Thanks everyone for your input! I was just curious. I, of course, enter anyway, cuz you never know! :)

John-

Just checked out ‘Battelle’ … BIG Corp. Impressive.
http://www.battelle.org/index.aspx Almost too big. Alot of disciplines and areas of focus, reminds me of where I work now. I do see some overlap between our companies, but alot of our stuff we cannot always talk about in the ‘open’. ; ) http://www.ara.com/

Come-on… :)

Now we’re talkin’… ;-)

If by challenge you mean does Edison Nation look for ideas that may be beyond their scope or abilities to develop in-house. You bet they do. Find out about the company, Battelle, and you will realize there is no limit to what can be developed and brought to market with a team like that! So don’t be afraid to submit either a low-tech or a high-tech idea, because either way, Edison Nation has you covered (plus a $25 million dollar Innovation Fund!)

Please, no offense to any of the previous posts but… IMO I think you should go for it David. I don’t know what your background is or how familiar you are with design/engineering. For you it might seem tough to figure out all the intricacies to make it all gel, but to a designer/engineer it might be right up their alley(so to speak). I think what is of paramount importance here at EN is to have the ability to describe your idea with words and perhaps pic’s and vid’s. Your “pitch” is key. If you can get them (the reviewers) to “get it” and feel it’s a money maker, it’s all down hill from there. They will figure the rest out for you.
JMO, Scooter

Greg,
Do you mean to tell that I’ve been making my popcorn the hard way for nothing?! Let me guess the one button that doesn’t say what it does, is probably the one…lol!

Michael,

Not sure what your significant other might’ve perpetrated on you, but …shhh.. the typical microwave does not require a key to open.

Ralph,
You bet. It’s true, simple ideas do well in the market, but I think there’s plenty of room from the business perspective for abstract and complicated.
From weed trimmers to cell phones, key less entry to microwaves. Where do we draw the line?

Good luck with your game changers…I look forward!

Michael-

You are correct, everyone can and should follow their dreams but also follow through to see them fulfilled. My .02 was merely from a business perspective on simple and developed ideas vs abstract and complicated ones. David is no slouch and I’m sure he has something brilliant lined up. EN more than likely has great resources available to them, but it’s really about the bottom line. You have to gauge how much it’s going to cost to bring those complex designer challenges to fruition and whether the market will support it,much like the Segway.

David,
I say “go for it”. Never underestimate the potential of your idea.
EN has taken on some amazing challenges in the past that involve all different aspects of the market.
Ralph, I know Mr. Kamen didn’t accomplish what he wanted to from a business point of view concerning the Segway, but I truly believe that it has lead to other innovations and still carries a great deal of potential itself.
One of the great things about EN, is their amazing resources all within the potential reach of any given submission!

I think they look for a winner with a great market potential and do what they can to get it licensed. And what designer or engineer wouldn’t pick up the dropped gauntlet of “Bet you can’t…”

I guess I will find out soon enough! :)

A simple solution is best, always! But just because it’s a challenge does not make it complicated nor expensive. For example, there are about 100 different solutions that have been designed to solve a common problem. To come up with one solution that solves a hundred problems is a challenge. It doesn’t have to be complicated nor expensive.

Sorry but No.

Truthfully… no. I think it’s ‘all about the money’. This is afterall, a real business. That means mass market, low cost to produce, fast time to shelf, repeat sales and IP protection. Same exact things I think about when inventing anything. Inventing is fun and challenging, but it’s the gold at the end of the rainbow that finances those further dreams and makes the impossible, possible. Dean Kamen (one of my mentors) invented the Segway (among other great things) and thought it would transfrom urban transportation- It didn’t. It too was a challenge to design, build and mafg.

People say it doesn’t ‘cost anything’ to dream. Well, it does. One cannot dream their life away, you have to have results to reinforce those dreams. Just my opinion and we all know how that works, armpits and all… ; )