228-Read the Fine Print - Product Genius

Episode

228

Read the Fine Print

“I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Before you sign that engineering, prototyping, manufacturing, or product-development agreement, read the fine print. Noah and Steven explain why contracts aren’t merely there to protect service providers—they’re communication tools that help inventors understand scope, assumptions, risks, and potential extra costs before money starts moving. Featuring a painfully good “totaled Eclipse” analogy and a real-world prototyping story, this Flash of Genius is a quick reminder that asking questions before you sign can prevent expensive misunderstandings later.

Core Topics for this episode:

(possibly) Obscure pop culture references you might hear during this episode of Product Genius include Total solar eclipse; Mitsubishi Eclipse; Netflix; Hulu; 3D printing; No Way José; financial disclaimer

Key Takeaways Include:

Understand Before You Sign

Clarify Scope and Risk

Ask Questions Early

Listen here:

Episode Blog

Read the Fine Print: Contracts Aren’t Just There to Protect the Other Guy

Nobody likes fine print.

It is small. It is boring. It often seems designed specifically to make your eyes glaze over until you finally surrender and click “I Agree.”

And for Netflix? Fine. Maybe you decide the worst-case scenario is losing a few bucks and moving on with your life.

But when you are developing an invention and signing agreements involving hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars, the stakes are different.

In this Flash of Genius mini-episode, Noah McNeely and Steven Julian talk about why inventors need to slow down, read the contracts they sign, and—most importantly—ask questions when something is unclear.

Because sometimes the fine print is not there to trick you.

Sometimes it is there to make sure everyone understands exactly what is being promised.

The Totaled Eclipse Problem

Noah introduces the lesson with an appropriately terrible analogy.

Imagine someone sells you a “total eclipse experience.”

You arrive expecting the sun, moon, corona, eclipse glasses, and all the celestial majesty.

Instead, a tow truck drags in a Mitsubishi Eclipse that has been completely wrecked.

Technically, you received a “totaled Eclipse.”

Not quite what you had in mind.

Then someone points to the contract.

Sure enough, there it is.

That ridiculous example illustrates a real problem: two people can use similar language while imagining completely different outcomes.

A good agreement helps remove that ambiguity.

Contracts Are Communication Tools

Inventors sometimes view contracts primarily as defensive documents.

Who owns what?

Who gets sued?

Who is responsible if something goes wrong?

Those issues matter, but a good agreement also serves a simpler purpose:

It documents what everyone believes is supposed to happen.

What work is included?

What is not included?

What assumptions are being made?

What happens if those assumptions turn out to be wrong?

What does the quoted price actually cover?

What could cause additional cost?

What deliverables should you expect?

Those details are especially important in product development because uncertainty is part of the process.

Engineering Is Not Always Predictable

Noah shares an example involving a client with a technically challenging product.

Before beginning the project, he repeatedly explained that the desired low-cost prototyping approach might not be sufficient.

The team could try to push 3D printing as far as possible.

But there was a realistic possibility that the project would eventually require more expensive machined aluminum parts.

That warning was discussed verbally.

It was also written into the agreement.

Eventually, exactly that happened.

The low-cost approach reached its limit, and the next step required a more expensive manufacturing process.

The client responded as though the possibility had never been discussed.

That creates a difficult situation for everyone.

The development firm feels it clearly communicated the risk.

The client feels surprised by a new expense.

And the relationship can become adversarial even though the underlying technical problem may have been unavoidable.

Reading the agreement carefully before work begins gives both sides an opportunity to identify those misunderstandings early.

Ask Questions Before You Sign

If something in a contract does not make sense, ask.

That sounds obvious.

Inventors still hesitate to do it.

Maybe the language feels too legal.

Maybe they assume everyone else understands it.

Maybe they are afraid of sounding inexperienced.

Maybe they simply want to get started and do not want another delay.

Ask anyway.

A reputable professional should be willing to explain what an important provision means.

If necessary, the wording may even be rewritten so everyone understands it more clearly.

Noah points out that he has done exactly that when clients questioned language in his agreements.

The goal should not be to win a vocabulary contest.

The goal should be shared understanding.

Get on the Same Page—or at Least the Same Chapter

Steven offers a useful way to think about agreements.

Ideally, everyone gets on the same page.

But even if you cannot agree on everything, at least get on the same chapter.

In other words, disagreement is less dangerous when both sides understand that the disagreement exists.

If a development firm says:

“We can attempt this with 3D printing, but there is a significant chance we will need machined parts later,”

the inventor can make an informed decision.

Maybe they accept the risk.

Maybe they increase the budget.

Maybe they change the design.

Maybe they decide not to proceed.

What you want to avoid is discovering halfway through the project that the client believed the original price guaranteed an outcome the development team never promised.

Know What Could Cost More

One of the most important things to identify in any product-development agreement is uncertainty.

Ask:

What assumptions is this estimate based on?

What could cause the project to exceed the estimate?

Are revisions included?

How many?

Are prototypes included?

What kind?

Does the quoted amount include tooling?

Shipping?

Materials?

Testing?

Certifications?

Outside vendors?

What happens if the original technical approach does not work?

You are not trying to predict every possible problem.

