Raising funding for inventions

Raising funding for your invention is not easy. Yours is one of many applications funders receive. To be noticed you must stand out. A word document is simply not enough – this is the bare minimum, and everyone submits one.

One of the biggest risks to funders is an inventor that is unable to drive his invention to market. Since most inventors fail to commercialize their inventions, don’t just “do what everyone else does”. Do more. How much more? As much as you can. The more,the better.

Blow the funder away. Make him think: “if he can get this far without my money, imagine how far he will go with funding!” Do this and half the job is done. The other half is not to blow your credibility with statements like: “If I only got 1% of the market I would make US$2 billion a year” or “I anticipate earning US$2m in the first year”. And, resist presenting yourself as a spreadsheet trillionaire – every second inventor is one. Even if you are convinced you will become one, don’t communicate it … ever.

For maximum impact, approach funders with: a business plan; a prototype of your product; photorealistic posters showing how your product will look on the shelves; and an energetic personality. Go for it and have fun. Give them something sexy.