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

Steven Julian

Are you ready for the Product Genius Superhero Crossover Event of the Year? Our special guest star, the inventress, teams up with recovering engineer man Noah, and we find out that the slightly annoying co-host, yours truly, Steven, actually has kryptonite because he has a crippling ineptitude of dancing. Next on Product Genius.

Lisa Ascolese

Do you want to be a successful inventor entrepreneur? Struggling to get your product from idea to market?

Steven Julian

Well, you've come to the right place.

Lisa Ascolese

Welcome to Product Genius, the down-to-earth podcast that explores important topics about inventing and launching new products. Noah McNeely is your trusted guide. With more than 20 years of product launch experience, he's here to help you on your journey to become a product genius. Let's get started. Here's your slightly annoying co-host, Steven Julian.

Steven Julian

Hey, that's my line. Yes, it is another fantastic edition of... Product Genius. From deep inside the conference room, Noah, is this the conference room or the front room or the brainstorming area? Where are we at Product Quickstart?

Noah McNeely

This is the round table room. How about we do that? Even though it's got a square table.

Steven Julian

No, it's actually a...

Noah McNeely

Squarish.

Steven Julian

It's rectangular.

Noah McNeely

It's a rectangular. table. As an engineer, it's not a perfect rectangle.

Steven Julian

No, it's not a perfect rectangle.

Noah McNeely

Nothing is.

Steven Julian

No, nothing. Oh, boy. That's another show. All right. Marking it down. Rectangle. Perfect rectangle show to go along with the different, was it screws? Anyway. Yes, we are at a rectangular-ish or rectangular-roid table in the front room of Product Quick Start. And this is the podcast known as Product Genius. I am your slightly annoying host. Steven Julian, you can tell by the way I've already derailed the show. I'm seated next to the intrepid producer Jody Smith. I am seated across from the genius who brings the other geniuses to the table.

His name is Noah McNeely. And Noah, we have a fantastic guest today.

Noah McNeely

We do. And when I first heard about her, I was really intrigued by the name she goes by because it sounds like a superhero name. It does. So since you and I love superhero movies, I thought, you know. This would be one more good reason to have her on, but seriously, she does a lot for inventors, and that's why I was excited to bring her on.

Steven Julian

She is the author of the. book, The Inventress's Guide to Inventing the Right Way. So I guess she is known as the inventress. It is Lisa Ascolese. Lisa, welcome to Product Genius.

Lisa Ascolese

Well, good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you for having me.

Steven Julian

Glad to be here. Yeah, thrilled to have you here. So you're known as The Inventress, and your website is inventingatoz.com. So tell everybody about more than the book. Tell everybody about what it is you do, what your business is, what your consultation is.

Lisa Ascolese

Sure. So my business is Inventing A to Z. You said it right. And Inventing A to Z, I help inventors take their product ideas or their napkin ideas. From that napkin idea all the way to the marketplace and everything in between. Because there's a lot of in-betweens and a lot of mistakes that people make along the way if they're not guided or mentored. So my consultation address is just that. So you talk about my consultation. So when I sit down with a client, I walk them through all of the steps necessary.

However, we start with a non-disclosure agreement. Very important. Starting with a non-disclosure agreement or an NDA. To assure them that I'm not. taking their idea and sharing it with anybody else.

Steven Julian

So what is the spectrum of businesses or products or inventors and entrepreneurs that you've helped? Because Noah's big thing is specific products you can kind of hold in your hands. He plays an engineer, recovering engineer, all the different jokes we've made.

Noah McNeely

Yeah, I'm an engineer who actually likes to talk to people.

Steven Julian

So is it simply products or is it also other business types and business ideas that you help people get off the ground?

Lisa Ascolese

So businesses as well, Steven, anywhere from if they have a tangible business idea, a physical business idea that they're looking to get started, I walk them through those steps as well. In addition to having napkin ideas. Physical invention. Again, as I said, coming with a literally with a napkin idea, something on paper to developing it from that spot all the way to the marketplace, from QVC to HSN, helping them get on Shark Tank and on my show, Inventors Spotlight TV. In addition to this, my inventors podcast. So it varies from, I mean, I've done everything from kitchen organizers, electronics.