You are trying to understand which risks have already been identified.

That knowledge lets you budget more intelligently.

A Contract Cannot Replace a Conversation

Reading the agreement is important.

But a contract should not be the first time you discover a major project limitation.

Important risks should ideally be discussed before the agreement is signed.

Then the contract reinforces that conversation.

That creates two layers of communication:

“We talked about this.”

And:

“We wrote it down.”

When those two match, misunderstandings become much less likely.

When they do not match, stop and resolve the discrepancy before moving forward.

Do Not Confuse Fine Print With a Trap

Some contracts absolutely contain unfavorable terms.

That is another reason to read them.

But not every detailed provision is an attempt to sneak something past you.

Sometimes the fine print exists because experience taught the company that a particular misunderstanding happens repeatedly.

A clause may be there because a previous client assumed prototypes were production-ready.

Another may clarify ownership of design files.

Another may explain that estimated manufacturing costs can change.

Another may define what happens when the client requests additional work.

The presence of detail is not automatically suspicious.

The question is whether you understand the detail and whether you are comfortable agreeing to it.

The Product Genius Take

Inventors spend a lot of time protecting their ideas.

They should spend some time protecting their expectations too.

Before you sign an important agreement, read it.

If something is unclear, ask.

If the answer still does not make sense, ask again.

If the written agreement does not match what you were told verbally, resolve that before work begins.

And pay particular attention to uncertainty—what is included, what is not included, what could change, and what might cost more.

Contracts are not exciting.

Neither is discovering halfway through a product-development project that you and the person you hired were expecting two completely different things.

So read the fine print.

Just maybe not at Steven’s disclaimer speed.

Or, read the full transcript here:

[START]

Steven Julian: It’s Flash of Genius. That’s right. We cover a topic, we cover it quickly, but we do cover it thoroughly. I’m here with Noah McNeely of Product Genius and Product Quick Start. Noah, today we’re going to pay attention to and or read some fine print. What do you mean by that?

Noah McNeely: Well, we’re not going to read it because I don’t have my glasses.

Steven Julian: Oh, I’m going to do it at the end and I’m going to do it really fast. All right.

Noah McNeely: Very good. Yeah, we recently have recorded a show about eclipses.

Steven Julian: I remember it well.

Noah McNeely: The Great American Eclipse, considering that it was today, I’m sure you do.

Steven Julian: Well, now you gave away the secret. I did. We record multiple shows in a day.

Noah McNeely: Believe it or not, we do not get together just to record Flash of Genius. We record it when we’re recording another show.

Steven Julian: I got an appointment in 15 minutes, so we got to go.

Noah McNeely: Okay. Sonya, let’s say someone promised you or sold you a total eclipse. Okay. And you get there, you’re ready to have this total eclipse experience. And what happens is they have a tow truck. bring in. a Mitsubishi that’s been a horrible, in a horrible wreck, and it is a totaled eclipse. A totaled Eclipse experience.

Steven Julian: This is not what you sold me.

Noah McNeely: It’s not what I thought I was getting. And they say, well, yeah, but you signed the contract.

Steven Julian: And clearly in it.

Noah McNeely: This is what we thought we were selling you. Look in the contract, and you look there, and yeah, sure enough, it says totaled Eclipse, not total Eclipse. And you didn’t read the fine print, and it kind of burned you. That’s obviously a funny story. And I think a lot of people look at fine print and they’re like, this is where they’re out to screw me. But that’s really not the case. And I’ll be honest, Netflix and Hulu and all the apps I download, I don’t read the fine print there.

Steven Julian: We’ve all done the accept, agree, agree, agree. Yep.

Noah McNeely: Worst case scenario, I have a falling out with Netflix and I’m out 30 bucks, right? Right. But let’s say you’re hiring an engineer or a design firm or even me. You need to read the fine print. Not because, well, there are people out there certainly that. do it, but I’m not out to screw you, but the fine print helps make sure we’re all on the same page. And it’s there just to make sure everything’s clarified. So I had a client one time that I was very clear with this person that what you’re trying to do is really, really challenging. I don’t know if we can get there with low-cost prototyping processes. Talked about this several times before they signed up with me and is like, you understand, right? Yeah, yeah, I understand. It was in the, you put it in the contract. It was in the, in the fine print and et cetera. And sure enough, we get down the, down the path and it’s like, you know what? We pushed 3D printing, which is the low cost process you want to pay for as far as we can go. We’re going to have to go to a more expensive process. We’re going to have to machine these parts out of aluminum and it’s going to cost this much more. Just like I told you at the beginning, you can tell me that. I don’t remember that. I didn’t see that. We talked. about several times. Nuh-uh. They didn’t say nuh-uh. You know, a more adult version of nuh-uh. And so, well, yeah, it’s even in the contract.

Steven Julian: It was no way Jose, right? That’s what they said.

