The Thoughtful Entrepreneur 1774 – The Importance of Marketing and Product Validation with Marcy McKenna
Dec 30, 2023
21:23
In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the Founder & CEO, Marcy McKenna.
Marcy founded the Women Inventors Club to support ambitious women with creative ideas and guide them toward product success. Two statistics that motivated her to help inventors were the low percentage of patents filed by women and the low percentage of inventors who make money with their products. She believes many inventors get stuck in the process due to lacking marketing and product validation.
Marcy emphasizes the importance of thinking about marketing from the beginning and validating ideas before investing time and resources. I couldn't agree more with her on this. Execution is key in realizing dreams, and timing and choice are equally significant.
Marcy shared her five-step product validation process, which is crucial in determining if a product idea is marketable and profitable. She stressed the need to understand if customers are willing to pay for the product and if the numbers work out. This validation process is valuable in learning about the customer, the competitive landscape, and setting oneself apart in the market.
Marcy advised inventors to create initial prototypes at home using readily available materials for proof of concept. She cautioned against hiring expensive prototyping companies immediately, as their results may not align with the inventor's vision.
Marcy suggests playing with the prototype and fine-tuning it before considering professional prototyping. She also mentioned using photorealistic 3D renderings to showcase the product's appearance and functionality, which can be helpful in licensing discussions.
Key Points from the Episode:
- Marcy McKenna's work as an inventor and entrepreneur
- The Women Inventors Club and its mission to support ambitious women with creative ideas
- Low percentage of patents filed by women and inventors who make money with their products
- Importance of marketing and product validation in the invention process
- Marcy's five-step product validation process
- Creating initial prototypes at home using readily available materials
- Caution against immediately hiring expensive prototyping companies
- Use of photorealistic 3D renderings to showcase product appearance and functionality
- Marcy's work with inventors and her efforts to empower them