The Invent Blog Community on “Books Independent Inventors Should Read”

March 16, 2007 on 7:21 am | In Independent Inventors |

Almost always, to have a successful invention, you must build a business around your idea. Most inventors were not business majors in college and thus, one of the most important things that they can do is read.

I’d love to hear what books my readers think are best for inventors to read for information on the inventing/patenting/marketing/business process. Out of the feedback, I’d like to create a “Suggested Reading” page on this blog. Thanks in advance for whatever quick input you can provide…the comments are open.

Let me start the process by recommending Guy Kawasaki’s Art of the Start. It is a great book that walks a startup company through everything from pitching their idea, to writing business plans, to bootstrapping, to raising capital, to branding. Guy graciously put the first chapter (”The Art of Starting“) of his book online (PDF). That first chapter is a “must read” in my book.
Art of the Start

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4 Comments

  1. I work for Guy Kawasaki. Thanks for your comments about Guy and his most recent book: The Art of the Start!

    Mary-Louise

    http://blog.guykawasaki.com/

    Comment by Mary-Louise — March 16, 2007 #

  2. Founders at Work. Perhaps the best book for new ventures I’ve read. Superb.

    Comment by Rob Hyndman — March 16, 2007 #

  3. A year or so ago, I bought a number of books aimed at new inventors with the intent of reviewing them and hopefully, providing my clients with a useful list. I also intended to publish reviews on my firm’s blog. Well, being a busy patent attorney, I only completed one book: Turn Your Idea or Invention into Millions by Don Kracke.

    Why did I pick this book to review? Because I thought, given the title, I would be able to write a juicy blog article ripping its simplistic and unrealistic advice apart.

    WEll, this book supports the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.

    In short, the author and I almost completely on the same page when it comes to what it takes to be successful with an invention. Hey, he even apologizes for the title, which he blames on his publisher.

    In short, Don Krake tells it to the inventor straight without any sugar coating; however, the book is also surprisingly uplifting. I highly recommend it to any aspiring inventor.

    For more information, read my review at:

    http://www.lld-law.com/2005_11_16_archive.html

    Comment by Kurt Leyendecker — March 17, 2007 #

  4. I disagree that most inventors need to start a business around their idea. Licensing inventions to established companies is a viable alternative to venturing (trying to bring it to market yourself). Not only does the licensee assume the risk and cost associated with bringing the product to market, they have a much better chance at success than a novice inventor.

    Comment by Michael Croix — June 15, 2007 #

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