How to create ideas of products… and business opportunities

A lot of big inventions were discovered " by chance ". Let's

take the case of the penicillin. In 1928 the scholar

Alexander Fleming discovers it after to have forgotten a

culture of mushrooms in his laboratory. He notices that a

mildew that had developed (Penicillium notatum) killed all

the bacteria around the mushrooms. 17 years later he shared

the Nobel price of medicine.

Another example, the discovery of Velcro. While taking a

walk in the mountains, Georges De Mestrallet, engineer, is

irritated by the small balls of a plant that hang themselves

to its clothing and to the hairs of his dog. The tiny hooks

of the seeds of bardane that it observes to the microscope

give him the idea of the closing Velcro.

Velcro has become a multinational corporation.

There are hundreds of examples of this type as the history

of the Archimedes principle discovered in his bath, the

apple of Newton (universal gravitation) or the post-it and

its adhesive that sticks and puts back itself, etc.

These examples show that persons in contact with a

circumstance, capitalize on that by making their creativity

work.

This astonishing faculty carries a name:

The serendipity, or the creative exploitation of the

unforeseen.

1) The serendipity is the art to do a happy encounter and to

exploit this position to your advantage. As the history of

the Mc Donald's hamburger restaurants. Ray kroc, salesman of

milk-shake machines, fascinated by the concept, encounter

the Mc Donald's brothers, convince them to let him take care

of the franchising and some years later repurchases the

rights of their corporation for 2.7 million us dollars. You

know the continuation…

2) This is the faculty to find by chance something else that

what is looked for. As these researchers working on a

medicine destined to heal chest throat infection. They

discover a secondary one very special effect: the priapism.

You know the name of the product: the Viagra.

3) This is also the capacity to discover or invent by the

recuperation and the creative exploitation of the

consequences of an accident a priori unfortunate. As the

history of a researcher of 3-M that discovers which will

become " scotchgard " – the anti-smirch product for fabrics

of 3-M - while dropping a fluoride solution on one of her

tennis shoes. It was impossible to withdraw the spot

whatever the solvent. Phenomenal success.

Without the knowledge, I have applied myself the principle

of serendipity. That happened during the heat wave of 2003

in Europe.

You know, I'm teacher in a driving school. We don't have

air conditioning in the car. The boss finds it too

expensive...

During 8 long hours I had to sit in an overheated car! From

12 AM to 8 PM: the hottest hours. Terrible!

Here you can see the third example of serendipity. A crisis

situation force your creativity… If you want. But you have

to be aware of its course. Otherwise you pass by this

business opportunity.

In order to find a solution to refresh myself, I forced my

imagination. Because I suffered terribly. Gas atomizers

are really good and refreshing but Too expensive and not

reusable. I could empty a whole gas bottle a day...

A trigger sprayer is not easy to use, particularly when

spraying your face. Moreover too bulky to carry or to place

in a reachable spot, as the door of the car.

I didn't find a little spray you can unscrew with a Jet

strong enough to spray as easy as gas atomizer. And perfume

sprays are no strong enough and too little.

I wanted a water spray supple and resistant, large enough to

use without being afraid to miss water when you need it the

most. A water spray you can choose to fill with mineral or

running water, easy to carry and so as not to feel against

your body when worn. And last but not least, a water spray

cheap and reusable.

While looking for a packing corporation, - again a " chance

" - I fell on a manufacturer of plastic pouches that

corresponded exactly to the qualities that I looked for, for

my spray idea.

Some months later, the spray Pssshiiit was born.

How to develop your serendipity?

We are surrounded by consumer goods. Take advantage of this

abundance of products around you. Become a difficult

consumer. Criticize the products that you employ, find their

defects, and then make your creativity work so as to find a

solution.

Once the solution found, there is two exploitation

possibilities:

1) You exploit yourself the new idea, as I did it myself.

2) You sell the idea. If the idea is patentable, make patent

request in your country. If you do it yourself the gaits of

a patent deposit, the price is very reasonable and it's not

so complicated as you think. You have a year to find a

contractor interested by the purchase of your patent.

Some thousands of dollars are always good to take. You don't

risk a great deal. To the worse one, you wasted your time.

You also can force the principle of the serendipity while

trying to find another application for a product. The

improvement of a product can be applied to other domains.

For example while looking at a biro on which was set up a

movable clip to set it up to a pocket, I thought that it

would be interesting for a manufacturer of pencils to place

one of these movable clips in the can of pencils so as to

take on yourself. In fact, a pencil never can be taken in a

pocket under penalty of to perforate it.

I think actually that while being opened to the serendipity,

while being conscious of his existence, you can provoke it.

Remain opened and attentive to its exterior demonstrations.

See how you can take advantage directly of an experience

that can appear unpleasant previously.

I am of those that do not believe in hazard. All what

surrounds us is energy. Our thoughts also are energy. You

provoke the exterior experiences that you are more useful,

good or bad. Free to you to take advantage of the experience

given to you or to let the occasion go hang…