American Inventor: Episode 4
The Final Week Of Auditions
Recap by Gayl Killough
April 7, 2006
The shows starts off by promising us that this is the last episode of the
audition round. Hallelujah! I am ready to move on to the real
competition. At least I hope. There is still this episode to get
through. Since I tried out in Atlanta, I am hoping to see more
contestants from Atlanta. There were only 2 that were highlighted in an
earlier episode, so is there still more to come? I saw a room full of
inventions that contained some really great inventions, where are they?
Will I still see them or was Atlanta overlooked. It is one thing to be
personally overlooked, but if Atlanta as a whole got shafted, I am going
to be truly angry.
I have read general reader responses to this show and I have to make a
few comments. Many viewers have the impression that the really good
inventors did not simply try out. Not true. I do not know why they have
not been aired, but keep in mind that this is a reality show. Apparently
many good inventions and inventors were not considered worthy of
airtime. Just because they have not been shown, does not mean that they
do not exist. I tried out; I saw several really great inventions in
person. I saw a room full that contained many good inventions. Where are
they?
The real key to remember is the rules for the show. The show is looking
for an invention that can be sold in a retail market as soon as three to
six months after the show ends. The show is looking for what can be sold
to a large general market. Right off the bat, there is a very, very,
very limited pool of inventions that are being considered. It is one
thing to be inventive. It is another to be both inventive and marketable
in the current retail market as it now exists. This is why so many
improvement ideas and ideas similar to what is already on the market is
getting yes votes. I read many complaints that viewers want to see
something truly original and mind blowing. This show is not set-up for
that type of invention. I wish the show would be more up-front and clear
about what it is looking for in the inventions.
Also don't blame the contestants. Due to the rules laid out in the
contract and the initial guidelines, I chose one of more marketable
ideas for the current retail system. I did not even try to choose any of
my more inventive ideas because they would need a market structure built
for them. Also my more inventive concepts need testing that would take
longer than a few months. For example, when I was on a tour of a company
that makes cans for the soda industry, they mentioned that they had to
let a new soda can design sit on a shelf for 2 years to test that it was
safe for the consumer market. The company had to make sure that the new
can design would not leak product or explode before it was approved for
use on the market. Every new can design had to wait at least 2 years
because of testing. Cans may sit on a shelf for a long time. 2 years
sounds extreme, but I guess the test is supposed to have extra time
built into it for safety. This show wants ideas right away that are
ready. I want to emphasize that I played by the rules. Don't blame me
or any other contestant if you don't like the rules because we did not
make the rules.
Another thing to mention in defense of the contestants is the difficulty
and expense in creating a good prototype. Even a decent prototype can be
a huge barrier. It is one thing to have a concept, another level of
thought to create a detailed invention that fits the concept, and beyond
that is the ability to create a decent prototype to explain the
invention. Most prototypes are really rough. Most contestants have very
limited resources. Also a contestant may have had only a few days to
come up with a prototype. The first round aired is really the second
round. Several contestants have mentioned that they only had a few days
to come up with a prototype for the round that was aired. The biggest
barrier is expense. The products that look the best usually had the most
money invested in them. That is no accident. It is easier to see and
sell the benefits of a product, the closer it is to the finished product
that would be on the market.
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