Dec

3

The Hawaiian Inventors Conference

Filed Under Inventing, Trade Shows and Conferences 

hawaii

This past summer I was invited to attend the Hawaiian Inventors Conference in Honolulu September 19. I was hosted by the conference organizer and speaker, Daynin Dashefsky. Daynin is a real go-getter and loves to share her experiences of how she was successful commercializing her own invention. She holds conferences like this and has a series of CD’s sharing the process she went through, and the process any budding entrepreneur may need to go through to commercialize their invention, especially if they want to do so on their own, i.e., be an entrepreneur and have their own company for manufacturing, distribution and marketing.

What was somewhat unique about Daynin’s conference, despite the location, which was much more wonderful then most of the inventor conferences that I attend, was the format for the conference. Daynin was the principal conference speaker on Saturday.  Then, on the second day of the conference, all attendees were invited to spend 30-60 minutes interviewing any member of the half-dozen industry experts on various topics pertaining to the commercialization of inventions.

In attendance were: Brian Kunzler, a patent attorney from Utah who helped inventors understand U.S. patents and trademarks, the process of patenting, how to get a patent, how to apply for a patent, and so forth. Michelle Price consulted on social media and marketing. Michael Drew, an expert on market positioning, book publicist, and SEO specialist; Ron Wilder, electrical engineer and prototyper, Connie Chow, asian manufacturer sourcing specialist, and yours truly, Ron Docie, invention marketing and licensing specialist.

Other Inventors’ Events

The Minnesota Inventors Congress (MIC) held in June each year, in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, offers a similar format. However, their conference has many more speakers, a broader range of advisers, and a tradeshow for inventors to display their inventions.  Sometimes new product scouts from major manufacturing companies go to the Minnesota show to seek inventions.  Unfortunately, the Minnesota Congress, which is the oldest conference of its kind in the United States, and possibly the world, is the only substantive conference held without interruption over the years. Check out this blog in a couple months to get updates about these upcoming trade shows, or the news reports covering them.

The Yankee Invention Exposition in Waterbury, Connecticut, offers the format very similar to that of the MIC however; it is unclear if they will receive the funding necessary to hold a conference in 2010? Because of funding they had to cancel the conference in 2009.

In my next blog, I’ll talk about the Wisconsin innovation workshop for inventors and share information about that conference format and features as I learn more.

RON DOCIE’s career in the world of inventions spans more than three decades. His own inventions are found in Wal-Mart, Kmart, and thousands of other outlets. As an agent for inventors, Docie has negotiated over fifty licenses with such companies as General Motors. He is an expert consultant on idea submission to Johnson & Johnson and other prominent companies. Docie is the president of Docie Development, LLC, an international company that provides services for inventors and corporations, and he is author of The Inventor’s Bible: How to Market and License Your Brilliant Ideas, Third Edition, 2010, Ten Speed Press, a Crown Publishing imprint of Random House.

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