Wow. Thanks for the info, Matt. And thanks for the opportunity, and thanks for the exposure to the retailers.

Oh, and thanks for the potential exposure to the manufacturers.

Oh, and thanks!

“For all of you online submission candidates, we have great news. In addition to the one idea selected for the show, there are four others that will be included in the additional 10-15 products that just needed that last bit of help.”…..
WooHoo! Sounds to me like FIVE of my online brothers and sisters are in..I hope all of them are from the boards. He didn’t say “might” be …he said “there are”….Thanks Matt!

Greg,
I love the way you guys analyze every character of every word of every sentence that we post ;-)

Let me say it this way… We have earmarked 1 slot for the show and 4 slots for those who just need that last bit of help. We’re starting to have a pretty good idea of exactly who those are but we won’t be locking them in officially until we send out those letters on July 31.

Haha….I did feel a bit like Perry Mason on that one!..Got it…..July 31 for finalization…Thx!

Let’s see, “earmarked 1 slot” hmmmm, my invention involves a slot…..there are markings on it…..AND I have ears!

Matt, Louis keeps stating no news is good news, has any one gotten news that they are out?

All you Mike! All you!

If we so happen to get the big ax, will there be any feedback as to why our invention was not selected.

Lisa,
Many people who submitted through the online casting call have received notice that they did not make it to final selection, which is the equivalent to coming to a physical casting call and not making it to or through filming.

Everybody who is in final consideration will hear from us via USPS. Postmarked from Charlotte on July 31. I hate to say it but I think you might be the very last person on this list to receive your letter since you’re in Hawaii. However, I think any of us would trade locales for a few years so you get the last laugh :-)

Mike,
You’re on to me.

Benjamin,
I posted a few weeks ago a list of the feedback that you’ll receive if you don’t make it. You would essentially receive one of about 5 different responses. Since you’ve made it this far, that response will most likely simply be that it was a good idea but didn’t fall into the very final group.

It also doesn’t mean that it might not be a great idea for one of our future retailer searches (we’re launching another one or two next week!). Just because it’s not a fit for the show doesn’t mean it won’t be a perfect fit for the criteria of one of our retailer searches – every single one of them is unique. The best part is that as long as your idea is in the database, it will be considered for all future searches. All you have to do to keep it in the database is maintain your gold membership – there is no per-search fee for ideas that have been previously submitted.

Check out our Education section, specifically this page: http://www.edisonnation.com/education/other_helpful_links

There are some groups out there, usually associated with universities, such as the Washington State University Innovation Assessment Center that can provide (for a fee of course) very detailed assessments of your invention and the market potential.

Lisa,
Not to jump on every word in Matts response but he only said you might be the last person to receive your letter… Not that you might get a letter.

Have any of the “in person” casting call people heard no? Ya’ll are more than welcome to come and visit my house anytime! It is very nice here on the island.

Lisa, If you buy my ticket I’ll come clean your house!

Tickets aren’t as bad as you may think… Its sad I have been here almost 5 years and sometimes forget where I live, and how beautiful it is! Its a long way from home though (GA)

Thanks for the update…

Steve Johnson
Olympia, Wa.

thanks Matt for the latest info … you must be a man of alot of patience and humor in dealing with the abundance of questions, suggestions and plain ole’ BS from us desperate souls … very exciting news for all of us … goosebumpy !

Hi Lisa,
Where in GA did you live? I have live in several towns here so I may have been your neighbor! :-)
Hey, I will visit you someday. Good Luck!!! Maybe we will meet in NC!

Matt, after watching the show I think I recognize little Meredith? She was so nice about helping us not feel so nervous at the Providence call. Please thank her for me!

Hi Matt, Sorry to bother you with more questions….but as someone whose submissions are no longer green I was wondering…. When you say “There are still 124 ideas that are in their second and third reviews at major retailers.” is that only pertaining to the submissions that are still green? I’m thinking that’s what you meant but I just need to be sure. Thanks! :0)

there are several new technologies that are perfect for some very large manufacturers and we are working hard to get their attention… and guess what? We are.

