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Meet Blake Wayman, the entrepreneur
and creator of Troop on the Stoop!
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When Blake was deployed overseas in the Army, the care packages he received from his mother were beloved and well known. “Rally on Wayman’s stoop!” friends called out when one arrived. Later, in 2016, he befriended a young girl battling cancer whose parents were both in the service while managing medical equipment for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
He wanted to do more for her, especially during Christmas. When he spied an Elf on the Shelf in a nursing station, a flash of inspiration struck. Would the children of military families be comforted by a storybook & plush character created especially for them? Troop on the Stoop was born.
He sold out of his first production run almost immediately after growing a following on Facebook. Today every child admitted to the hospital he works at with a military family receives one. He’s overcome manufacturing struggles to develop a brand worth celebrating. Congratulations Blake!
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From idea to product, sometimes it’s really simple, with just a bit of persistence!
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| From the Keyboard Desk and Chair Pouch to the Trunk Pocket and Entry Organizer, hard work makes dreams come true!
“Seeing my products on my licensee’s website is invigorating. When people ask me what I do, I get to say, “I have my own LLC called StarFlyer Ideas, I am a product developer, and I come up with product ideas for companies who are open innovation friendly.” It puts fuel in my fire when I get to talk about my passion.
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So, I have an active licensing deal. Now what? This is where my journey really begins. This is where I go from inventor to serial inventor.
My strategy was to contact many companies for one of my ideas. Now my strategy is to contact a couple companies with many of my ideas. I have no problem coming up with ideas, but contacting companies is my weakness — so I will use more of my time honing in on my script, my business communication skills, and finding out the best way to contact each company.
Find your dream, take hold of it, and never stop learning. Because the only way for your dreams to come true, is to work hard at it and to never lose sight of the end goal.” — Courtney Laschkewitsch
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Before considering presenting your product idea to an Open Innovation company, watch this webinar!
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| We held an educational webinar on March 6th about how to review a potential licensee to see if your idea is a good fit with Co-Founders Andrew Krauss and Stephen Key. To watch the recorded playback of this webinar, click Here and scroll to the bottom of the page! |
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Educational Webinar Series
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Did you learn how to raise money to launch your business with Kedma Ough? If you missed this webinar, Click Here and scroll to the bottom of the page to watch! |
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Learn How to be a Toy Inventor!
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Surprise! We have another educational webinar coming your way! That’s twice this month! Join us with Mary Couzin, Founder of ChiTAG (North America’s largest non-hobby toy and game fair), to learn about how to be a toy inventor!
Mary Couzin is the Founder and President at Chicago Toy & Game Week. She is an inventor in many ways: Inventor Conferences, Toy & Game Innovation Awards (TAGIEs), PlayCHIC, Young Inventor Challenge, and the Chicago Toy & Game Fair.
July 31st — In just a couple days!
The Webinars are held Wednesdays at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern
We will share a recording of his presentation afterwards.
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The Michigan Inventors Coalition is proud to announce this year’s 7th Annual Michigan Inventors Expo, co-hosted with Inventors Groups of America!
You’ll get to meet….
Stephen Key, Co-Founder of IGA
Join us on Thursday, August 29th at the Kellogg Conference Center. Are you looking to showcase your invention? Booths are limited to 50 this year, so sign up early. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity for exposure and education.
Space is limited – register today!
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Learn more about two of the speakers, Ken Johnson and Kedma Ough!
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4th International Invention Innovation Competition
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“The main purpose of the event is to arrange a special occasion to emerge creativity engaged by innovators from Canada and the rest of the world while providing an opportunity towards participants to expand their activities by showcasing and promoting their inventions/new products while also achieving a new success of winning invention awards from Canada.
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Watch to learn about iCAN!
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| The event provides favorable programs: a combination of invention exhibition, educational seminar, and award ceremony for inventors, students, researchers, and entrepreneurs from both local and overseas sectors. Anyone with spectacular ideas in all categories can participate in the competition and benefit from all programs and exchange network with a diverse group of participants.” – TISIAS |
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Are you an animal lover? Do you like inventing in the pet industry? Learn about this awesome trade show coming up!
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It’s a pet trade show for everyone! Come down to the SuperZoo trade show, August 20 – 22 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV!
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| “Connect with Thousands of Buyers From Across the World and Every Segment of the Pet Industry. SuperZoo is the most-attended pet industry trade show in North America, established by World Pet Association in 1950 as an annual gathering place for the entire industry to connect, learn and do business. |
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| Ever since, the show has continued to grow—and it now boasts more buyers and education hours than any other industry event on the continent. With its rich education offerings, easy-to-shop show floor and energizing, fun-filled atmosphere, SuperZoo has earned its reputation as North America’s premier pet retail event—and the industry’s most productive and vibrant trade show of the year.” – SuperZoo |
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Check out this great resource for trade shows!
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“The Trade Show News Network (TSNN) is the world’s leading news and online resource for the trade show, exhibition and event industry since 1996.
TSNN.com owns and operates the most widely consulted event database on the Internet, containing data about more than 25,000 trade shows, exhibitions, public events and conferences. We help facilitate the exchange between buyers and sellers with more than 137,000 registered website users, more than 140,000 monthly newsletter subscribers and more than 7,000 LinkedIn group members and 10,000-plus followers on Twitter.” – TSNN
Remember when choosing a trade show to go to, that you do your homework and that it’s right for you!
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IGA supports inventors groups across America!
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