 1999 he cofounded inventRight with inventor Andrew Krauss to teach others his unique process of harnessing the power of open innovation in the licensing business model. His best-selling book about how to license an idea, One Simple Idea by McGraw-Hill, has been translated into six languages.

He has spoken at Stanford University, Florida State University, the University of Michigan, UC Merced, the USPTO, World IP Forum, University of the Pacific, Cal State Fullerton, Washington University in St. Louis, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, the Economic Development Agency for Northern Ireland, and many more. He has written five books related to product licensing and intellectual property and is a longtime contributor to Forbes and Inc.

From 2018-2019, he was honored to serve as an American Association for the Advancement of Science-Lemelson Invention Ambassador.

In 2021, Mojo Nation named him as one of the 100 most influential people working in the toy and game industry.

In 2022, World IP Forum named him a “Most Influential and Inspiring Leader Of All Time.”

*About Andrew Krauss, inventRight Cofounder*

Andrew Krauss is an expert on licensing products ideas for passive income. He has been helping creative people bring their concepts to market with less risk and more success for 25 years as a cofounder of inventRight.

During his tenure as president, he grew the Bay Area Inventors’ Alliance group into one of the most active and well-established inventor associations in the country. In addition to advising the White House on innovation, he has been featured as a speaker at USPTO conferences and on NPR’s Science Friday.

*About inventRightTV*

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inventRight, LLC. is not a law firm and does not provide legal, patent, trademark, or copyright advice. Please exercise caution when evaluating any information, including but not limited to business opportunities; links to news stories; links to services, products, or other websites. No endorsements are issued by inventRight, LLC., expressed or implied. Depiction of any trademarks/logos does not represent endorsement of inventRight, LLC, its services, or products by the trademark owner. All trademarks are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Reference on this video to any specific commercial products, process, service, manufacturer, company, or trademark does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by inventRight, LLC or its hosts. This video may contain links to external websites that are not provided or maintained by or in any way affiliated with inventRight, LLC. Please note that the inventRight LLC. does not guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any information on these external websites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

[inventRight]

Need Help?
Speak with Stephen or Andrew:

[hildaawad]

Joining InventRight in 2017 was one of the best decisions I’ve made on my licensing journey. As a student, your family, and they’re just a phone call away! A great group of people ❤

[MichaelHoyt-sy]

Hi! You just emailed me the Dana Knowles segment….
Your podcasts are ALWAYS gold…. But this one is Platinum!🙀
Thank you!
One day I’ll be able to afford Gateway. (I’ve been waiting a long time) but one of these days….

[nameerlatef]

You always lift our spirits and work to turn the dream into reality. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[bevc]

Dana, you and inventRight totally rock ! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and your strategies!

[RS-hqjy]

I contacted your company for help spoke to Dana and was eventually told we don't deal with Tech at all, now I hear tech tron.😮

[RobertHinsley]

Thank you for this invaluable information! When applying for an LLC Business License, what category would us inventors choose?

[SheilaMink-ct]

Thank you for your wonderfully helpful video. I hope everyone is having a great day. Sheila Mink in New Mexico

[Xoroxouselric]

It's weird that companies want open-innovation, but then don't want to deal with new inventors. I understand the whole being annoyed of having to deal with new people learning how the industry works, but everyone starts somewhere.

[AutomationGroup]

I have a question that maybe has nothing to do with the topic of this video, but what percentage of the retail price is the wholesale price on kitchen products typically?

[jonmichaelroberts]

Wow, as much as I like inventright I was skeptical about gateways true value. This video is priceless! Question though, I thought some of those categories like tools aren’t great to invent in?
Okay, now to listen to the whole thing again it was so inspiring.

[KevinCarly]

Great video, keep up the good work! A topic for a video that would be really helpful to me: After you get an opportunity for a licensing deal, and they are ready to draw-up the paperwork for the deal, what should we be looking for in specifics in that deal so we don't get screwed-over. (minimum guarantees? percentage for the royalties? how many years the deal is for? exclusivity? signing bonus? dangerous fine-print to lookout for? stuff like that :) also - If I got a licensing deal offer, would I have time to look it over and analyze it for a day or two, or do they want you to sign right then and there immediately like on shark tank lol. Does your business offer services to look-over a potential licensing agreement to see if it's a good or bad deal potentially? Cheers!

[ChrisSaldana-ljsh]

this lady, ABSOLUTE LEGEND. where's HER

[WE_R_DNA]

It's difficult when I'm a single parent, on a strict budget, have prototypes for a handful of ideas, and everyone is asking you to spend thousands of dollars to "help you out." I don't have a second income to lean on for help. Are there any companies who help on contingency bases?

[jonathanmitchell]

12:31 14:39 15:27 17:11 18:28 400 & Growing🤑Can you please put a list of all the logos on your website. Nerf?

[andreasangalli]

I have an idea involving an existing technology that has not yet found its place in a specific submarket. To support my concept, I’ve created several key documents to demonstrate its feasibility:
• Technical Guidelines (covering standards, protocols, and security)
• Operational Procedures (detailing application and tracking processes)
• Supplier Integration Framework (for seamless collaboration)
• Performance Analysis Reports (to measure efficiency and ROI)

My question is: If the company is open to reviewing my idea, should I use an NDA drafted and signed by a lawyer? I’m concerned that once I share the concept, it could be easily replicated.

To clarify, the prototype would be entirely developed by them, while I would act as a consultant and focus on identifying potential clients. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[nigelkingsley]

am still struggling to find medical companies to chk out my MEDICAL product innovation....
glad i received only one rejection and still hoping and waiting tho
HELP

[jimdandy]

Everyone might want to search for this youtube video just released: "It's un-American for Harris to take intellectual property: Byron Donalds | The Chris Salcedo Show"

[Flamelit]

Companies be stealing your ideas, period.timex owes me several hundred million dollars

[Grejegando]

0:03 I watched till the end and this claim has not been met.