That sounds like good news to me. I really can use some good news right now since I just lost my day job today. (company ran out of fund)

Matt, Stephanie raised a good question! I have been trying to limit my questions so you can get other things done over there. But, yeah, we would love to know if some of the entries that went red already are among the 124 ideas that are in their second and third reviews at major retailers.

Good one Stephanie!

Very sorry to hear that, Tim. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of good opportunities before long.

You know when one door opens….

• Cliche disclaimer **

thanks Matt, its great that the retailors have so many products their reveiwing, were all anxiously awaiting..

I would also like to know if the red team are among the 124 mentioned above.

Lisa,
My note at the beginning of this topic is applicable to everybody whether they submitted an idea in person or online. So no, none of the finalists from the in-person casting calls have heard “yes” or “no” yet. Their response will be postmarked on July 31.

Steve,
Sucking up will not help. We do have a Starbucks, Gummi Bear and Twizzlers habit around here, though, so you can always consider sending us some candy ;-)

I really do appreciate your comments, though. There are far too many companies out there preying on inventors so we do everything we can to show inventors that it really is worth all of the hard work in the end… win, lose or draw as you said.

Shelley,
You should take a screen shot of your post. Your kids will be horrified in 10 years when they see you used a naked picture of them in the tub on a public forum. You can pull it out and threaten to email it to all of their friends if they come home late, etc…

Debby,
Meredith, Ashley & Katie lead our all-star casting call PR and logistics team. They’re fantastic as anybody who has come to a casting call can attest. They all follow these forums and would post more often if they weren’t on the phone with reporters all day long. I’ll make sure they see your message!

Stephanie & Patrice,
That’s correct… If you have an idea that has received a red light, it is not under consideration by the retailers for the Everyday Edisons Casting Call.

However, we’ll be emailing everybody around August 1 who has participated in the casting call online search and they will have the ability to add their idea to our database for future Live Product Searches by retailers. We’ll be launching two new searches next week and will always have at least one running each month (but I anticipate quite a few more than that).

Even if a retailer isn’t considering it for the Everyday Edisons casting call, they may just not be looking for that particular type of innovation right now (it’s dependent upon buying seasons, inventory issues and a million other factors).

Each new Live Product Search will have a completely unique set of requirements. If your idea isn’t a fit for a search today, it might be a perfect fit for one tomorrow. As long as you maintain your gold membership, your idea will be considered for every single future search at no additional cost.

We will also be providing you a mechanism for updating your submission so that as you work on it and discover new ways of improving it, you can keep us in the loop.

Another thing that we’re working on is the “Idea Vault” (didn’t Celeste name it that in a request a few weeks ago?). That will allow you to submit an idea to the database but not necessarily to any particular search. So even if you don’t think your idea matches any of the current searches, you can get it into the system for all future searches and move on to your next idea.

We’ve actually had a couple of people submit over 50 ideas each for that very reason. They’re actively working on a couple of ideas but only have so much time. Rather than let their other ideas collect dust in their inventor’s notebooks, they’ve submitted them to us. After the initial 6-month review period, they can pull them out with no notice at all so if they finish one project and want to move on to the next, they just fish out their next best idea and start working on commercializing that one. Of course, throughout that whole time, their idea is being considered for all of our Live Product Searches.

Tim,
I’m sorry to hear about that… I second Mike’s comment about one door closing and another one opening – or at least a window.

Every time I or anybody I know has lost a job, something much better has materialized. That’s why I’m here and why my wife has her own marketing company. Another friend of mine was just laid off a few months ago and now she has her own commercial real estate business. If you don’t turn it into a positive and take advantage of the opportunity, it will get the best of you. If you feel like you’re liberated and able to go out and do anything, it’s a huge opportunity!

I was just wondering Matt if you can give us an idea of what product searches are to come. Are you going to be getting any clothing store and such.
My idea didn’t make it through to Everyday Edison but after seeing the products chosen for last season I’m not suprised. Not exactly the niche you guys work in.

