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Any sex-toy developers? A long-shot I'm sure...

Vigilante

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@Walter Hay has a megathread on here about sourcing products directly from manufacturers (in China or otherwise) and might have some specific experience in this industry.

@Vigilante might have some pointers about licensing and what kind of protections/patents you might want if you're going to explore this route.

Competition is stiff, so I might suggest you consider poking around before you dive in. Take it slow. You might have a hard time if you start out with a weak hand. Experience is the best teacher here. I would avoid inserting yourself in unknown wells. Are you thinking of doing this by yourself, or with a partner or two? Solo is probably the way to go. Charge up your batteries and commit to sticking in there for the long haul. You're not the first jockey to ride this horse, but you have a chance to do it big. Don't expect to get everything right the first time. Trust your feelings. Make sure though that unbridled passion doesn't overrule using your head.
 
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Xavier X

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latest


Hardcore Pun
 

amp0193

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Competition is stiff, so I might suggest you consider poking around before you dive in. Take it slow. You might have a hard time if you start out with a weak hand. Experience is the best teacher here. I would avoid inserting yourself in unknown wells. Are you thinking of doing this by yourself, or with a partner or two? Solo is probably the way to go. Charge up your batteries and commit to sticking in there for the long haul. You're not the first jockey to ride this horse, but you have a chance to do it big. Don't expect to get everything right the first time. Trust your feelings. Make sure though that unbridled passion doesn't overrule using your head.

#featuredpost

:rofl:
 

RazorCut

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Competition is stiff, so I might suggest you consider poking around before you dive in. Take it slow. You might have a hard time if you start out with a weak hand. Experience is the best teacher here. I would avoid inserting yourself in unknown wells. Are you thinking of doing this by yourself, or with a partner or two? Solo is probably the way to go. Charge up your batteries and commit to sticking in there for the long haul. You're not the first jockey to ride this horse, but you have a chance to do it big. Don't expect to get everything right the first time. Trust your feelings. Make sure though that unbridled passion doesn't overrule using your head.

PMSL Totally inspired :happy::happy::happy:
 
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Marigold

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@Calvert79 since your product doesn't require any electrical parts you should totally make a prototype yourself. It will be very useful for you whether you want to license it out to companies or produce it yourself in the future. At this stage you probably don't need to engage a 3D printer yet.

Check out InstaMorph (you can get it from Amazon at at a very cheap price). It's a plastic resin that turns into jello-like material in warm water and turns solid when it's cool. You might need to buy a few packets of them, depending on how big your product is. Mould it with your hands like how you would with clay, wait for it to cool, and voila, you have your crude prototype! You can make multiple different parts and glue them together, and paint them with colours or mix them with paint powders. Best of all, InstaMorph can be reshaped over and over again so it will come in very handy for you (pun not intended, lol)
Thank you for that suggestion!

I'm totally pissing myself at the image of me making my own prototype from toilet toll holders and sticky back plastic (UK people imagine Blue Peter on steroids!)

But yeah... why can't this be FUN?!?!
 

RazorCut

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Marigold

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If you ever get it made do we get free samples? :jawdrop:

I guess. :)

Competition is stiff, so I might suggest you consider poking around before you dive in. Take it slow. You might have a hard time if you start out with a weak hand. Experience is the best teacher here. I would avoid inserting yourself in unknown wells. Are you thinking of doing this by yourself, or with a partner or two? Solo is probably the way to go. Charge up your batteries and commit to sticking in there for the long haul. You're not the first jockey to ride this horse, but you have a chance to do it big. Don't expect to get everything right the first time. Trust your feelings. Make sure though that unbridled passion doesn't overrule using your head.

haha so you can do my copywriting then. :)
Trying to figure out what this is or how it works makes me feel like I'm 12 in Sex Ed class all over again :rofl:

I can only repeat whats already been said about reading Stephen Key's book, and good luck!

Hahahaha. I know, right? Wait til you see the prototype hahaha...