Noah McNeely: Something along those lines. Look, it’s even in the contract. You signed this. It says it right here. I said, well, I didn’t read that. Well, you know, I didn’t put it there because I’m trying to cheat you. I put it there so that you would know what I’m communicating to you. So that led to a very awkward and unfortunate. Situation for me and for everyone. And to this day, I don’t know if they were truly ignorant or they were just playing ignorant, but any of it, it was unpleasant. And I didn’t like it because it was unpleasant. So read the fine print, make sure you understand and make sure you understand what I’m communicating to you and with anyone else, you know, Netflix, 30 bucks. I don’t care about that. I’m talking about big ticket items. Make sure you know what you’re getting.

Steven Julian: And I think as someone is developing their product, as someone is doing a prototype, getting things. to market, all that kind of stuff. I think there’s good advice there of, of course, in a perfect world, we would read every page of everything we ever sign or thing we do on our phone. But as you’re bringing your product to market, you’d still be reading the Netflix contract.

Noah McNeely: Exactly.

Steven Julian: There are going to be $30 decisions and there are going to be hundreds and thousands of dollars decisions. When you’re contracting with an engineering firm, when you’re signing up to work with you, Noah, and Product Quickstart, there’s paperwork. Make sure you get a basic idea and look for what are the things that could trip me up? What are the things I have questions about? Ask questions.

Noah McNeely: If you don’t understand anything in the fine print, let’s talk about it. And sometimes I’ve even had cases where the client has asked, well, can you write that a different way? And they’re just so. I understand it. Sure. Absolutely. I’m easy to get along with. I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Steven Julian: We can at least, and I say this with my clients all the time, if we can’t get on. the same page, let’s at least get on the same chapter, and at least you’ll know what you don’t agree with. that’s in the contract, and I’ll know what you might have a problem with. That’ll help us move along. So this is one of those where everybody goes, yeah, yeah, I know that, but you still got to do it.

Noah McNeely: Absolutely.

Steven Julian: So the challenge, I’m going to give it, the challenge after this flash of genius is, Hey, go back and read the contract with one of those contracts with one of those companies you’re working with that costs you hundreds or thousands of dollars or more. And I’ll do the talk because there is a great fast talk that I do in my line of work, which is past. performance is no guarantee of future results. Make sure to read perspectives carefully and consult a financial professional and make sure they’re fiduciary and understand what fiduciary duty means.

Noah McNeely: That’s right.

Steven Julian: It’s good to work with Noah and Product Quick Start, and they can help you get your product to market. You can also listen to Product Genius.

Noah McNeely: And don’t read the fine print at the same speed that. Steven just said.

Steven Julian: Take your time and comprehend it. Yeah, sure. Now, the best part is you do not need to read any fine print to listen to full episodes of Product Genius because all you got to do is listen.

Noah McNeely: Yep. Money back guarantee. We’ll send you your check back.

Steven Julian: Why don’t we get back to the next episode? Because as you know, we don’t, you did give the secret away and I believe we’re recording 17 episodes in a row today.

Noah McNeely: So I’m the whole, the whole year.

Steven Julian: Yeah. I need another cup of coffee. So we’ll catch you next time on the longer episode of Product Genius.

Steven Julian: Greetings and salutations. Steven Julian: I am your slightly annoying host, Steven Julian. Steven Julian: Welcome to a new edition of Product Genius. Steven Julian: This time… Without Tiffany Crumans, but what we do have is the fantastic Noah McNeely. Steven Julian: Noah, welcome back to the show. Noah McNeely: Yeah, it’s good to be back. Noah McNeely: I feel like it’s been an entire pandemic ago. Steven Julian: Almost. Steven Julian: It’s been at least, it’s been a year, but it does kind of feel like a whole pandemic ago. Steven Julian: So, Product Genius, this might sound a little bit different. Steven Julian: There are some differences. Steven Julian: Why don’t? Steven Julian: we cover all that stuff up front?

