Innovation in Mind LLC

Successful Serial Entrepreneur Flings Himself into Invention

New Product & Market Development
Boise, ID

One Page Summary of Success Story

Doug Gaus of Innovation Mind quietly produces numerous inventions from his home in Boise, Idaho, taking the steps needed to turn his ideas into marketable products. As a result, he has several licensed products. Doug’s latest projects cross over into several industries, including entertainment, automotive, and housewares.

Project

While Doug is perfectly capable of creating rough sketches and prototypes, he turns to TechHelp, a member of the MEP National Network™, when he needs to formalize and finalize a product design or create prototypes. Doug worked closely with the NPD Lab to create prototypes and final drawings for the lettuce cutting machine. TechHelp assisted Doug in securing a $5K grant from Idaho’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center that he used to perfect the lettuce cutter design and prototypes for potential use in the U.S. military. Lifetime Brands picked up the lettuce cutter, modifying Techhelp’s SolidWorks engineering drawings to get the look they wanted.

Doug also worked with TechHelp to perfect the design of his “Poof Fling Flyer,” a flying nerf toy. Doug tested prototypes of the Fling Flyer in Boise stores and saved thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours using the product design skills and tools of the TechHelp NPD Lab. As a result, he became a member of Idaho’s inventor network and won licensing deals from Alex Brands and Lifetime Brands worth thousands of dollars.

Results

• Developed two new products.
• Saved over $1,000 on design and testing.
• Saved over 100 hours using the TechHelp NPD Lab.
• Won licensing deals worth over $1000.
• Became a member of Idaho’s Inventor network.