The Obstacle Course for Inventors
A few days ago, while my wife was out of the house, my youngest daughter asked me to set up an obstacle course for her IN THE FAMILY ROOM so she could show off her skating skills on a Ripstik. I laid out a variety of random items, and she decided she wanted to up the ante by carrying two glasses of water in her hands while she navigated the object-strewn floor (I did mention my wife was out of the house!). Luckily, I caught the whole thing on video because my daughter navigated through the obstacles flawlessly without once hitting anything or spilling a single drop of water!
For those of you that need to see this to believe it check out the video below:
It wasn’t until later, when I was watching the clip again, that I realized I’d actually come up with a decent metaphor for the journey facing innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs.
There are so many obstacles standing between Day Zero and a completed product or objective. Some of these are self-imposed by doubt, desire, vision, industry conventions and so on. Others are caused by financial considerations and pressures.
And some just seem to appear randomly out of nowhere, as the ever-changing legal landscape and the rules and regulations which trickle down from it influence what must, should, can and cannot be done.
To the innovator, dealing with these obstacles can be as simple as walking down a flat sidewalk or as complex as getting through a constantly shifting maze of problems, complications and wrong turns. While most of them are relatively easy to overcome with access to the right resources, they can still slow down the process to a crawl, followed by frantic periods of catching up and advancing, only to be slowed down again.
As a patent attorney, I see a lot of frustrated innovators and entrepreneurs who are stymied, confounded or just generally annoyed at obstacles “suddenly” appearing in their way. They really didn’t; they’ve always been there. Licensing fees, LLC requirements, the rules for submitting a proper intellectual property filing and government regulations will always be a part of the business world. While these policies and procedures exist, at least nominally, to create an even playing field and protect businesses and consumers alike, they can be frustrating for people who haven’t spent their entire adult lives learning the nuances and keeping an eye on how things change at the state and federal levels.
The good news is, while these obstacles can’t be eliminated, they can be overcome. Entrepreneurs of all stripes have available options and resources for assistance at every stage of their journey, whether they’re the allegorical “one-man band” or heading a conglomerate which employs thousands of people.
Being good at anything doesn’t happen overnight. I know my daughter had a lot of accidents, stumbles and falls as she worked to become proficient at riding a Ripstik. The same is true of everyone, in every field of endeavor.
One thing I’ve learned is that every journey and every entrepreneur is unique, with its own series of hurdles and challenges to overcome. Some of my favorite and most memorable cases have come about when someone presented me with an obstacle and I thought, “Huh…that’s new!”
One of the most rewarding parts of being a patent attorney is guiding my clients through the obstacle course, helping them to course-correct and get past the red tape which is an inevitable part of the business world so they can achieve their dreams. I can’t do the work for them; like my daughter, my clients have to do and learn some things on their own. But I can be the stable platform they can rely on to get them more quickly from Day Zero to Dream Accomplished.
And really, that’s all I ever wanted from life.
ABOUT JOHN RIZVI, ESQ.
John Rizvi is a Registered and Board Certified Patent Attorney, Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property Law, best-selling author, and featured speaker on topics of interest to inventors and entrepreneurs (including TEDx).
His books include "Escaping the Gray" and "Think and Grow Rich for Inventors" and have won critical acclaim including an endorsement from Kevin Harrington, one of the original sharks on the hit TV show - Shark Tank, responsible for the successful launch of over 500 products resulting in more than $5 billion in sales worldwide. You can learn more about Professor Rizvi and his patent law practice at www.ThePatentProfessor.com
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