Inventors' Dream: Marketability

BELLEVUE

For Roger Melbye, the dream remains elusive.

But for Duke Goss, it has become reality.

Both Melbye and Goss are inventors. They share one thing - something shared by most inventors. They dream of creating a product that people want to buy.

But there is a difference. For Goss, who created an automated espresso machine, the doors have opened. For Melbye, who invented a slimmed-down sanding block called the Sandbox, they have remained closed.

It may be a universal impulse. The urge to create. To make something that lasts. And maybe has an impact on the world.

"There is an inventor in all of us," says Karl Vesper, a University of Washington professor who teaches a class for entrepreneurs.

Inventing is "a compelling drive to change something. It's an unbelievable drive. It keeps you awake at night," explains Seattle University business professor John Wells.

Inventors range from tinkerers creating novel products to offer at craft fairs to serious business people who plan to sell their products across the country. They range from individuals looking for quick riches to those who invent something they feel will help save lives.

Donald Limuti, a Kirkland engineer who created an electronic device made to look like a Whippoorwill that beeps when a potted plant needs watering, puts himself in the tinkerer camp. He assembles versions of his inventions in his home and sells them at arts fairs.

"Basically, this is a hobby," says Limuti. "I always cross my fingers" that someone might want to make and sell the product, which he calls the Water-Me. But he adds, "I'm not giving up my daytime job."

Many others, however, have worked hard at creating prototypes, obtaining one or more patents, and finding a marketing outlet for their inventions.

One of the most successful recent Eastside inventions, for instance, is the Latte 990, a machine that makes espresso, latte and cappuccino coffees from fresh ingredients, at the push of a button.

Based on an idea that occurred two years ago to Duke Goss, an Issaquah businessman and inventor, the product has grown into a full-fledged company with 15 employees and revenues of $1.1 million in its first year.

The company, Caffe Acorto Inc., turned its first monthly profit in June, says Goss' partner, Kyle Anderson, who put up much of the start-up capital for the firm. It now is being managed by professionals skilled in running a business, including President Terry Simons.

For many inventors who try to get their product to the market, the process costs thousands of dollars; all without any guarantee that the idea will ever catch on.

Caffe Acorto, for instance, did not start selling its $14,500 espresso machines, until $400,000 in start-up money was raised.

Many inventors say the first obstacle can be obtaining a patent. The cost depends on the complexity of the device and can range from $2,000 for a simple patent to $50,000, or more, for multiple patents, sometimes from foreign countries in addition to the U.S.

Dr. Peter Schock, a Bellevue physician who created a latex mask to be placed over a patient's face to protect medical personnel while they give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, spent $8,000 on a patent for his device, before it could ever be offered to major medical-supply companies that might produce and distribute it. After he started creating the mask, called Good Samaritan Shield, he found 33 other products designed to do the same thing. Schock's device was, however, granted a patent, because it is smaller and can be folded to fit in a pocket.

Like many others, Schock used patent attorneys to obtain his patent. "It's impossible to do yourself. It's too complex and specialized," he says.

Besides the cost, the inventing process can take years. Many inventors go through a long series of prototypes, before they come up with a version of their product that suits them. The gizmo that was supposed to turn the gadget on keeps breaking. The widget that looked great in yellow looks even better in red.

And most are faced with the problem of finding a way to make and sell their inventions. Do they make it themselves? Do they find someone else to make it for them, and distribute it themselves? Or do they sell the idea to a big company that can handle both manufacturing and sales?

"Inventing a product is easy. Getting it sold is something else," says Seattle University's Wells. "Getting a product to market can take as long, if not longer, as inventing it."

Goss and Anderson, of Caffe Acorto, had years of experience in business and opted to create their own company. They put together a group of seven businessmen with the skills to start and run a company. Then they stepped aside and let the professionals run it.

"Many people aren't able to make the transition from inventor to businessman," says Anderson. "A lot of inventors will never let go - step back and let someone else run the company."

Others, however, need to rely on firms with established manufacturing and distribution operations to market their product. "The inventor may be the technician, but often, hasn't the slightest idea of how to get it to the marketplace," says Wells.

It can take "an entirely different set of skills" for an inventor to sell the product, he adds.

Schock, for instance, has arranged for a partner with marketing expertise to show his Good Samaritan Shield to medical products company Baxter General Health Care Corp., in hopes the industry giant might pick it up.

For some, that route has worked. For others, however, it has proven frustrating. Melbye, a Redmond carpenter who has spent nearly $10,000 developing and patenting his Sandbox, has tried to get two large companies interested in his product.

"I have talked to 3M and Stanley. They're not interested," he said. But Melbye has not given up. He has made arrangements to have his sanding block displayed at a national hardware show. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel," he says.