Product development company for inventors
What an independent inventor should expect from a development firm, how to avoid invention promotion outfits, and what a first engagement costs.
August 29, 20262 min read
Written by Konstantin Dolgan, Ph.D., NPDP
Founder & CEO, Product Development Engineer
Published August 29, 2026
An independent inventor needs a product development company that will take a small, fixed-scope first step, leave the IP in your name, and tell you honestly when the idea is not worth the next invoice. LA NPDT has done this since 2015 from Ruston, Louisiana, with 120+ portfolio examples, and the entry point is a small, fixed-scope engineering assessment rather than a program commitment.
What an inventor actually needs, in order
Step | Purpose | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
Search and sanity check | Confirm the idea is not already on the shelf | Free |
Feasibility and concept | Decide what the product should be | $3,000 - $12,000 |
Working prototype | Something you can test, demo, and show | $8,000 - $35,000 |
Design for manufacturing | Make it producible at a sane unit cost | $5,000 - $25,000 |
Tooling and first run | Actual production | Quoted separately |
Start free: the trademark search, the patent search, and the idea analyzer all run without a fee and will tell you something useful before you spend anything.
Development firm vs invention promotion company
Product development firm | Invention promotion company | |
|---|---|---|
What you buy | Engineering hours and deliverables | Marketing of your idea to companies |
What you get | CAD, prototypes, test results, a manufacturable design | Presentations, a brochure, submissions |
Who owns the IP | You | Read the contract very carefully |
Success claims | None; engineering is not a guarantee | Frequently implied or promised |
US law requires invention promotion firms to disclose their success rates in writing. Ask for that disclosure. The full comparison is in invention promotion companies vs product development firms.
Funding the first build
- Self-funded: keep the first engagement small and specific; a review or a feasibility study.
- Grant funded: SBIR Phase I fits concept design and prototyping well. See our SBIR Phase I page.
- Investor funded: a working prototype raises money far more reliably than a deck.
- Licensing route: a functional prototype plus a filed application is the minimum most licensees will look at.
Proof from our own work: the Hand Tennis Glove began as one inventor's sketch and became a testable product. Browse the portfolio for more.
Tell us about your invention
Under NDA, with a fixed-scope first step and IP that stays yours.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need to start?
A few hundred dollars buys a professional review of what you have and a written path forward. A few thousand buys concept design and a feasibility answer. A first working prototype for a simple product generally starts around $8,000. If your total budget is under about $5,000, spend it on a review and a searchable answer about the market rather than on a prototype you cannot iterate.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, routinely, before you describe the idea in detail. Any firm that will not sign one is telling you something. Note that an NDA protects confidentiality, not ownership; ownership is a separate clause in the development agreement, and it should name you.
Do you help with manufacturing after the prototype?
Yes. Design for manufacturing, supplier selection, tooling oversight, and first-article inspection are part of what we do; see our solutions for how the engagements are structured. Plenty of inventors stop at the prototype and license from there, which is also a legitimate plan.
Services related to this guide
- Product design servicesIndustrial design and CAD taken all the way to manufacturable files.
- Rapid prototypingWorking prototypes in days, from 3D printing to vacuum casting.
- Electronic design servicesSchematic, PCB layout, firmware and bring-up, through to production handoff.
- Product development examplesReal projects we designed, prototyped and shipped.