Steven Julian: Broadcasting this show almost live from the Plush Palatial Studios that is the worldwide headquarters of Product Quick Start. Steven Julian: Tell everybody about your new digs. Noah McNeely: Yes, so Product Quick Start, we were fortunate enough to move into a new facility, well, new to us facility that we’re renovating in what they call the Depot District of Lawrenceville, Georgia, which is this… Exciting little area where we have some breweries and we have a distillery going in. Noah McNeely: that I think is going to make tequila and I try to remain sober during the day when I’m working here. Steven Julian: Especially when you’re doing the show. Steven Julian: Well, maybe not as much when you do that. Noah McNeely: Probably more important that I remain sober when using the power equipment in the back. Steven Julian: Amen. Steven Julian: The other thing we want to talk about for those people who are coming upon this episode and have listened to past episodes. Steven Julian: In some respects, we’re the same, but in some respects, there are some differences. Steven Julian: This show was always known as Product Genius with Tiffany Krumans. Steven Julian: Tiffany is still with us, but she’s not with us in the studio. Steven Julian: So, Noah, I ask. Steven Julian: you, where in the world is Tiffany Krumans? Noah McNeely: Well, anyone that has listened to more recent shows probably knows Tiffany has a lot of ideas for businesses, and she also has… New children in her life, and she stays very, very busy. Noah McNeely: Her latest company is called Opu Probiotics, and it’s a fabulous product. Noah McNeely: I recommend you try it. Noah McNeely: I particularly like the mocha mint flavor. Noah McNeely: But anyway, we believe that Tiffany is scouring the world looking for the finest ingredients she can for that particular product. Noah McNeely: So you might find her in the Himalayas or the Amazon. Noah McNeely: Probably wearing a baby and a baby Bjorn and with three other kids following her around. Steven Julian: And everybody can go to opuprobiotics.com, opuprobiotics.com, and see all the latest things that Tiffany is doing with that product. Steven Julian: And therefore, she was the creator of Product Genius originally, and you were a fantastic partner and sponsor of the show and would come on and talk about… Developing products through your business, productquickstart.com. Steven Julian: And when Tiffany really launched Opu, she told all of us, Jody Smith, the producer of the show, and myself as the slightly annoying host, hey, I’m going to take a little. Steven Julian: bit of time off. Steven Julian: I got to launch this new business. Steven Julian: And then in the meantime, let me just fast forward a little bit. Steven Julian: And I don’t know how much behind the scenes and unplugged you want to get. Steven Julian: Why are you sitting across the table from me and why are you now kind of leading this ship that Tiffany built up to this point? Noah McNeely: Well, first, we’re going to hope that the Shipley is led in a good direction and not running aground. Steven Julian: Not yet, at least. Steven Julian: We’re five minutes in. Steven Julian: It’s so far so good. Noah McNeely: So, yeah, we’re doing great at the moment. Noah McNeely: Well, I always enjoyed doing the show. Noah McNeely: I mean, I had a lot of fun with you guys and it really hits one of my passions, which… I like talking about this stuff. Noah McNeely: I do what I love. Noah McNeely: I enjoy explaining it to people. Noah McNeely: I think the show is a good way to do that. Noah McNeely: I’ve actually met a number of people through the show. Noah McNeely: Those are all great conversations. Noah McNeely: My hope is as we move forward, Product Genius will be a show that’s useful for inventors, of course. Noah McNeely: Really, I think we’re going to. Noah McNeely: talk about things that relate to all entrepreneurs or most entrepreneurs. Noah McNeely: Even to people that work for bigger companies that want to think more like entrepreneurs. Steven Julian: So here we are after more than a year off. Steven Julian: We’re doing a new show. Steven Julian: Noah McNeely is sitting across the table from me. Steven Julian: Jody Smith from JodySmith.com is still our producer. Steven Julian: I’m still the slightly annoying host. Steven Julian: And here we are still talking about product development. Steven Julian: We’re going to talk about inventing. Steven Julian: And today we’re talking about help. Steven Julian: I’ve got too many ideas. Steven Julian: Which is definitely true of this show after not doing it for a year. Steven Julian: And people who are doing product development and kind of trying to bring their product to market, as they’re bringing one product to market, they have all these other ideas. Steven Julian: That’s the entrepreneurial, that’s the inventor. Steven Julian: There’s a lot of people listening who, number one, are going, okay, yeah, they’re talking about something I need to talk about. Steven Julian: And when you’re listening to this, you might also be thinking, Ooh, I know someone else that needs to hear this. Steven Julian: So listen to this one, invite them to hear the show because we’re going to be talking. Steven Julian: about, I got too many ideas. Steven Julian: So the title of the show, obviously I gave a little bit of a inkling of it.

Steven Julian: You are guilty of this just like anybody else, right? Noah McNeely: Oh, absolutely. Noah McNeely: In fact, the fact that I’m doing this podcast while writing a business and… Engaging in various other hobbies may be an example of where I’m guilty of this, but I’m trying to balance it well. Noah McNeely: And we thought this would be a really good topic for the first show because Tiffany is actually a great example of doing this well. Noah McNeely: She realized at some point that she had too many different things going on. Noah McNeely: So to be successful, she had to push some of them to the back, and that’s why. Noah McNeely: That’s why we’re here. Steven Julian: That’s why she’s out finding those great products or finding those great ingredients to go into the mint mocha. Noah McNeely: That’s why she’s in the Amazon today. Noah McNeely: Exactly. Noah McNeely: So, you know, this is a problem that doesn’t just affect inventors and entrepreneurs. Noah McNeely: It actually affects big companies as well. Noah McNeely: And back when I did a lot of big company work, this was a topic that would come up. Noah McNeely: The big. Noah McNeely: scary corporate name for this is portfolio management. Noah McNeely: As an inventor entrepreneur, you never need to use that phrase again, probably. Noah McNeely: But the idea is even big companies, they have so many things that they want to do or would love to do, but they can’t do them all. Noah McNeely: In a big company, like a Fortune 500 company, I almost said some names there, but I don’t want to be sued or anything by any of my clients from years ago. Noah McNeely: In a big company, you have entire teams of people in many cases. Noah McNeely: Their whole job is to manage and really to do the portfolio management role. Noah McNeely: They’ll have roadmaps of products that the company is going to develop for five, ten years out in some cases, and they have to prioritize those. Steven Julian: So let’s talk about the person who’s listening to this podcast who’s trying to bring one or a couple of products to market or are trying to build their business. Steven Julian: Go from idea to prototype to development.

