2nd Wednesday meetings now at 300 S. Duncan!

TBIC has a new Location! 
As many of you know, the Tampa Bay Inventors Council has existed since 1983 and had been hosted in many locations.  Beginning on April 12th, TBIC will be hosted by our friends at the Tampa Bay Computer Society at 300 S. Duncan Ave just off of Gulf to Bay in Clearwater, 33755.  The Tampa Bay Computer Society came to our aid once before and we are grateful to them once again.  We hope to be holding our 2nd Wednesday of the month meetings with them for a long time to come.  Please stop by on the 12th to see the new facility and connect with friends old and new!
Hope to see you there!
Wayne

Final Inventors meeting of 2016 will be fun!

This week at the TBIC meeting!
This is our last meeting of the  year and we are going into the holidays with a bang!  We have two guests joining us to share some Christmas cheer!  Joel Freeman will be talking to you about promoting your inventions on YouTube with video and how to get people to watch it.  How to build an effective video presentation and how to use the tools in YouTube to make sure people searching for things find you. 
Next we are thrilled to have our friend Akos from "My Cool Inventions" come in to tell us about the new nationally televised program they have built to showcase inventors and let you know how you can become a guest on the show!  This will be a very fun meeting and we will be sure to have a few other treats for you to enjoy so don't miss our last Tampa Bay Inventors council meeting this Wednesday, December 14th from 7-9 pm at the iDatix building, 1499 Gulf to Bay in Clearwater!
See you Wednesday!
Wayne Rasanen
P, TBIC

P.S.  Anyone joining TBIC for 2017 will get this meeting free so bring a check for $75 and be sure to get all of the benefits for 2017 to advance your inventions!  Current members, please consider renewing as well so we can continue to build a strong inventor community in Tampa Bay! 
Thank you!

TBIC inventors meeting 7/27/2016 Learn more!

  Hello inventors, do you need help getting your product onto the market?  Are you interested in licensing your invention to manufacturers and retailers?  Than join us Wednesday on 7/27/2016 in Tampa for our TBIC inventors meeting from 7-8:45 pm.  Our special guest speaker will be Lu Anne Puett. She has owned a product research and development company, started her own marketing consulting company to help other inventors in 1995, and has worked with clients taking idea to retailer big-wigs like Target, Walmart, QVC, HSN, Lowes, Winn Dixie , 7-Eleven, Zappos, Bed and Bath, and many more.

She has licensed products from automotive to health and beauty, and scored a $27 million dollar pantyhose licensing deal with a $4.1 million down payment. Working with companies manufacturing products both domestically and abroad, Lu Anne knows what it means to efficiently prove concept and tee up full scale production.  Her gift is her ability to evaluate a product while reducing risk. This allows an inventor or company to take a product from concept to retail for minimum investment. But her greatest passion is helping inventors and entrepreneurs. She currently is a mentor at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, speaks regularly, and has authored the book The Art of Dreaming Big.

Mark your calendar and make sure that you don’t miss this special opportunity to get a leg up and move your invention into sales!  We meet in the Hive on the 3rd floor of the John F Germany Library at 900 North Ashley in Tampa.  Don’t miss this meeting!!!
Check out Lu Anne's website at  Www.nationalinnovationassociation.org and learn more about coming opportunities!
Wayne

 

Get your product noticed this Wednesday, 5/11 at TBIC

Creating something that didn't exist before is rewarding but what do you do once you have the successful prototype?   You share it with the world and hope that someone notices!  Getting someone’s attention is difficult considering all of the noise from everything else that is going on.  How can you rise above it all using the tools that are available to you?  This week at the Tampa Bay Inventors Council we will feature “4 Free Marketing Methods to Jumpstart Your Business.”
Join Brandon Mead this Wednesday at the Tampa Bay Inventors Council as he shares four ways he leverages Digital Marketing for small businesses. His step-by-step instructions for DIY Marketing will help you and your product connect with the customers who don't yet know that your product exists. Things you'll learn include tricks to use and mistakes to avoid when using social media and what's all the hype on SEO about.
Brandon Mead is a serial entrepreneur and marketing expert. His work as the Digital Marketing Strategist at a large franchise organization and his passion to help small business owners lead him to start Strategic Impressions, a marketing agency which specializes in small businesses. Brandon is also Co-Founder of MakerVenture, a soon to be Makerspace in Temple Terrace, FL. 
Join us this Wednesday, May 11th  in Clearwater at the Idatix building, 1499 Gulf to Bay from 7-9 pm and get some tips on how to promote your product and then use the proceeds to fund your next great invention!
See you there,
Wayne Rasanen
P, TBIC

