GREAT 86 IDEA: Build a Working Model of Your Product

Raising money to manufacture and market your great idea is almost impossible without a working model. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs fall prey to invention scam artists who charge big fees and do absolutely nothing to bring your product to market.

So you need to find a reputable firm to build a working prototype. Most investors want to touch and feel the product before writing a check.

“People think that if they have a patent they are nine-tenths of the way there,” said Henry C. Keck, the semiretired cofounder of Keck-Craig, the Pasadena, California, based firm. Keck has been designing products since the 1950s. “When the inventor says it's 90 percent complete, we say there's 90 percent more ...

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