LA NPDT — LA New Product Development Team

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Congratulations on your latest product idea!

You have an idea worth pursuing. The time to act is now - and you do not have to do it alone.

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You must be overwhelmed with excitement and eager to get your product to market. The journey of product development is not without moments of doubt. Undeniably, there is a way to reach a breakthrough, and see your new product idea come to fruition.

Bringing your idea to market takes resources and commitment

Prepare yourself for ups and downs, negative responses, and hard work. Certainly be prepared for doubt and uncertainty, confidence and joy. And be prepared to succeed.

How can you reach your goals? Take time to design a framework that helps you convert hesitant business people into confident investors. Choose to remain open-minded and know when to be flexible and when to follow your intuition.

The time to act is now

Certainly, if you are like us, you have already seen your ideas on retail shelves or online. You’ve experienced the regret that comes from realizing your idea would have succeeded if you had acted sooner.

Recent surveys of financial investors indicate that there are at least four individuals or companies working on the same idea at any given time. What makes the winning product beat out the competition? Boldness, resources, and teamwork.

You do not have to do it alone

We help inventors like you bring ideas to reality through technical expertise and thorough research, while connecting you with the right mentors and influencers, and guiding you every step of the way.

In any case, now is the time to make your product a reality. We join you on your journey from concept to product and bring your vision to life.

As one of our more than 400 customers told us: “You understand me better than my wife!”

Talk with one of our experts today about what it takes to get your product to market.

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Where to go next

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Your first ninety days, in order

Most ideas stall because everything looks equally urgent. It is not. This is the order that wastes the least money.

First steps for a new invention, in sequence
StepWhat you doWhy it comes hereRough cost
1. Record itWrite the idea down in detail with a date; sketch it however badlyCosts nothing and gives every later conversation a fixed referenceFree
2. Search prior artRun a patent and trademark search and look at what is already soldThe cheapest possible way to discover the idea exists alreadyFree – $1,500
3. Test the demandTalk to twenty people who would buy it, and ask what they use todayConfirms the problem is real before you pay to solve itFree
4. Define the productTurn the idea into written criteria: what it must do, cost and weighEverything downstream is priced against this documentFree – $10,000
5. Visualise itConcept design and CAD, so people see the same product you doNobody funds or licenses a description$3,000 – $15,000
6. Protect itFile a provisional or non-provisional application with an attorneyBefore any public disclosureVaries
7. Prototype itBuild the thing and find out what is wrong with itThe design only becomes real once something has failed$1,000 – $40,000

Cost ranges are typical for projects of the kind we quote and will vary widely with complexity. Nothing on this page is legal advice; consult a patent attorney about your filing strategy.

Where inventors most often lose money

  • Filing before validating

    A patent on a product nobody wants is an expensive certificate. Search and talk to buyers first.

  • Tooling too early

    Injection-mould tooling is the largest single cheque in most programs. It should be written after a prototype has survived testing, never before.

  • Designing without a target cost

    If you do not know what the product must sell for, the design will quietly become unmanufacturable at that price.

  • Hiring a drafter instead of an engineer

    Pretty CAD that cannot be moulded costs you the whole fee, twice.

  • Skipping the works-like build

    A looks-like model wins the room and hides every functional problem you still have.

  • Chasing every feature

    The version that ships is the one that solves one problem convincingly.

Questions inventors ask us first

What should I do first with a new product idea?

Write the idea down with a date, then find out whether it already exists. A free patent and trademark search plus an hour looking at what is already sold tells you more in one afternoon than weeks of speculation, and it costs nothing.

Should I patent my idea before showing it to anyone?

You do not have to file before talking to a development partner who signs an NDA. You generally should file before any public disclosure — a trade show, a crowdfunding page, a sales conversation without an agreement. This is general information, not legal advice; a patent attorney should confirm your specific situation.

How much money do I need to bring an idea to market?

It depends entirely on the product, but the useful way to think about it is in stages rather than one number: a few thousand dollars to validate and visualise, tens of thousands to engineer and prototype, and a separate order of magnitude for tooling and first production. Fund the next stage, not the whole journey.

Is it better to license my invention or manufacture it myself?

Licensing trades most of the upside for far less capital and risk; manufacturing keeps the margin and the responsibility. Licensees expect a credible, working, protectable concept before they will look, which is why the early work is the same either way.

How long does it take to get a product to market?

For a straightforward consumer product with no regulatory burden, nine to eighteen months from idea to first production is a realistic range. Regulated categories such as medical devices take substantially longer, and the timeline is driven by testing and approval rather than by design.

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