Steven Julian: When you say, help, I’ve got too many ideas, can that be true of one product? Noah McNeely: It can be. Noah McNeely: It can be true of one product or it can. Noah McNeely: also just be the nature of the individual. Noah McNeely: So I’ve met people that clients have come in and they get really excited about their product. Noah McNeely: We go through that. Noah McNeely: And then a lot of times on the way out the door, they’re like, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Noah McNeely: I’ve got seven more I’m working on. Noah McNeely: We’re going to talk about them next time. Noah McNeely: And I think they tell me that to get me more excited about working with them, but that’s really often a red flag. Noah McNeely: So on the next meeting, you’re at the next meeting, I usually have to tamp that down a little bit and say, you know, look, that’s great. Noah McNeely: I love all these ideas, but let’s get one on the market first. Noah McNeely: And I think that can be a tough thing for entrepreneurs, even myself, because I have… I have so many things I want to accomplish and want to do, but it’s easy to want to spend all the time in the visionary stage. Noah McNeely: Hey, this is going to be fun. Noah McNeely: I’m going to spend all day thinking about this idea and jotting out what’s it going to be like when. Noah McNeely: I’m done. Noah McNeely: But the problem is there’s a lot of things that have to happen between now and achieving that vision. Steven Julian: And the ideas is the sexy part. Steven Julian: The ideas is the everybody’s. Steven Julian: Had at least one or two ideas. Steven Julian: I actually, I still don’t know why at times I’m the slightly annoying host of the show because I’ve had very few ideas of products. Steven Julian: I’ve never tried to develop anything, but I would relate it. Steven Julian: I, I love the world of comedy and I love listening to comedians, especially them talking about doing jokes. Steven Julian: And it’s one thing to have, Hey, Seinfeld had a book called, is this anything you start with an idea? Steven Julian: Hey, is this anything? Steven Julian: Is this potentially funny? Steven Julian: But from that point to getting it to where it’s a tight bit to be done on stage, there’s this huge, there’s a lot of work that goes in. Steven Julian: So you just mentioned it’s easy to do the ideas. Steven Julian: I got seven more, but they got all this work they got to do to just to get that one. Steven Julian: But I want to drill down and I want to kind of push back and ask even that. Steven Julian: person who’s on that one, I’ve got too many ideas. Steven Julian: Do they get sidetracked with too many things even in that one single idea? Steven Julian: That they’re bringing to market? Noah McNeely: Yeah, that can happen too.

Noah McNeely: I think we may have talked about this a long time ago, but there’s a concept I call minimum viable product or early viable product. Steven Julian: I remember that. Noah McNeely: Yes, it’s a classic. Noah McNeely: You should check it out. Noah McNeely: But the issue there is sometimes maybe it is just one product, but they have all these ideas for that one product. Noah McNeely: Oh, I want it to do this. Noah McNeely: I want it to do that. Noah McNeely: I want it to be Wi-Fi and I want it to levitate and I want it to glow in the dark. Noah McNeely: Sir, it’s a doorknob. Noah McNeely: It doesn’t need to necessarily do all that. Noah McNeely: Those are all great. Noah McNeely: Let’s get one on the market. Noah McNeely: because all that stuff you just talked about, that’s a two-year development program. Noah McNeely: If we just do your basic product, which is already cool and already different than anything out there, you can be on the market in six months. Noah McNeely: You can generate revenue. Noah McNeely: You’ve got a successful business at that. Noah McNeely: point. Noah McNeely: And more importantly, you’ve got money that you can now spend on Gen 2 and Gen 3 and Gen 4. Noah McNeely: But if we start down the path of developing, The super mega colossal product now, you’re never going to get there. Steven Julian: And we titled this show again, Help, but I think probably more often than not your job as the product development guru, as the genius who helps people bring their product to market, you have to tell them you really should be saying, Help, I have too many ideas in this super amazing, stupendous product. Steven Julian: Very rarely do they verbalize that. Steven Julian: You’re helping them verbalize. Noah McNeely: Right. Noah McNeely: Well, sometimes I have to help people realize it is a problem because, like I said, a lot of visionary people and a lot of entrepreneurs, like myself, we do tend to love that visionary phase. Noah McNeely: And we think that’s the most important thing. Noah McNeely: It’s not. Noah McNeely: It’s actually one of the least important and easiest parts of having a successful business.

Noah McNeely: So think about it this way. Noah McNeely: Think about all the little boys who dream about winning a Super Bowl as the quarterback. Noah McNeely: Now, you can’t just keep dreaming about winning a. Super Bowl. Noah McNeely: That’s great. Noah McNeely: That’s a wonderful vision. Noah McNeely: But if you don’t start exercising and training and learning the game, you’ll never play on a team, much less get to the Super Bowl. Steven Julian: So it’s a difference between being a Super Bowl quarterback and being Uncle Rico sitting on the front step saying, if Coach had put me in that game, we would have won the state that year. Noah McNeely: That’s exactly right. Noah McNeely: And there are no time machines that will get you back there. Steven Julian: Exactly. Steven Julian: So portfolio management, to use the term of the Fortune 500 companies, is really them kind of categorizing or siloing or insert other corporate term here. Steven Julian: But really, it’s checking boxes. Steven Julian: It’s laying it out in steps.

