Own goal
By Paul Wilding,
We’re the owners of our ideas. That brings a big responsibility
[Design]
What’s the first thing we do when we have a great idea? We hand it over to a Business Person. A doer. A steely, take-no-prisoners, stare-‘em-down negotiator who can realise a great idea. We hand over the baby because we have to—that’s how it’s done. Everyone says so.
Everyone is wrong. The best person to realise an idea is the person who thought it up. We own our ideas. We live and breathe them. Sure, taking a product to market requires some help, but like restaurants and newspapers an idea is best managed by its owner. Realising an idea is a big commitment and a big responsibility.
In 1988 I had an idea to reproduce the 1905 ‘Originals’ All Black rugby jersey as a leisure garment. The All Blacks had just won the inaugural Rugby World Cup, a hugely successful event that gave me the confidence to run with the idea. The legal eagles confirmed there were no intellectual-property issues, and immediate interest from a major clothing manufacturer was encouraging and enough for me to drop everything else and concentrate on the jerseys.
The agreement with the manufacturer never eventuated. I presented the concept to a multitude of other companies without success; several could see the potential but the garment fell outside their core product range.
At this point the creative entrepreneur has to make a decision: drop your brilliant idea or commit to manufacturing and selling it yourself. Doing nothing is not an option; to be first on the market is crucial in establishing and protecting copyright.
“The best person to realise an idea is the person who thought it up. We own our ideas. We live and breathe them.”
For the next two years I continued to seek partners without landing the dream deal, but I stuck at it. Sure enough, two entrepreneurs came across my idea and immediately saw the massive potential. We quickly reached an agreement and the range was expanded to include the jerseys of the 1924 ‘Invincibles’ and 1987 world champion All Blacks and a broad range of merchandising. The NZRFU backed the concept and Canterbury sub-licensed the All Black trademark to us. The range was launched in 1991.
What did I learn from this? That anyone who conceives an original idea also has the accompanying inherent wisdom and capacity to execute it to its potential—whether through licensing or selling an idea to becoming a manufacturer. It’s unrealistic to expect others to imagine your idea as clearly as you can. Every inventor suffers knockbacks, and it’s not limited to small operators—Renault’s Megane is a hit for the company, but the board and marketing division originally were spooked by its radical styling and tried to can the project. Only the persistence of engineers and designers swayed the naysayers.
I don’t suggest doing everything alone—everyone needs the help of experts and mentors—but expect to be the one to drive the project. It’s going to be a long and hard road anyway, so knuckle down and commit yourself fully to the project. An important secret is the more we know about where we want to get to, the easier the journey. Expect some hurdles but decide early on exactly what it is that you want: imagine how far you can go, and where are your limits? That’s your target; don’t be swayed from reaching it.
After all, this is the Creative Economy, where ideas are king. If business types don’t ‘get it’, other help is at hand. Support, leadership and direction by key industry players such as Better By Design and magazines like Idealog are the drivers and inspiration for a future where New Zealand companies become design-led.
Comments
h.g.philip
great inspiration from your story,been working on our own product for the last two years,hopefully we will be exporting shortley.Have had a lot of hurdles on the way
Yours Gary
sandrine urvois
I agree with you , but I have lots of great business ideas which have been with me for years and I have been feeding them with though, drawing, etc;;;, but without help sometime you feel helpless. and powerless.
especially when you actually have a business already
sandrine
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