TBIC meeting 4/27/16 in Tampa. How to pitch

Greetings Inventors and Product developers!  This week at the Tampa Bay Inventors Council we welcome back our friend Brent Britton, IP Attorney and community activist for Tampa Bay.  Brent has shared some colorful and exciting concepts with us in the past about the universe and beyond but this week he will bring us down to earth with an important concept for inventors.  On Wednesday, April 27th Brent will share “Life's a Pitch - how to pitch investors (and co-founders).”  How should you approach people to invest in your dream and what is it that they want to hear?  If you don’t know what to say and how to say it, you are just wasting their time and yours.  If you want to build a team to advance your invention or product, how should you structure it?  If you want to make a sale of your idea or product, what should be your approach?  All this and more will be a part of the conversation we have this Wednesday at the next TBIC meeting at the Hive in Tampa from 7 – 8:45pm.  Brent will also field any other IP questions you may have so write them down and make sure you attend the next Tampa Bay Inventors Meeting!
See you there,
Wayne

Product Development discussed this week at TBIC 4/13/16

What are the steps of the product development process?  What are some tips to get the most out of each development phase?  What should you look for in a product development partner?  This Wednesday, Josh Lembke of Forge Product Development will give you his answers to these questions at our next TBIC meeting and answer any questions you may have about product development.  Josh is a recent transplant to Tampa Bay in 2013 and earned his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue School of Engineering.  He also earned his Bachelors in Economics from Butler University.  He sees Tampa Bay as a creative place and wants to lend his practical engineering side to the equation.  Join us this Wednesday at the Idatix building, home of the Taffie incubator at 1499 Gulf to Bay from 7-9 pm, April 13th as we explore the process of taking an idea through prototyping and on to developing a retail product for sale!  Come early to make sure you get a good seat!
See you there!
Wayne Rasanen
P, TBIC

TBIC focus on Marketing this week in Tampa

This week at the Tampa Bay Inventor’s Council we are turning our focus on the marketing side of promoting your inventions.  Everyone who has an invention that they think is great has to get the word out to all of the potential customers if they want to sell it.  Whither you want to license your invention or sell a product, you need to be able to tell your potential customer why it is vital for them to pay attention.  Getting your marketing right can be a difficult process so this Wednesday we will explore some examples of effective marketing with Dan Jenkins from Grapple Hook Marketing.  Dan will explore why some ideas succeed and why others fail and give some insight learned from studying a master of marketing, Steve Jobs.  Join us this Wednesday in the Hyve at the John F. Germany library in Tampa from 7-8:45 pm and brush up on your marketing skills so that you can promote your creations effectively!

TBIC final Tampa meeting this year at the Hive 10/28/15

This week at the Tampa Bay Inventors Council we are joined by Stephen Malak, an inventor and co-inventor of over 50 US and foreign patents.  Steve has developed a new way of inventing called Quantum Inventing and has written a book about it.  This Wednesday he will share his insights and discuss how to focus on the important aspects of inventing.  Steve was a design engineer and patent attorney for over 40 years, and served as corporate in-house counsel.  He was a leader on senior management teams, and recommended and directed many IP litigation and enforcement actions. He helped bring in over $2 million in venture capital funding for a start-up business. 
Join us at the John F Germany Library in Tampa for our final “Pitch-Not so perfect” session this year in the 2nd floor east building from 5:30 – 6:30 to work on your pitch or to hear others pitch and help them. Than come to the Hive on the 3rd floor West building from 7-8:45 to hear from Stephen Malak and our discussion on all things invented.  Again, this will be our last meeting at the Hive this year so if you live in Tampa, you don’t want to miss this!
See you there!

