The bridge

The bridge.  Rhonda and I are on the bridge working to get across -  what does it mean to "cross the bridge".





To Rhonda and I it means a transition of working for someone else to independence and following our dreams. On one side is "a job" that dictates the limits to your financial path and schedule.  On the other side is "living our dream" in our case creating and selling our inventions. You may know this entity as "the man", but really its just corporate america.  Business is hard and employees are resources, like equipment.  Companies need to maximize every last bit of energy from their equipment before it wears out. As I'm sure your know, this means no 8 hour day, there is no leaving work at the office.  Remember that "gift" of a new company laptop?  Congratulations you can now be productive 24x7 everywhere you go.


Retaining employees is crucial and fear has always worked well. Fear of no health insurance. Statistics of how many startups and small businesses fail.  The stats are correct and many falter along the way, but to realize a dream you must act, fall down and then act again.  There have been hundreds of studies of successful entrepreneurs as to what is their secret recipe.  Is their IQ that much higher or did they have the trust fund to start with?  Books and movies about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and Eon Musk and other successful entrepreneurs outline one and only one common quality that all these people share - determination.


Believe. Push forward. Create. Throw away that prototype that doesn't work and make another one. Do all that you need to do. Surround yourself with people who are also on the bridge.  Long ago Rhonda's dad wrote her a note - it had 2 simple words: "you can".

Rafts and a new KidCap

It is only when my wife and I are in Starbucks and we do not have a sippy cup that our kids want something to drink, one of the small bottles of chocolate milks or orange juice or fruit blends.  That's when my wife said, "wouldn't it be great if we just had a sippy cup cap that screws onto those bottles?".  KidCap was born and today we have patented, sourced manufacturing costs and continue to work on a path to market for our product.

The other day, I had discovered a new supplier for the silicone valve I use in KidCaps.  A smaller version with more possibilities.  That meant creating a new CAD file to fit the smaller valve and 3D print a test.

Lesson 1.  If it didn't print correctly the first time the second time will be the same.  I can't believe I tried it again!  The inner stem of the cap doesn't get connecting in the print until later on.  The problem is the inner stem was falling off the print bed during printing before I could get to that point.
Lesson 2.  If something isn't working, don't do the exact same thing.  Ok I know that's the same as lesson 1 but it's an important one.  I knew about 3D printed rafts ( a layer of plastic you print down first and then print your object on top of ) but had never tried them.  It worked great the first time.  The inner stem stayed put and final cleanup of the raft was easy.

Next steps for us on this product?  Reduce the plastic consumption, print and test the new valve and then sell on Amazon, printed right from here.

...be sure to look for future posts on self manufacturing...

E I

My son says this gesture would be swearing in China.  Wikipedia says an outward pointing little finger in China means poor quality, you are nothing or not very good at something.  Maybe we should be using this with China except the reality is China is very good at something, manufacturing.  Now that millions of manufacturing jobs have moved overseas its even more important to focus on our own strengths: innovation and invention and today's environment is prime for the everyday-inventor. 

Step 1: find need/ pain point/ a problem that needs solving with the emphasis on NEEDS

Step 2: prototype, test, prototype

Step 3: file your provisional patent

Step 4: Crowd fund your first X orders to fund manufacturing set up overseas.

Step 5: Collect money, find new problem and go to Step 1.

If you'd like to see some of our products, check out ToasterShield on Amazon.com and make sure to follow #everyday-inventor

Quick inventions to market

My wife and I definitely follow and sometimes lead the DIY bandwagon. When we were remodeling our kitchen, we decided to paint the cabinets and put new hardware on instead of filling in the dump. Price was also a consideration. That's when we discovered the burnt, soot stained area above our toaster.

Since I also am a glass blower I have a lot of refectory materials lying around and we installed a protective covering in this area.  I thought, I wonder if other people have this problem and what's available out there. Turns out, this is the norm and nothing is sold or patented for this problem.  Also I discovered in the US there are over 10,000 kitchen fires from toasters.  As time goes on the cabinet wood dries and its kindling point ( the temperature the wood will catch fire ) lowers.


Solution: ToasterShield. Some inventions are just this quick and easy.  I got our patent attorney involved, and started selling on Amazon. Do you like toast and want to support independent inventors?  You can buy your ToasterShield here, several size options - ToasterShield.

China just stole my invention

China Just Stole My Idea!

It's a fear I've heard a lot.  How can you source your manufacturing without giving away your idea? The fact is you can't. International patents are expensive and the last thing you should purchase when progressing along ICE (inventors chain of events).  The good news is that you should be so lucky to have an idea so good that someone would want to steal it.  You need to contact China if you are going to be able to calculate your cost of goods.  You need your cost of goods to be able to pitch your product, determine retail value and basically estimate how successful your idea is going to be.  So, given that, follow these steps:

1. Search for existing patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
   You will probably find many ideas that are close, or expired.  If too close for comfort you'll need to ask a patent attorney for advice if you still want to pursue your idea. Many companies, such as As Seen on TV, could care less about your patent ability but more on that in another post.
2. File your provisional patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
   You can do this yourself.  The cost is $200 and will protect your idea/invention within the USA. Start there and as your business grows you can handle the foreign patent arena later. You will have 1 year from the date of filing this to move your idea along and get to a point to file the actual Utility patent.  If you need more time, you can refile your provisional patent to gain another year.
3. Get your bill of materials, cad files, design specs together.  You will need to send Chinese manufacturing companies enough detail as to give you an accurate estimate on production costs.  Don't skimp on this as that one detail you hold back on might increase cost exponentially in the future.  
4. Create a non-disclosure agreement. There are many examples of these on the web and many USA manufacturers you talk to can send you a template of what they use.  When I did this and started talking to CAD designers and plastic injection molding companies here in the US, I felt a bit weird saying here you must sign my NDA before we can talk.  I shouldn't have felt strange as everyone is so used to this as good business practice they are expecting it. 

Keep strong. Bringing a new product or idea to market is hard work, takes patience and more than anything determination.  You can do it.  

Stephen Rekstad: Everyday-Inventor

 - products moving forward: ToasterShield, KidCap, Zoomr and more -you must sign my NDA to hear about those :)