August 24th Inventors Meeting

Do you need help figuring out how to get your invention on the market? Do you want to hear advice from someone who knows the ropes? On August 24th, the Tampa Bay Inventors Council is pleased to welcome Jim DeBetta to speak to our inventors from 7 – 9 pm . Jim specializes in coaching inventors and consumer products start-up companies. He also assists clients with product development, engineering, sales and market representation to major retailers. He was VP of Product Development for Kevin Harrington, from the ABC show Shark Tank and reviewed products sent to the company to determine if they were suitable for an infomercial or retail distribution. He has a solid network of product engineers, factory brokers, angel investment firms, licensing experts, and sales and marketing professionals with various areas of expertise. Jim can help find factories to produce products, create pricing strategies, help with marketing and public relations, and selling products to major retailers. Jim was part of a highly successful start up company that produced sport optics and lead the company from insignificant revenue to nearly 50 million dollars in sales in under 8 years. Jim’s experience has reached far and wide working with various products, retailers, manufactures, and factories. He knew it was time to help those that had a product in mind or ready for production. His goal is to teach others the process without unnecessary expense, time and red tape. Jim teaches inventors how to create sales and marketing strategies, understand the world of licensing, develop a product using CAD design, raising money to fund a business, and locating factories overseas to produce products. He is now reaching out to individuals who want to learn how to do it for themselves. He is also the author of "The Business of Inventing" and has written hundreds of articles for industry publications, newspapers, and websites such as Inventor’s Digest, Georgia Magazine, and Entrepreneur Magazine. Jim also appears as a guest speaker for leading trade and consumer organizations, speaks at international conferences, and hosts forum and blog discussions on prominent invention and entrepreneurial websites. On Wednesday, August 24th, learn from his extensive experience with start-ups and small consumer products companies. Jim will share his thoughts and help our Tampa Bay Inventors to get the edge that you need to be successful with your invention!

Monetize your patent(s) 8/10/11

You have a great idea for a gadget, gizmo or do-hickey but how do you make money from it? That is the focus of our next Tampa Bay Inventors Council meeting on Wednesday, August 10th. Our next speaker, Ron Stein will talk about how to “Turn Your Idea Into a Revenue Reality.” We will take a look at how to succeed in monetizing patents, whether the goal is to build a product company, licensing, or selling the IP. He will discuss zeroing in on the target market for the problem you are solving, how to set you and your invention apart from the competition, and how to use education driven marketing to get the attention of the people that are important to your success.

Ron Stein, President of FastPath Marketing LLC, works with businesses to help them create a competitive edge that attracts their target audience through effective strategies and action plans tailored to their situation. Ron has over 20 years experience in marketing, sales, and business development and has held key positions including: CEO, Division General Manager, VP of Marketing, VP of Sales, VP of Business Development, and field salesman for both startups and established industry leaders such as Motorola, VideoServer, Paradyne Networks, and SercoNet. His experience is extensive, ranging from bringing innovative new products to the market to managing a portfolio of more than 200 patents.

Ron offers a five step program that guides individuals and groups to revenue success and works with tech companies, manufactures, resellers, and professional services firms. He has been a guest teacher at the University of Florida Center For Entrepreneurship & Innovation and is currently a member of the advisory team at the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. TBIC is thrilled to have Ron attend our next meeting. Join us from 7-9 pm next Wednesday & discover how you can get on the right path!