Steven Julian: Is that something that you, as the person with Product Quick Start, is trying to help people say, okay, here are the 17 steps that we’re going to have to take? Steven Julian: Or is it just getting them focused on creating the 17 steps? Steven Julian: Kind of talk through that process. Steven Julian: Someone’s got an idea, and then someone starts to spiral into too many ideas. Steven Julian: The portfolio management that you do, not for the Fortune 500, but for the individual. Steven Julian: entrepreneur and inventor, what do you try to bring to the table? Noah McNeely: Yeah, so it’s really launch your product in 375 easy steps. Noah McNeely: No, it’s not. Noah McNeely: There’s really only two questions. Steven Julian: I thought it was 367 steps. Noah McNeely: We revised it last year. Noah McNeely: Oh, okay. Noah McNeely: So there’s really only two. Noah McNeely: Two questions that I ask people to consider when they’re trying to prioritize the features of their product or which product to develop or which product to develop when. Noah McNeely: And with the assumption that inventor entrepreneurs, you probably don’t have five people or 20 people on a team that you’re paying to do all the analysis. Noah McNeely: And yeah, you go to a really big company and they’re going to ask a lot more than these two questions. Noah McNeely: At least they’re going to ask a lot more versions of these two questions. Noah McNeely: But the two questions I tell people to consider is, number one, what can I get to the market with my resources? Noah McNeely: And of course, I can help them try to figure that out. Noah McNeely: This is how much it’s going to take to develop this product, to make the tooling for it, to produce it. Noah McNeely: So we have to be. Noah McNeely: realistic about what resources you have to actually get that to the market. Noah McNeely: And that may mean you can’t launch five at a time. Noah McNeely: Now, I’ve had some clients that are just independently wealthy, and yeah, they can do it. Noah McNeely: They have the resources for that. Noah McNeely: It can still be a bad idea in those cases because a resource that people often overlook is their own time, their own focus, their own ability to strategize and think about their business. Noah McNeely: So the second question is, what can I sell? Noah McNeely: You know, what will I be able to sell? Noah McNeely: So, yeah, this is a great idea. Noah McNeely: I have the funds to develop it. Noah McNeely: I have the resources to develop it. Noah McNeely: But is there a market for it? Noah McNeely: And is it a market that I understand well enough to actually sell? Noah McNeely: And the answer to either of those questions is no. Noah McNeely: Then that’s probably not the product you should develop first. Noah McNeely: You need to focus on the product or the collection of features in your product. Noah McNeely: that both of those answers are yes. Steven Julian: And I know we’ve talked about variations of those questions over past episodes. Steven Julian: Encourage everybody to go back and. Steven Julian: listen to Noah’s past episodes on Product Genius. Noah McNeely: Product Genius is brought to you by Opu Probiotics. Noah McNeely: Pre and probiotics you can pour directly on your tongue in delicious mint and mocha flavors. Steven Julian: But the taste is just the beginning. Noah McNeely: With Opu, you can see improved digestive function, boosted immune system, easier weight management, improved mental health, and much more. Noah McNeely: Try today at GetOpu.com. Steven Julian: That’s GetOpu.com. Steven Julian: Let me focus in on the second question. Steven Julian: first, because I think… The typical inventor entrepreneur who sits down with you, especially with their first idea, and you ask them that question, you know, what can I sell? Steven Julian: Can this sell? Steven Julian: Their answer, bar none, is going to be, well, of course this is going to sell. Steven Julian: It’s a fantastic idea. Steven Julian: I came up with this. Steven Julian: It came in a bolt of lightning. Steven Julian: Everybody who brings you any idea is going to tell you, well, of course it’s going to sell. Steven Julian: It’s fantastic. Noah McNeely: Yeah, I’ve heard variations of, well, why wouldn’t you buy this if you could buy it? Noah McNeely: I’ve probably heard a hundred variations of that throughout the course of my career.

