Have you ever had a great product idea and knew it was the next million dollar invention? If so, Quirky.com is for you! Quirky is a social product development company that has focused on mastering the process of bringing virtually any product idea to life. Working through a global community, the site follows 6 steps to take your concept to reality. Even if you don’t have your own “next great thing” you can put your two cents in and influence someone else’s.
Step 1: The brilliant idea (of course): Submit your idea for only $99
Step 2: Judgment day: The Quirky community and design team evaluates all ideas submitted during the week and chooses a weekly winner!
Step 3: Brainstorming: This is the stage where the bulk of product development happens. Thousands of people, including – industrial designers, engineers, graphic artists and “average Joes” give their two- cents on everything from design to tag lines and functionality to logos.
Step 4: Drafting: Quirky’s industrial designers and mechanical engineers take over by creating a 2D sketch, then translate that into a 3D rendering and finally creating a shelf-ready photorealistic image of your product.
Step 5: Promoting: Before your product goes to production, a certain number of presale commitments need to be obtained. These commitments are acquired in part by social sales tools to mainly Quirky community members.
Step 6: Cash Cow: Once your product goes to market, sales and earnings can be monitored on your personal account page. The revenue is shared between Quirky team members, influencers, and of course, you, the inventor.
Since users also have the ability to influence products that have been submitted, Quirky has developed a precise recipe for how your influence will get you paid. Community influencers receive 30% of the total revenue generated by direct sales of the product on Quirky.com as well as 10% of the revenue from indirect sales. That portion of revenue is divided among all influencers on that particular project. Examples of some of the influencing ingredients include: submitting a winning tagline idea, participating in a product research survey or making insightful comments on ideas just to name a few.
Staff Pick – TechRec
The last interesting aspect to this dynamic website is the Shopping section. The shopping section encompasses of all the Quirky product inventions. It’s a really fun place to find innovative products such as the Scratch –n- Scroll. The Scratch -n- Scroll is described as, “a mouse pad with a little something extra – a writing surface for all those times you’re working at your desk and can’t find a pen to jot down a phone number or reminder.” Much like the Magic Slate you probably had as a child, the Scratch -n- Scroll offers a writing surface that can be easily cleared by simply lifting the surface film. The Scratch-n-Scroll is a perfect tool for jotting down quick notes while talking on the phone, doodling for inspiration or making your daily to do list on.
So whether you already have a brilliant product idea, need some innovative inspiration or just want to browse through some really different products Quirky is a cool site to visit.