I Have an Invention Idea. Where Do I Go for Help?

I talked with an inventor at length recently about their experience trying to bring an idea to life.

Their invention had a unique agricultural application. They understood the problem they were solving and had an idea they believed could solve it.

What they didn’t know was what to do next.

They searched for help. They talked to local organizations. They attended workshops. They spent hours driving to programs they were told could potentially connect them with funding.

And despite all of that effort, they struggled to find someone who could simply help them connect the dots.

There are resources for inventors and entrepreneurs. So why are they so hard to navigate?

One of the first things that stood out to me was that this inventor had no idea their local Chamber of Commerce provided resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

They thought the Chamber was essentially a website directory of local businesses.

That alone is interesting.

We have Chambers. Economic development organizations. Entrepreneurship programs. Small business resources. Workshops. Grants. Incubators. Mentors.

There are a LOT of resources available.

But having resources available and successfully connecting someone to the help they actually need are two very different things.

“I have an invention idea. What do I do next?”

This is where their experience became more complicated.

Their invention wasn't a traditional startup concept. It was solving a very specific problem in agriculture.

They needed someone who could understand enough about the application, business, product development, commercialization, funding, and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem to help them figure out what needed to happen next.

They couldn't find that person.

Instead, they were frequently directed toward programs or resources that addressed one individual piece of the puzzle.

At one point, local economic development organizations directed them toward workshops that could potentially provide access to grants.

Those workshops required hours of travel and time.

They ultimately didn't qualify for the grants.

The problem wasn't necessarily that the resources were bad.

The problem was that no one seemed to be looking at the inventor's situation holistically and saying:

Here is where you are. Here is what you're trying to accomplish. Here are the gaps. And here are the people or resources you actually need next.

Inventors don't always know what kind of help they need

I think this is an important distinction when we talk about resources for inventors, founders, and small business owners.

Someone with an invention may not know whether they need an engineer, prototype developer, patent attorney, manufacturer, business mentor, investor, marketer, commercialization expert, or something else entirely.

They may not even know the terminology they should be searching for.

They just know:

“I have an idea. I think it solves a real problem. How do I turn it into something?”

We shouldn't expect someone entering the entrepreneurial ecosystem for the first time to already understand how that ecosystem works.

The entrepreneurial resource gap may not be a lack of resources

There seems to be a disconnect between how we design entrepreneurial support and how entrepreneurs actually experience it from the outside.

We tend to organize resources around institutions, programs, and specialties.

Entrepreneurs experience their problems as… problems.

They don't necessarily know which organization owns which piece of the solution.

That's why I think one of the most valuable things we can provide founders and inventors isn't another resource list.

It's navigation.

Someone willing to understand what they're trying to accomplish, identify what they actually need, and connect them to the right person or resource.

If you're an inventor or founder searching for help and feeling like you're bouncing from resource to resource without getting anywhere, you're probably not the only one.

If you’re feeling stuck, reach out.