Mass marketing at TBIC March 25th

Is your idea or invention right for mass marketing?  If you think you have a product that will appeal to the masses, you might want to promote it on television.   Consider your idea and see if it fits these categories:   Mass market appeal,   Compelling visual demonstrations,   Solves an important problem for customers,  Cost of goods allows for TV marketing,  Instant transformation- works quickly, Good value versus competitive alternatives, Not available at mass retail outlets..yet.   If you can answer yes to most of these questions, than you don’t want to miss this meeting!
This Wednesday TBIC will welcome Steve Silbiger, the Chief Marketing Officer of Top Dog Direct.  Steve had to delay his last scheduled visit but joins us this coming Wednesday in Tampa.  They develop and/or find new products which are then created as “As Seen on TV” products. Top Dog Direct creates compelling short-form commercials to launch TV branded products by advertising the right products that fit their mold. Compelling TV branded advertising drives direct response sales and a multiple of those sales at brick and mortar retailers. Steve's previous experience includes analyzing marketing data at Nutri/System Inc. and acting as new product director at National Media, where he discovered and developed new products for infomercials.  He is the author of the book, The Ten-Day MBA (4th Edition), an international bestseller with more than 400,000 copies sold. 
Please join us on March 25th to meet with Steve and learn what it takes to mass market your invention!

Get Web Wise this Wednesday at TBIC in Tampa

Your website is the quickest and easiest way to achieve Visibility, Credibility and Profitability, which makes it the most effective long term Marketing you can do!  This week TBIC has invited Bonnie Dye to share her expertise on the internet and creating websites for more than two decades.   Bonnie became ranked in the top 5 nationwide for WordPress, WordPress Trainer and WordPress Training on Linkedin after she realized the potential of WordPress as a game changer for website design.  Bonnie teaches beginner classes locally and online and her students have more control over their businesses because they can update the information on their web site without hiring a programmer.  This Wednesday, February 25th, Bonnie will share her message of “Creating a Website that Sells for You”.  You will discover simple ways your WordPress site can make a fast emotional connection with your customer and keep them coming back for more!  You’ll learn how to get the most from your Social Media and SEO efforts, how to attract your best customers and makes a customer stay on your site, plus much more.  This is important information if you want to successfully market and sell your product so make sure you get to the Tampa Bay Inventors Council this Wednesday, February 25th from 7-9 pm at the “Hive” in the John F. Germany Library, 900 N. Ashley in Tampa! 
And if you can come early, at 5:30 we are holding a “Not so Perfect Pitch” session on the 2nd floor to help you polish off your elevator pitch.  All are invited but you must sign an NDA to attend.  See you Wednesday!

TBIC Final Meeting... for 2014!

Hello Inventors,
You might not be planning to travel the world in a couple weeks to drop off products to millions of “nice” kids overnight but chances are that you would like to sell your products all over the world.  Do you know what it takes to sell in foreign markets?  How do you deal with tariffs, VAT taxes, and certifications to make sure you don’t get into trouble?  That is why we have invited our friend Ken Nadler to share the "Ins and Outs" of International Trade.  Making and receiving payments to and from overseas and what to look out for when buying from overseas suppliers or selling to overseas customers.

Ken Nadler is a retired international trade banker with 42 years of experience helping exporters and importers with their payment and financing needs.  He has assisted Fortune 50, middle market as well as “mom and pop” companies.  Ken has worked in New York City, Boston and Brazil and was active in a number of trade organizations. He is a past Chairman of the Board of FCIB-NACM Inc, a North American and European association of international credit executives and former President of the 1245 Credit Club, a networking organization of international credit, banking and insurance executives in New York.  He was also a member of the board of directors and Treasurer of NEXCO, a New York City based international trade association providing pertinent and timely information to importers, exporters, freight forwarders, bankers, attorneys, accountants, and other professional engaged in global trade.
Ken is also a local certified counselor/mentor with SCORE.   Make sure you join us for our last meeting in 2014 and prepare for the opportunity to sell worldwide in 2015!  See you on December 10th in Clearwater 7-9 pm at 1499 Gulf to Bay at Idatix!
Ho, Ho, Ho!