Right now we're working on a, the electronic piece that. we're working on is a. It's a sort of radar detector. Of course, you can't say exactly what it is, but something like that. Just something as simple as a slicer for a kitchen.

Steven Julian

Nice. So what is your, let me ask kind of how you got involved, how the story of getting you to this point of becoming the inventress, was this something you did in a previous life, previous career? Long-time listeners of this podcast kind of know Noah's story of how he got into this. So how do you find yourself now being the superhero, the inventress, and helping people get their products to market?

Lisa Ascolese

And believe me, I seriously do feel like a superhero, especially when I'm on the phone at 4 a.m. talking overseas with overseas manufacturers. Take the superhero to do that.

Noah McNeely

It takes a special person to do that. I've had to be that special person myself. So yes.

Steven Julian

Yeah. The old Shazam character had the wisdom of Solomon and the strength of, yeah. So you need that when you're 4 a.m The patience of Job is important.

Lisa Ascolese

Right. So I started developing as a kid. I mean, I say born in London, raised in Brooklyn by West Indian parents, right? So that gives you the creativity. The Brooklyn thing, you're just creative. You're outside playing all day long and your brain is going a mile a minute. Being from the West Indies, as you know, we West Indian people are constantly developing and creating and working 100 jobs. So as a child, it was a natural thing for me to just create. I played handball outside after school and my shoelaces came untied.

So with shoelaces coming untied, I would create something to keep my shoelaces together, okay, and on and on and on. And then I would come to school with a new hairstyle or a new headpiece. Or a new necklace or different types of shoelaces. And my peers would say, where'd you get those from? And I say, I made them. So I would create products and of course sell them to classmates. And that's how that started. And then moving forward as an adult, I had a child very young. And my first product that I actually sold out to the general public was a breastfeeding cape.

It was called the Bosom Buddy Breastfeeding Cape. So that I. had manufactured and literally marketed. Everybody across the United States, different stores across the United States and Canada, I should say. And in those days, it was snail mail. Literally had to get prototypes and mail them. Couldn't email somebody. We would write, I wrote letters back in those days, physical letters, and ask companies to take a look. And they'd say, sure, send a sample.

Noah McNeely

For those people in the audience that are younger, a letter is like an email on paper that you take to the mailbox and it takes a few days to get to its destination.

Steven Julian

Not quite the Pony Express where it was taken by horse, but you did have an infrastructure of people that carried things around. Anyway, sorry for Noah interrupting in the middle of your story. I can't help it. I know, I know. Yeah, it was good.

Noah McNeely

Topics of bad habits.

Steven Julian

Yeah, that was well done. That was well done. All right. Yeah, exactly. So you start as a child. You have your first product that you bring to market, the Bosom Buddy Breastfeeding Cape. I guess, were there other products along the way? And at what point did you go? Did you say, you know, I need to consult and help and I can help other people. So kind of get us to that point.

Lisa Ascolese

Well, yeah, sure. So, I mean, when I saw people buying it, when people started purchasing a product that I made, yeah, and I was very successful at pushing it out myself, but I did need help. I needed help from a patent attorney. I needed help from, you know, I needed direction. So I asked for guidance from people who I thought were, you know, who knew more, obviously. And I mean, for me, all I had back then was a patent attorney. And the patent attorney really didn't know much about marketing or manufacturing.

So, you know, I really had to trip over things and learn it as I went. And as soon as I understood the terrain, I said, I'm going to help every single inventor. I'm going to build a program and help inventors to do the hardest thing that I ever did. Because when you're an inventor, you both probably know, you're very passionate, right? You're developing a product, you're very passionate, but how do I do it? Who do? I trust? How do I get it out there? So mentorship is very important. I didn't have a lot of it, but the ones I did have were solid people.

Noah McNeely

Yeah, I think just to play off the superhero theme slightly more, you know, I think Lisa's origin story is really interesting. I mean, she and I both have very different origin stories, but we kind of ended up in the same. Which is one of the reasons I loved when I talked to Elisa earlier meeting you, is we both have the same kind of heart to help people, to help inventors, because we've both either been through the experience of not knowing where to get help or not knowing where to get good help, or we've seen people that have suffered through that.