Steven Julian: You’re a communist pig if you don’t buy this, of course. Steven Julian: This is great. Steven Julian: Sorry, that was my insertion, not Noah’s. Steven Julian: My apologies. Noah McNeely: Yeah, so we’re going to remain politically apolitical here as best we can. Noah McNeely: Uh, yeah. Noah McNeely: So a lot of, um, a lot of inventor entrepreneurs, they’re so enamored by their idea. Noah McNeely: They just can’t imagine it not being successful. Noah McNeely: And then they’re like, well, as soon as people see this, they’re going to want it. Noah McNeely: That may be true. Noah McNeely: And that, that in some ways that for most people, that probably is true. Noah McNeely: The question becomes, how do you reach those people? Noah McNeely: And that’s also part of how do you sell it? Noah McNeely: Can you sell it? Noah McNeely: Uh, so if you’ve got a, it’s a product that, oh, everyone would use it. Noah McNeely: Well, that’s almost the worst kind of product for an inventor because. Noah McNeely: You don’t have the marketing budget to reach everybody. Noah McNeely: If it’s more focused, like, well, people that have teenage girls that want to learn how to play golf, you can reach that market a lot easier and in a more forceful way. Noah McNeely: So that’s also part of, you know, what’s it going to take to sell this? Noah McNeely: Not necessarily even, do I have the sales? Noah McNeely: skills? Noah McNeely: You can always hire someone to do that for you, but it’s got to be. Noah McNeely: Do I have the resources not only to design, develop, produce this product, but do I have the resources to sell it? Noah McNeely: What are those resources going to be? Steven Julian: And in your help in answering that question, because I was kind of pushing back against the question, the second question you asked there, what can I sell? Steven Julian: You have to drill down and you have to ask that question more specifically or they have to answer that question more specifically because really what you’re asking is, is there a market for this? Steven Julian: Can the person define the market? Steven Julian: Can you sell it? Steven Julian: Meaning the person who’s got the idea, how would you sell it? Steven Julian: So let me then ask this in helping them answer that question. Steven Julian: How much is it you trying to get them to have their eyes open to all the all that that’s going to entail of selling the product? Steven Julian: or and or how much is it you saying, if you’ll listen to me, I’ve had a lot of experience and I’ve done this for a long time and I’ve done. Steven Julian: this. Steven Julian: On corporate level and individual level, here’s what I believe and I know surrounding what you’ve just told me about this idea. Noah McNeely: It’s a little bit of both. Noah McNeely: It depends on who I’m talking to and how receptive they are. Steven Julian: Ah, there we go. Noah McNeely: Different people with different personalities. Noah McNeely: You know, it’s kind of like the old Aesop’s fables, the way he would teach very powerful people lessons without insulting them, as he would tell a story about someone else who was fictional. Noah McNeely: They would maybe learn a lesson about. Noah McNeely: So sometimes I have to do that. Noah McNeely: And it comes along as, you know, I have to say, you know, look, I’m not into sales. Noah McNeely: I’m not into marketing. Noah McNeely: I design, build, and create stuff. Noah McNeely: I can help you fill a warehouse full of product. Noah McNeely: That’s no problem. Noah McNeely: We got that. Noah McNeely: What I can’t help you do is I can’t help you sell. Noah McNeely: I can’t help you market. Noah McNeely: I can tell you what I’ve seen other people do and what that’s cost them. Noah McNeely: And oftentimes that loan and going through that process is enough to help them realize, oh, I hadn’t thought about that. Noah McNeely: I hadn’t thought about that. Noah McNeely: I am going to need a budget for that. Noah McNeely: And so sometimes I approach it that way. Noah McNeely: Sometimes people come in and they do have a lot of really good business savvy, business knowledge, business experience. Noah McNeely: They understand that right up front. Noah McNeely: I have to do a lot less in those cases. Noah McNeely: Sometimes in those cases, it’s more about explaining why it costs so much to make this product or that product or whatever it is. Steven Julian: So let me just ask Noah McNeely, the Product Quick Start CEO and the guy who’s done this for more than a few years, although you only look like you’ve been doing it for a few years. Noah McNeely: Well, hair dye goes a long way. Steven Julian: Exactly. Steven Julian: And flattery will get me everywhere. Steven Julian: Do you enjoy to an extent when someone who’s just starting out in this, it’s their first idea, they’ve never run a business, but they’re receptive to your kind of expertise and guidance. Steven Julian: There’s that that’s satisfying. Steven Julian: As well as the satisfying of kind of someone with some business savvy who knows the business stuff and you don’t have to spend as much time on that and you can really just focus on. Steven Julian: the product development. Steven Julian: Is there a preference one where this is just a personal question I’m asking at this point? Noah McNeely: That is a very difficult question. Noah McNeely: Exactly. Steven Julian: I’m slightly annoyed. Noah McNeely: It’s very individual based. Steven Julian: This is a relational thing for you, right? Steven Julian: This is a relational business, even for you and this. Noah McNeely: I’ll put you this way. Noah McNeely: I’m at a point in my career, I’ve done this long enough, I don’t usually have to work with people I dislike. Noah McNeely: Now, I will do my best to help anyone. Noah McNeely: Even if I dislike you, I will try to point you in a good direction, sometimes to someone I don’t like, but also. Noah McNeely: They don’t know that. Noah McNeely: Yeah, they don’t know that. Noah McNeely: No, but either can be good. Noah McNeely: I think it’s better for me to answer this from the standpoint of what’s the worst type of relationship. Steven Julian: Oh, there we go. Noah McNeely: That’s where someone comes in and they’ve never developed a product before. Noah McNeely: They don’t know anything about it, but they saw something on TV. Noah McNeely: So now they’re an expert or they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Noah McNeely: So now they’re an expert and they come in and they’re like, this is how you’re going to do it. Noah McNeely: This is how you’re going to do it. Noah McNeely: And I’m like, well, why are you here? Noah McNeely: How am I supposed to help you? Noah McNeely: You know everything already. Noah McNeely: Even though everything you just told me is completely wrong. Noah McNeely: I know you’ve read a book about it that some idiot wrote who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but that’s not how you do it. Noah McNeely: That’s not how the real world works. Noah McNeely: So those are not good relationships. Noah McNeely: Those usually end quickly. Noah McNeely: The other side of that is people that they just cannot accept what I’m telling them. Noah McNeely: So here’s the problem you have. Noah McNeely: And if you cannot solve this problem, You don’t have a business. Noah McNeely: Now, that’s just my opinion, but my opinion is based on a lot of experience, and some people just, they get really irritated about that, and I never hear from them again, and that’s probably for the best for me. Noah McNeely: But unfortunately, they then go out and they find an engineer who’s just happy to take their money, and they’ll spend a year. Noah McNeely: Dumping thousands of dollars into making something that they can never afford to produce or. Noah McNeely: that it’s never going to sell or it’s just the wrong market. Steven Julian: I like the way you answered that question. Steven Julian: Well done. Steven Julian: I asked a difficult question. Steven Julian: Noah gave a great answer to it. Steven Julian: So let me transition from the second question you asked of what can I sell. Steven Julian: And let’s kind of circle back real quick to that first question. Steven Julian: What can I get to the market with my resources? Steven Julian: This is a… Another way of kind of talking about minimum viable products. Steven Julian: So what do you need to know from the person that you’re talking to? Steven Julian: when it comes, because that word resources, let me unpack that just a little bit more. Steven Julian: You know, what can I get to the market with my resources? Steven Julian: You kind of need to know some things. Steven Julian: How much money do you have? Steven Julian: How much time do you have? Steven Julian: Kind of break that down. Noah McNeely: Yeah, I need them to be honest with themselves and with me.