Yep, loving the book. Half way through. Definitely provisional patent.
 
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Marigold

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UPDATE:

So I'm 2/3rds of the way through the book (One Simple Idea Stephen Key) and it's AMAZING. I'm following it to the letter.

I attempted to make a prototype (after a glass of wine) MOST RIDICULOUS THING YOU'VE LITERALLY EVER SEEN. But fun. And actually when I tried to test it I realised the whole design was flawed.

When I did some additional research I discovered that my 'invention' is basically three existing inventions rolled into one. So that's brilliant.

I've now got a bunch of pictures sent to a guy on FIVERR to try and mock up my idea so I can visualize it better.

I still have to work out some design challenges but I'm super stoked because I legit know this is a thing and have pored over the reviews of competitor items on Amazon.

I've gone from basically believing there isn't a chance in F*ck of me being able to pull this off (ALLLL THE PUNS!) to a I might actually be able to make this happen. Which is GREAT.
 

RazorCut

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I've gone from basically believing there isn't a chance in f*ck of me being able to pull this off (ALLLL THE PUNS!) to a I might actually be able to make this happen. Which is GREAT.


That's not bad considering you've only been here 5 minutes. :clap:::)
 

Nigel B

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Have to ask, were you testing the prototype for your profile pic - there aren't that many who look that happy!

Nothing useful to add - but good luck!
 

Marigold

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Have to ask, were you testing the prototype for your profile pic - there aren't that many who look that happy!

Nothing useful to add - but good luck!

I'm Scottish.
 
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MTEE1985

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Competition is stiff, so I might suggest you consider poking around before you dive in. Take it slow. You might have a hard time if you start out with a weak hand. Experience is the best teacher here. I would avoid inserting yourself in unknown wells. Are you thinking of doing this by yourself, or with a partner or two? Solo is probably the way to go. Charge up your batteries and commit to sticking in there for the long haul. You're not the first jockey to ride this horse, but you have a chance to do it big. Don't expect to get everything right the first time. Trust your feelings. Make sure though that unbridled passion doesn't overrule using your head.

upload_2018-11-19_10-55-41.gif
 

Rearden

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Hi @Calvert79
I can help you. I am mentioned a couple times in One Simple Idea, I presently work with Stephen the author. I would love to help out in any way I can.
First thing I do after you get done with the book is build your list of companies while doing research on competitive products to understand your competitive advantage.
 

LuckyPup

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OMG, maybe you need to get a friend who is a better artist to do the 2D sketches first. Does it come back if you throw it? lol

In answer to your question you don't usually need a patent if you go the licensing route so it is not an expensive process but does take work to research (to see if your idea is patentable and to find suitable companies to approach).

The benefit is once you have done a deal it becomes a passive income stream so allows you to move on to the next project unhindered.

The downside is you could *potentially* earn more money by manufacturing and distributing it yourself.
"Does it come back if you throw it?" lol. I have a name for it: The Boomabang
 

Marigold

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Hi @Calvert79
I can help you. I am mentioned a couple times in One Simple Idea, I presently work with Stephen the author. I would love to help out in any way I can.
First thing I do after you get done with the book is build your list of companies while doing research on competitive products to understand your competitive advantage.
That's wonderful. I've just finished the book. I am liaising with fiverr gigs about bringing it to life in visual form.

I feel I have done quite a good bit of research with regards to the competition. I'm happy to see at least six variations of design attempting to solve this problem.

You're right, my next port of call is the companies but only after I have got some provisional costs for manufacture. I feel better placed to do that with an image.

I feel a working prototype will also be beneficial to actually test it works??

That's impressive that you are in the book! I'd love to hear more!

"Does it come back if you throw it?" lol. I have a name for it: The Boomabang

You guys are killing me.
 

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It's not so much a toy as an accompaniment - your mind is probably wondering WTF that is?

Actually the second I read it, I immediately imagined what it is.

Then I saw your drawings and I was like; WTF?!?!????

