So what has been the cause of Kelly's pursuits? A creation known as the Shaker Wiper De-Icer. The product is attached to your wiper blade and vibrates to shake snow, ice, and other debris off of the blade, allowing for better vision. Kelly feels that the Shaker Wiper has an advantage over winter blades which can be ruined if they are torn.

Reactionary inventor

Kelly first came up with the idea for his invention after he found himself trying to shake the snow off his wiper blades while driving. Quickly realizing the dangers involved with these actions, he went home and jotted down a few solutions in an idea book. He then tucked the book away and went on with his usual routines.

Kelly's experience is not an unusual one. Kathleen Barsoum, an evaluator with the Innovation Centre points out that a crisis or some kind of activity can often spur would-be inventors to action.

“We do get seasonal products. We see a lot of things that fall after disasters. For instance we saw an awful lot of purification products after Walkerton. We also saw an awful lot of line products that could be used to assist hydro lines after the Quebec ice storm.”

Licensing an idea

When he returned to his idea one summer afternoon, Kelly decided it was something worth pursuing. However, initially he thought he would get a patent and license the idea to a big corporation who would then manufacture and sell the Shaker Wiper. This seemed like a simple process where Kelly would take his money and be done with it.

“My personal aspirations were to get it patented. I thought I could just do this and sell it to someone. I had a full time job and I didn't want that to be negatively affected. The patent process started and as people started trying to get this thing licensed there was a lot of interest. There was never any negative interest other than the fact that they didn't want to pay for it. At the end of the day I spoke with a few advisors and thought how hard can it be to bring a product to market? I got a big surprise.”

No matter how far an inventor wants to take their idea, there is a lot of homework involved in the process says Barsoum. Not only does the inventor have to take the time to develop a prototype, they need to learn about the industry it belongs to.

“You always have to be forward thinking about what you're doing and where you're going,” says Barsoum. “I always advise people to do their homework on the marketing. Go back on the Internet and learn everything you can about the industry, even if you're going to license it, or start your own business. Anytime you're going into negotiations with anybody you've got to know what you're talking about. You can't market something or be doing business with someone if you don't know the ins and outs of the business.”

Over the years Kelly has equipped himself with a wealth of knowledge on the car manufacturing industry, driving statistics, accident reports, and the history of the wiper blade. He has also sought the help of advisors, people with expertise in a variety of areas from business operations, to the automotives industry to gain advice and critique on steps he should take.

Knowing the market is ready

Sometimes an inventor can pour a lot of time and even money into an idea only to learn that the market just isn't ready. How does the inventor know that timing is right?

Kelly's solution was to have a nationwide survey conducted where they asked would-be consumers and auto industry employees if they had a problem with trapped snow and ice under wiper blades, and if they would be willing to buy a product that solved the problem.

“A good number for us was that over 90 per cent said they would buy a product that would solve the problem quickly and efficiently. This is something viable because major corporations spend a lot of money trying to solve this problem. If we can solve it, we can fit in and find our own niche,” says Kelly.

To find out if your timing is right, Barsoum also recommends networking with industry colleagues, and learning what your competition are doing. You may find that the competition are big players who have already saturated the market.

If you find that the invention is right, but the timing isn't you have two choices. You can forge ahead and hope that the market will catch on once your product is released. Or you can bide your time, and see where the industry is going.

New markets

If the inventor feels that they've got a truly new idea they are faced with a greater challenge says Kelly. As a pioneer you need to assess the market and realize that not only do you have to commercialize this product on your own, but that you have to encourage people to adapt to it. This can be difficult, especially if consumers are comfortable with their current products.

While the idea may be very unique, chances are good that there is already something in the marketplace that addresses the same problem. For example, Kelly faces competition from the winter blade, and other products designed to deal with ice covered windshields.
It is important that the inventor identify these major competitors and learn what they're doing. This will help you define why your own invention is the better solution.

“Bigger companies will do a lot of homework, they'll go from city to city and conduct focus groups and collect a lot of data to really identify propositions that consumers will buy. They completely identify the target and evaluate the value in the product for that target. It's very client driven,” says Barsoum.

First customer is the key

Although the Shaker Wiper has been available for purchase just over a year now, Kelly is getting ready for the invention's official Canadian launch this month at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.

Currently, Kelly considers the Shaker Wiper to be in its testing phase, where his main focus is in finding early adopters. These are people who are willing to use his product before anyone else. Finding these adopters were crucial to the overall success of his product, because these are the people who provide valuable feedback on what works and what needs to be improved.

“Once you've got a product and you're ready to go to market, you've got to find the people who are willing to be the early adopters, people who will experiment on your technology. Once you've got a happy customer you can start leveraging that testimonial and start producing it in a mass way,” says Barsoum.

Kelly found that the first sale has been the key to his initial success. Once he had that first customer, good word started to spread, and sales started to flow.

Turning the invention into a business

Something an inventor may not realize is that bringing a product to market will probably lead to building a business around this product. This means shifting focus to include issues such as sales, employees and finances along with manufacturing the invention.

In the past two years Kelly brought a partner into his business, something he wishes that he had done much sooner, and something he recommends to fellow inventors. While Kelly focuses on the invention and big picture, his partner Steven Sharpe takes care of the financial and administrative side of things.

“It's also very infrequent that a small business can operate on one product, so when you're thinking about products you need to think product line,” says Barsoum. “How many functions can your product serve? Is there any other product or extenders that you can help with? Can you service the product?”