New Meeting, New Location, awesome speaker this Wednesday!

Greetings Inventors, Just a reminder that we are no longer meeting at the Innovation Center as our friends there are moving to a smaller building in Saint Petersburg.  Our meeting this Wednesday, September 10th will be with our friends at the Tampa Bay Computer Society located at 1510 Barry Road in Clearwater.  http://tampa-bay.org/map/   We are thrilled to have one of our favorite guest speakers this Wednesday, Mr. Ron Kline, the Grandfather of Possibilities!  Those who have heard Ron know that he is responsible for putting the magnetic strip on credit cards, designed the MLS service for real-estate, helped modernize the New York Stock Exchange and more.  He is quite remarkable and you will be inspired if you come to meet him.   He has a positive can-do attitude and philosophy on how to meet the challenges in your business and personal life.  You can learn more about him at http://thegrandfatherofpossibilities.com/ or just make sure to join us this Wednesday from 7-9 pm and meet Ron in person!  I’ll see you there.

Tampa Bay Inventors Council's last meeting at the Innovation center Wednesday 8-27-14

This Wednesday, TBIC will hold our last meeting at the Innovation Center.  It has been an excellent place for us but as most things in life, it is now time for a change.  The Innovation Center is moving to downtown Saint Petersburg and TBIC is expanding to both sides of the bay!  Beginning in September, our second Wednesday of the month meeting will be held with our friends at the Tampa Bay Computer Society at 1510 Barry Rd in Clearwater, FL 33756.  Our forth Wednesday of the month meeting will be held at the John F. Germany Public Library’s new “Hive” at 900 N. Ashley Dr. in Tampa, FL 33602-3704.  This marks the first time in 30 years that the Inventors Council will hold regular meetings in Tampa!
As for this Wednesday, TBIC will focus our meeting on Product Development with our guest speakers from the Prototype House.  The Prototype House is a product development firm, and a resource for start ups looking for help with product development, prototyping, engineering and manufacturing. Joining us will be Co-founders Francisco Molina and Matthew Bordy to share their philosophy that success, is all about building relationships, collaborating, thinking a little bit differently.  Francisco Molina’s passion is Industrial Design and he has a Bachelor of Science Degree for Industrial Design. He developed his knowledge of design and design for manufacturing by working in Iron Bridge Tools company where he had developed more than 50 commercial products that had been displayed in big box retailers such as Home Depot, Target, Walmart, QVC and others. 
His partner, Matthew Bordy brings creativity and a unique view of the world of design and business.  He ran a product design group for a fortune 500 company where he participated in numerous programs with national and international brands, such as: BMW Design works USA, ACCO, V-Tech, Li & Fung, Big Red Roster, Emerson, SanDisk, Skill, Craftsmen, Husky, Workforce, Case Logic, IDSA and corporate private brands.  Matthew earned a bachelor degree in product development and enjoys teaching young inventors workshops, traveling and taking on new challenging projects, as he is a huge advocate of the power of teams! 
Make sure that you join us for what will be an interesting look at product design and development and learn more about the future of the Tampa Bay Inventors Council!
See you there!

Product Development this week at TBIC 8/13/2014

This week at the Tampa Bay Inventors Council we are going to have a special guest to talk about product development.  Valerie Belliveau is the Chief Operating Officer for Glober Design of North Miami Beach, and enjoys her role as a product developer.   She has a background in selling securities where she learned negotiation skills in challenging business situations.   On Wednesday she will share how she helps inventors turn their ideas into real products.  Topics will include everything from patenting to research to business plans, manufacturing and marketing.   We will also discuss Brand Identity – Logos , Colors, Trademark and the difference between Licensing and launching a Startup.   We will also touch on Crowd funding and rising funds from Investors with a focus on what industries are worth inventing in.   This will be a very comprehensive talk so bring your questions and join us Wednesday August 13th from 7-9 pm for an exciting dive into the world of inventing!
See you there!
Wayne