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July 23, 2007

American Inventor

The Face Behind the Product

Posted by Athena Schindelheim at 5:05 PM

Apologies for the tardiness of this post. I labored since viewing last week's episode of American Inventor over my gut reaction to one of the decisions.

As we've been reminded in every episode, the judges are looking for at least four qualities in the ideas and prototypes proffered by contestants: innovation, marketability, passion, and mass appeal. Most of the people who get air time on the show have passion, but combining innovation and mass appeal seems to be the tricky part. Any producer can tell you that marketability comes later. Do you remember what Kelly Clarkson looked like when she was just another girl in Burleson, Texas, and not the American Idol groomed super pop star? Just a smidge different.

In this past week's edition, we meet Bobby Lee Grissett, a 54 year-old cafeteria manager who is $11,000 in debt and has taken $33,000 out of his retirement fund to fund his 54-square cake-cutter. Both Blakely and Foreman were into it. Croce and Jones dismissed it, even after Blakely made a plea on Grissett's behalf enumerating the many applications of the cake-cutter. We also met Marcus "Sandy" Wall who served 28 years with a police department. He shared a video demonstration of his product that blows open locked doors with some kind of localized explosion. Almost all of the judges were enthusiastic about sending Wall along to the final round except Jones, again, who said "How can I possibly say 'no' to this" because it saves lives.

Jones said his reason for denying the banger passage into the next round was because the appeal was limited to those in law enforcement. Although Wall was eliminated when the judges ultimately chose brothers Joseph & Mike Miller with the under cupboard attachment, I am slightly offended that he was moved along to the finalist round for that city and Grissett was not. I'm sure there were lots of inventor hopefuls who auditioned and did not make it onscreen who had inventions for niche markets. But these are the two that made the cut into the broadcast, so these are the two I am drawing conclusions from.

So, although they were both stymied by really great products for a limited audience, the one inventor with more polish gained approval from the "board" while the other was dismissed. Do you think, as I suspect, that the inventors' difference in appearance contributed to the judges' decision? Do you think that appearance makes a big difference when entrepreneurs are seeking funding and other forms of support or assistance? Do you think it matters whether the face of the company is black or white? Do you think I'm overreacting?

We'd love to hear from you.

3 Comments

Posted by: Donna Olson at July 24, 2007 2:35 PM

I watch the show also and I feel that my item would have a good chance, It's a disposable child safety seat cover. I am sure there are a lot of good ideas out in america funding holding them back while others like me do not want to sell our product short. But being on the show will open doors for the inventor and the product. If you watch the expressions of the judges, appearance does make a difference. It seams humility does to!! To all of them GOOD LUCK!!! Donna Olson CEO of Statecraft of Nebraska Koveaz.com

Posted by: Bobbie Gossage at July 24, 2007 6:51 PM

You may be on to something there. What shocked me about Grissett was that he spent so much money and walked in with this thing that looked like it was made out of plywood and a couple wall hooks. Where did all the money go? It broke my heart.

I liked both Grissett's and Wall's inventions better than the cupboard attachment. How does that serve a need?

Posted by: Aimee at August 3, 2007 12:48 AM

I think the cake cutter would have mass market appeal. I would like to know how many Costco sheet cakes are sold a year. I'm a stay at home Mom and I have bought Costco sheet cakes for birthday parties, Scout banquets, we had them at my wedding, etc... I would love to have one of his inventions.

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