Let me just say this thread has brought a smile to my face, and @RazorCut has given some really golden advice.

Please turn this into a progress thread, I have to know how this turns out!

Special mention to @Vigilante, with such smutty, childish, and silly double innuendos like that, you could pass for an Englishman! Well played sir!
 

RazorCut

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RazorCut

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How do I do that? Just post updates here? Probably a dumb question...

You would probably have to ask @Vigilante or @Andy Black (who are both online right now) or another staff member to do it for you. I don't think you can edit the title and cat yourself.

-
 

Marigold

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First couple of stumbling blocks...

Contacted Brian Sloan, who raised $$$$ to manufacture his sex toys on indiegogo. He offers mentoring via Clarity and I reached out to see if he could help me with the licensing route - i.e. his experience.

He replied

"Hi, my position on licensing issues is that almost no company will ever pay license an idea. Maybe they would if its patented and the product FULLY developed. But owners of sex toy companies unsurprisingly aren't low on ideas! I would be unable to help."

I'm trying not to let it rain on my parade. In my head I'm thinking "well, they aren't doing my idea my way so up yours" but this is only my FIRST rejection and I need to prepare myself for a shit tonne more of those, right?

Also for anyone doing this in the future - don't be surprised if a few of the FIVERR gigs will not entertain helping you illustrate a sex toy design if they are from predominantly Muslim countries. Should've been more aware of that one.

Ho hum. Onwards and upwards - PUN! Is it? Shut up, Emma.
 
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Vigilante

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I have done about 20 license deals over the years (maybe less, I didn't count). But, here's what I think :

1. You are in an unbranded category
2. There are very few companies that would be license candidates
3. They all probably have 100 products on the drawing board that they haven't built yet
4. There is little barrier to entry into generic products in this field
5. You talked with someone in the space, that knows more than you and I do, that makes money mentoring, and he wouldn't take you on

Here's my takeaway. This isn't going to license.

So, copy his roadmap. Croudfund the startup.

A lot of people look at licensing as a shortcut to riches. Someone will take my idea, run with it, and send me money every month.

Does that happen? Yes. Does lightning strike? Yes. Are there about a MILLION sex toy ideas people have that have never been manufactured? Yes.

I don't think you are going to license it. Here's where my OPPOSITION to my license thread comes in. Everyone's got an idea, and not everyone is capable of making it happen.

I have had relatives over the years bounce their ideas by me. One of them was a toilet seat that you step on a lever on the ground (like an automatic garbage can lid raiser). The guy wanted me to take his idea, run with it, and when I made millions on his brilliance, give him millions. His share.

Here's where the rubber (pardon the pun) meets the road. Nobody cares. You are in a tough category to ever get anyone to care, and you might spend two years trying to find someone to care and never find it.

So what do you do? Go around the obstacle. Go over it, go under it. Door closes, find a window. You CAN do it. I just don't think it is going to be a license deal. The license deals I have had were all natural fits. They all paired a perfect brand with a perfect product. NONE of them were "I have this idea... now I want someone else to make it happen and pay me."

Everyone has ideas. Everyone has a sketch on the back of a napkin. The difference between Sarah Blakely and you? She DID IT. She thought she had a better solution, so she brought it to market. Now she's a guest shark on shark tank.

If you believe this product is an answer to a problem, then bring it to market AND THEN someone will pay you for it. One concern I have for you is you know about zero about the industry you are embarking in. Spend some time as a student of the industry first, and really study product trends, marketing trends, manufacturing, and market share. Then and only then would you be ready to really invest your time and money into something as complicated as what you have on the table in front of you.

My .2 cents. Take it for what it is worth. Do I think you could do it? Yes. Do I think you will do it? Mmmmm... not sure yet.
 

Marigold

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I have done about 20 license deals over the years (maybe less, I didn't count). But, here's what I think :

1. You are in an unbranded category
2. There are very few companies that would be license candidates
3. They all probably have 100 products on the drawing board that they haven't built yet
4. There is little barrier to entry into generic products in this field
5. You talked with someone in the space, that knows more than you and I do, that makes money mentoring, and he wouldn't take you on

Here's my takeaway. This isn't going to license.

