These days, practically anyone can be an inventor. You don't have to be an expert in a field to contribute. You can become an inventor simply by having an idea and refining it.

Anyone can be an inventor

Inventions start with a good idea. And a good idea comes from inspiration. Advice from successful entrepreneurs and invention experts:<ul><li>Limor Fried, Founder and Lead Engineer at Adafruit, states that he gets inspiration from a Show and Tell they do every Wednesday in a live Google+ hangout.</li><li>Eric Hintz from The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation says history shows that inventors often find the world irritating and want to fix it.</li></ul>

Ideas on ideation

Step 1: Research and modelInventors start with representations before they make something.<ul><li>Research to find available materials and possible technologies to use.</li><li>Draw the idea with a pencil on paper.</li><li>Make a model using cardboard, tape and hot glue.</li><li>Create a 2-D and 3 D digital model.</li></ul> Step 2: ExperimentTest your prototype, improve it, then test again until there is no room for improvement. Use milling machines or 3-D printers. Step 3: FinalizeThe final prototype should be presentable to potential investors and customers. Hire expert help with your final creation if it's needed.

Prototyping

Most inventions that die do so because they lack funding. Funding options include: <ul><li>Crowdfunding.</li><li>Competitions. In 2007, NASA used a competition to design the next generation of astronaut gloves.</li><li>Self-funding.</li><li>Investors. The best way to pitch your idea is with a personal connection or introduction. However, many VCs and angels publicly post their emails or are active on Twitter.</li><li>Outsourcing. License or sell your intellectual property as it can help others to apply your idea to their own needs.</li></ul>

Funding

Ideally, you will have a community of true believers who support your product. They should get your prototypes first as they will give valuable feedback and promote the product. <ul><li>A broader reach is possible by spreading information at conferences, meetups, and hackathons and write about it in forums and blogs.</li><li>The media is also a valuable source to reach new audiences.</li><li>Grab every opportunity for an interview.</li><li>Use feedback and market research to determine demand and set the pace for scaling up.</li></ul>

Product to market

All inventions start as an idea—here's how to make them happen.

Stashed ideas

The inventor's handbook

When job seekers apply for a position, they often have to jump through more hoops to prove themselves than in the past. Many companies demand drawn-out and multiple steps in the interview process that seem like a job in itself.
How a company treats you during the interview process is a good indicator of the company culture. Asking yourself some questions can give you valuable insight into the company.

The interviewing process gives valuable insight

<ul><li>Does the company value your time? Recruiters may prioritise their own time and have no care for your time.</li><li>Are their expectations reasonable? If the application feels like a second job, the companies' expectations may be over the top.</li><li>What do they do with your ideas? Instead of feeding a company your valuable ideas for free, a better solution may be to solve a previously solved problem or critique an existing solution.</li><li>How clear is their communication?</li></ul>

Questions to ask yourself of a prospective employer

Interviews are a two-way street. Job assignments help you to assess the company as well. <ul><li>Good companies clarify the steps of the interview process and the duration of each step. They offer salary ranges upfront.</li><li>Companies that need a lot of prep work up front while withholding job offers may have a bad reputation. Ensure to check social media and review sites to find out if this is a company technique.</li><li>If you can, choose a company with timely and transparent practices.</li></ul>

Do your homework before you apply

Questions you may be nervous to ask in an interview

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing process where a physical object is created from a digital design by printing thin layers of material and then fusing them together.

3D Printing

Self Improvement

At the moment, 3D printing is still too slow to be used for mass production but the technology for it is being developed and evolved.The downside to this is that it has the potential to massively disrupt both the industries for manufacturing logistics and inventory management.

Understanding 3D Printing

<ul><li>Medicine - used to customize implants and possibly organs and body parts in the future</li><li>Fashion - used to create prototypes of footwear</li><li>Construction - used to print materials needed to build homes in less than 48 hours for a fraction of the price and are stronger than regular cinder blocks</li><li>Car and aircraft - used to transform unibody and fuselage design and production and powertrain design and production.</li></ul>

3D Printing in Various Fields

3D Printing techonology has made it possible for hearing aid manufacturers to make custom made hearing aids and help accelerate the process of making them then fine-tuning the materials, ear shapes, and print the entire hearing aid.

3D Printing for Hearing Aids

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing process that creates a physical object by laying down thin layers of plastic, metal, or cement, and then fusing the layers together.

3D Printing Definition

The idea of property protection has been around since the early 500 BCE in Greece. Their chefs were granted year-long exclusive rights for creating specific cuisines. 
Now, the goal of intellectual property protection has stayed the same, which is to prevent the unlawful copying of ideas and encourage creation of new products which will benefit the public and strive for more free-market competition.

Protecting Intellectual Property

Money & Investments

<ul>
<li>Copyrights cover the protection of new artistic and literary works such as books, plays, movies, and even the photo you took for your social media profile;</li>
<li>Copyrights are automatically created the moment you produce something, however it is recommended to formally register for a copyright because during the possibility of an infringement case, you are allowed to collect statutory damages;</li>
<li>It usually lasts for the lifetime of an author plus 70 years.</li>
</ul>

Copyrights

<ul>
<li>Patents focus on protecting scientific items such as drugs, inventions, and technologies;</li>
<li>Patents go through a rigorous application and filing process where they need to submit a precise description of the item and be examined by an expert patent examiner that will determine whether the item meets their standards;</li>
<li>Patents last for 20 years from the date they&#39;re filed.</li>
</ul>

Patents

<ul>
<li>Trademarks do not protect artistic or technological works but instead the companies that create them such as Coca-Cola, Play-Doh, and NBC;</li>
<li>Trademarks are born out of use in commerce and can range from logos, brand names, smells, designs, and even sounds;</li>
<li>They can last indefinitely as long as they are in active use. Registering for a trademark grants you exclusive nationwide usage and it helps you sort through the different product offerings in a competitive market.</li>
</ul>

Trademarks

When you have a great idea, do you copyright, trademark, or patent it? Well, it all depends on what kind of idea it is.

Money

What's the Difference Between Copyright, Trademark, and Patents?

<ul>
<li>Invention is the creation of a product or introduction of a process for the first time.</li>
<li>Innovation is when someone improves on or makes a significant contribution to an existing product, process or service.</li>
</ul>
Steve Jobs&#39; iPod is an example of great innovation. The iPod was not the first portable music device, neither the first device to put hundreds of songs in your pocket. What made Apple innovative was that it combined elements in a single device.

Invention and innovation

Leadership

Companies often focus on technology instead of the customer&#39;s problem. 
Smart innovators frame their ideas to stress how a new concept is compatible with the existing market landscape.

Innovation alone is not enough

<ul>
<li>Innovation should give a unique competitive position in the marketplace.</li>
<li>Differentiating factors of your innovation should be conceptualised around the key strategic focus of the enterprise.</li>
<li>Know the customers.</li>
<li>Identify resources, processes, risks, partners and suppliers and the ecosystem in the market.</li>
<li>Assess the value of the innovation and how the idea will bring that value into the organisation.</li>
</ul>

Turn a great idea into a world-changing innovation

Like so many up-and-coming entrepreneurs, I was under the impression that invention and innovation were one and the same. They aren't. And, as I have dis...