Matt, thanks for consistently checking in with us! Your efforts are very much appreciated.

hi matt
I was just curious to know? If the show passes on any particular idea , but one of the retailors loves it and wants it developed and produced.How is it handled ? Do they take it to their own product development departments ? Or is it still developed by you guys, with some type of exclusive licenceing for distribution? I was just wondering because as you said there was so much outside interest from the retailers at the casting calls.

Suggestion: On August 1st or after everyone has been notified, can you please post all of the users of this site who were selected.

It would be nice to know if any of our fellow EdisonNation “siblings” have made it. So far all I know is who didn’t.

Mike & Matt

Thanks. I will keep inventing and find another day job which shouldn’t be hard for me, maybe within a month or two. Even selected by this show I wouldn’t give up my career. I need to go out and get stimulated.

Matt,
re “We will also be providing you a mechanism for updating your submission so that as you work on it and discover new ways of improving it, you can keep us in the loop.”
Let’s say we have made a prototype now and did not have one before. In the future we will be able to update this in the database?
Also, does this make a big difference in the mind of the retailers if we have a working prototype? Put another way, have any ideas every been selected for the show or partner retailers for development that have not had any patent or prototype…just an idea on paper? Thanks!

Matt,
So much talk about 7-31-08 letters….does that mean red light green light game is over until then?….Or, will dash continue to reflect red as some online submissions are voted out? Thanks-

Tim, good for you for taking a risk to be a part of a start up. Most people would be afraid to try. You have that entreprenurial spirit that this country so sorely needs right now! Keep going.

Celeste I won’t hold it against you that Matt keeps thinking you got the Vault idea :)
Matt, How about this, the Vault at Innovation Station- commonly referred to as The Vault.

Debby, I am from Dawsonville GA….it is in the north GA mountains. Based on some of the other forums, which stated that some of the in person participants had received a “no go” I guess they all were assumptions. Now I am wondering…Is no news Really good news?

Hey Lisa, I know exactly where you come from :-)
I think those who were in the finals at casting calls are the ones who will soon be receiving letters. If they got a ‘no’ at the audition then that was it. But if ‘yes’ then we’re still in the finals waiting the loooong wait! It is making me crazy (er) than I already am :-)

Hi Matt,
I was just wondering if at all we will ever recieve individual feedback for our ides?? I know that you are all VERY busy right now, however I was just wondering because I know for myself and I am sure for many others their ideas and inventions are very personal. I know I was crushed with my red lights on my idea. I am confident in what I have come up with but the feedback wasn’t very constructive. I understand for time purposes (and I am sure for Everyday Edison staff sanity purposes)it had to be generic, will we recieve any of the notes from the process??

Hey Matt,

On my original forms that I submitted at the in-person casting call, in Atlanta, I used my PO Box address. How will this work with EE using UPS?

Yo Matt,
Gotta a question, There is IP reviews being done for prior art and such is that correct? Has all the legal work been done on the IP section of the ideas and if so then have those people who had bad results been contacted? I had a pro search done on my product but the patent is not in hand yet so I’d love to know. And I know I only have 2 weeks left, thanks buddy. Jeff

Charles, you read too quickly, they are not sending letters out using UPS, but rather your standard USPS.

Ahhh, thanks Randy.

I’m sorry I haven’t responded to your questions in a few hours… I’m tied up but will reply to all of your questions soon!

Thanks!
Matt

Hey Matt,

I was down in your neck of the woods today looking at some tile. I waved as I drove by:). Just teasing, couldn’t find the office. But I will be attending the invention group meeting next month. Excited to see the place where it all happens.

Hey Jeff, you were a finalist in Chicago, right? I met you there. I was the first in line in the Gold Member line. I’ve been wondering exactly what your tooth brush did. I remember seeing the picture, but I didn’t look or read close enough to see why it was unique. I can’t believe I actually recognized someone on here! I’m glad we don’t have to wait much longer! Good Luck!