If you have an idea that you feel would make the perfect invention but you don’t really want to do the work to bring it to fruition, Quirky is the website to visit. For $10, would-be inventors are able to pitch their idea for consideration. People, known as “influencers,” pick over the idea. If Quirky likes what it sees, the inventor and the influencers get a chunk of the royalties when the product sells. However, this basic concept is about to get much larger as the website prepares to sell some of its crowd-designed gadgets on the Home Shopping Network (HSN), reports tampabay.com.
The inventor gives up intellectual property rights, but doesn’t bankroll marketing or production.
The process is the creation of Ben Kaufman, a 23-year-old New York entrepreneur who used a similar process as a high school senior to create iPod accessories. Quirky.com developed 80 products its first 18 months and is now selling 28, including a twistable six-plug power strip and a carrying case for iPads.
Kaufman will pitch 10 of them on his first monthly appearance on the St. Petersburg TV shopping network Jan. 29 and 30.
Screenshot from Quirky