Noah McNeely: Stuff costs what it costs. Noah McNeely: You know, I can’t work for free. Noah McNeely: Most people cannot. Noah McNeely: It doesn’t do you or me any good for you to come in and wear a fancy suit, pretend like you have. Noah McNeely: all this money, and then you don’t. Noah McNeely: Because then you and I are going to talk and go, hey, this is generally what this is going to cost. Noah McNeely: And you’re going to get one or two steps into that and say, oh, I can’t afford to go any further. Noah McNeely: Well, it’s like, well, why did you waste the money on the first two steps? Noah McNeely: I told you what it was going to cost to get this far. Noah McNeely: It’s like, I don’t know. Noah McNeely: Well. Noah McNeely: I can’t refund your money. Noah McNeely: All the work is done. Noah McNeely: The prototypes are built. Noah McNeely: Whatever it is, that’s done. Noah McNeely: I’m sorry you can’t take it any further, but I don’t know what you want me to do. Noah McNeely: Go out and raise some money and come back in a few years, I guess. Noah McNeely: So that’s kind of the worst scenario there. Noah McNeely: I think I do need to do my best to explain to them, and I try my very best to this where I can. Noah McNeely: This is generally what it’s going to take. Noah McNeely: Hear what they’re trying to do. Noah McNeely: I’ll lay out a scope. Noah McNeely: Okay, the first phase is to get us to a prototype. Noah McNeely: I can give. Noah McNeely: that a pretty tight number. Noah McNeely: If there’s stuff in there, I don’t know. Noah McNeely: Yeah, I don’t know. Noah McNeely: Are we going to end up in this material or that material? Noah McNeely: Beyond that, I have to give an estimated range. Noah McNeely: And then I can give my best guess at what the manufacturing is going to cost. Noah McNeely: But I can’t, you know, obviously on day one, nothing’s been designed. Noah McNeely: So I don’t know exactly what that is going to cost at the back end. Noah McNeely: So I do my best to open their eyes to what the costs are going to be. Noah McNeely: And also a little bit, you know, you’re going to have to have money for marketing. Noah McNeely: If you’re going to do a patent, I’ll send them to Brock, who you may know from other shows. Noah McNeely: All that’s going to take money. Noah McNeely: You may have to prioritize what you want to spend your money on and how you want to spend it. Noah McNeely: And I think actually in our next episode, we have some ideas about that. Steven Julian: Ooh, fellow with a tease. Noah McNeely: A slight tease, yes. Noah McNeely: I like that. Steven Julian: Well done. Noah McNeely: I am not a radio professional. Steven Julian: You just played one on this podcast. Steven Julian: So let me just, again, push back slightly on the word resources. Steven Julian: So we are talking about money. Steven Julian: There’s no question. Steven Julian: that is the main. Noah McNeely: Not just money. Steven Julian: Well, that was my question. Steven Julian: Don’t take my question away from me. Steven Julian: You definitely are not a professional when you did that. Noah McNeely: Clearly not. Steven Julian: So apart from money, what other resources can people bring to the table that you need to know about that will help you in helping them develop their products? Steven Julian: See how I did that? Steven Julian: Was that good? Steven Julian: All right. Noah McNeely: Thank you. Noah McNeely: So you may have other resources in terms of people in your network. Noah McNeely: You know, if you come in and say, I have this great idea and it’s for, you know, baseball players and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Noah McNeely: And okay, that’s great. Noah McNeely: But you don’t tell me, oh, and by the way, my cousin plays Major League Baseball. Noah McNeely: Well, you know, that’s a resource that we could know about. Noah McNeely: that can actually change my mind about how you would market this. Noah McNeely: Oh, well, maybe you don’t need all this money for marketing because your cousin can endorse it. Noah McNeely: Well, that may change what I advise you. Noah McNeely: on. Noah McNeely:

[END]

Product Genius, the Podcast for Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Startups