So, copy his roadmap. Croudfund the startup.

A lot of people look at licensing as a shortcut to riches. Someone will take my idea, run with it, and send me money every month.

Does that happen? Yes. Does lightning strike? Yes. Are there about a MILLION sex toy ideas people have that have never been manufactured? Yes.

I don't think you are going to license it. Here's where my OPPOSITION to my license thread comes in. Everyone's got an idea, and not everyone is capable of making it happen.

I have had relatives over the years bounce their ideas by me. One of them was a toilet seat that you step on a lever on the ground (like an automatic garbage can lid raiser). The guy wanted me to take his idea, run with it, and when I made millions on his brilliance, give him millions. His share.

Here's where the rubber (pardon the pun) meets the road. Nobody cares. You are in a tough category to ever get anyone to care, and you might spend two years trying to find someone to care and never find it.

So what do you do? Go around the obstacle. Go over it, go under it. Door closes, find a window. You CAN do it. I just don't think it is going to be a license deal. The license deals I have had were all natural fits. They all paired a perfect brand with a perfect product. NONE of them were "I have this idea... now I want someone else to make it happen and pay me."

Everyone has ideas. Everyone has a sketch on the back of a napkin. The difference between Sarah Blakely and you? She DID IT. She thought she had a better solution, so she brought it to market. Now she's a guest shark on shark tank.

If you believe this product is an answer to a problem, then bring it to market AND THEN someone will pay you for it. One concern I have for you is you know about zero about the industry you are embarking in. Spend some time as a student of the industry first, and really study product trends, marketing trends, manufacturing, and market share. Then and only then would you be ready to really invest your time and money into something as complicated as what you have on the table in front of you.

My .2 cents. Take it for what it is worth. Do I think you could do it? Yes. Do I think you will do it? Mmmmm... not sure yet.

That's very helpful, thank you.

You're right, I didn't want to go the whole hog with it. Now I need to give consideration as to whether I love it enough to see it through.

Thanks!
 

Vigilante

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That's very helpful, thank you.

You're right, I didn't want to go the whole hog with it. Now I need to give consideration as to whether I love it enough to see it through.

Thanks!

And a good introspection on your part.

Looks like this.

If you aren't willing to go 100% in (all your money, time, resources, risk)

nobody else will.

If it's that good, you would. But very few things in life are no brainers. I have been very, very wrong some times.

So proceed with a TON OF RESEARCH. Research is only a function of time. Study, study, study and that will help you make your decisions.

I was talking with a friend the other day who was looking for an investor, but my friends money... was in the bank.

Why should an investor invest when my friend wanted his money safe? Answer... he didn't sell out to his idea.

He was willing to give up capital percentage to mitigate his own risk. He must not have believed very much in it.
 
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LuckyPup

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That's wonderful. I've just finished the book. I am liaising with fiverr gigs about bringing it to life in visual form.

I feel I have done quite a good bit of research with regards to the competition. I'm happy to see at least six variations of design attempting to solve this problem.

You're right, my next port of call is the companies but only after I have got some provisional costs for manufacture. I feel better placed to do that with an image.

I feel a working prototype will also be beneficial to actually test it works??

That's impressive that you are in the book! I'd love to hear more!



You guys are killing me.
It looked more like a UFO to me, but the boomerang visual was funnier. In all seriousness, Key's book is great. Don't know enough to determine if licensing is the right play, but I'd be interested to learn if you find any cost effective manufacturing alternatives to China, too.
 

RazorCut

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I was talking with a friend the other day who was looking for an investor, but my friends money... was in the bank.


That's the litmus test right there. If you don't wholeheartedly believe in it (and 9 times out of 10 that means putting your money where your mouth is) you will have a very hard time convincing someone else to.

You often see people get called out on this on Dragons Den/Shark Tank.

-
 

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