I’m asking this for my boyfriend who doesn’t use reddit. He’s in the fishing industry and has this brilliant idea for a tool that fisherman use everyday – but a much better version of it that would make the use of this tool much easier to use. It doesn’t exist yet, we checked. The problem is he (and I) have ZERO clue on how to get this going… I know that he needs to build or create some sort of prototype, right? Is there a company that can help with this? I know there are these “invention help” companies that exist, but are they legit? If they are legit, are there some that are considered better? How do they work and make money? Sorry if I’m just spewing a bunch of questions but I’m just at a loss when it comes to this stuff. I really want to help him make this a reality because he’s struggling financially at times and I just have this deep-down feeling that this could really be a great thing not only for him, but for the fishing industry in general. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I’ve been through this several times. I’ve created products, created production mechanisms, developed packaging, and began to market. Some items didn’t go over well, some were real moneymaker. But in all cases, in a few months duplicate products made in China began to appear and were sold for less than 1/2 of my product. Patents and legal maneuvers were of no help. China will rip off your idea and shut you down. So be careful how much money you spend on development because your product lifetime will be short.