I mean, you came from London and Brooklyn, which is about as far away from where I came from, which was on a dirt road here in Georgia, as is possible. But we both kind of ended up... With that same passion and love for people that are creative, that are trying to make businesses. So I think it's interesting how we both kind of. got here.

Steven Julian

Nice.

Lisa Ascolese

Yeah, it really is. It's pretty amazing.

Steven Julian

So you've got these mentors. You've kind of been seeing some success with your product. Can you give us the first time that you helped someone else or especially... I guess specifically, maybe it wasn't yet called inventing A to Z, but what was that transition for you? where you went from, not only can I develop products, but I'm going to help other people and bring them along?

Lisa Ascolese

Yeah, sure. So as people saw my success, I'm going to move forward to QVC. So when I first launched a product on QVC, which was a hair accessory, of course, then people saw me, they saw my products, and of course, they started reaching out and asking. You know, how I could help them. And yeah, so the first person, I'm trying to think of the first person who I actually brought along with me to QVC. And actually so many after that, probably 15 to 20 people after that first, when I knew I could help.

So I started doing classes, inventing agency classes. And people, I saw the passion and the interest that people had. And I started. signing them up for consultations, helping them build products, and just getting them off the ground. And that was back in probably 2001. 2001 was the first time I helped the first person with a physical product. Wow. And it was pretty amazing. Really good feeling.

Steven Julian

So when we were kind of getting this show ready, one of the things, and one of these days, Noah, I'm going to stop thinking this way. But I think it's almost natural in a competitive, you're a business person, you're always thinking of your competition and you're always dealing with stuff like that. So as we started looking at this show, I went, well, wait a minute, Lisa does what Noah does. I mean, it's not just one section, it's like almost the entire thing. But what I love is she is coming at this as an inventor entrepreneur, whereas you have come at this.

Of being an engineer product designer who helped, you know, went in again, past story, the large companies, things like that.

Noah McNeely

So, yeah, I mean, I think she and I certainly have some crossover and we do the same thing in the sense that we are advising, trying. to advise inventors to avoid big mistakes and do the right things. But she can give advice in areas I know nothing about. Exactly. And, you know, vice versa. So I would view us less as competitors, more as.

Steven Julian

Well, I think what I would say is the whole – so as the outsider, as the slightly annoying host who just does independent financial advising, and that's all compliance allows me to say, I would say that you guys – the whole world of bringing your product to market, there's 972 things. And while people like you and – well, at least people like you and people like Noah who are – Have done it a lot, have seen all the different angles and know a lot. You also know what your specialty is and you know what you're really good at.

And then you know how to introduce people to the right. To the other right people they need to know. Lisa, you said in your origin, I'm going to use Noah's words, origin story, you know, the comic book episode or issue one when I was reading about the inventress, you talked about, you know, when you were. kind of starting out, like all you had was the patent attorney and they're very good at helping you with patents, but not really good, you know, beyond that or didn't know a lot beyond that. Who are some of the other?

People you've come alongside and some of the other people you've been able to partner with and some of the other things that as you're helping people go through your class and your book and the podcast and the other ways that you're helping people take this journey, what are some of the most important roles or assistants that you can go, hey, somebody really needs help with this particular thing or that particular thing? Or is your consultation like, I'll take care of all this for you?

Lisa Ascolese

So, I mean, I work a few different ways. I give people the opportunity to get my assistance. So somebody comes to me and says, Lisa, I have this idea, but I really, I can't afford, I can't afford the services. I can't afford you to help me all the way. Is there something else you can do? Can we, can we, can you give me baby steps? I give. people a full picture, my full service program, or I'll help them with baby steps. If somebody comes to me and says, I've gotten this far.

I developed this product. Now I need X, Y, Z. Can you help me with this without having me pay $1,000 a month or whatever it is? And I'm not saying that's the right part, but whatever it is, too much money for them. I do help people. I assist them and I'll direct them. You know, I will direct people in places where I know that they should possibly get some legal help for little or no cost. Okay. I take a look at their, not that I take a look at their finances.

That's your, that's your job. But I'll say. What can you possibly do? I'll give them some help with some financial aid direction or there's some grants out there. So yes, I do direct people when they can't necessarily work and pay for, you know, have me work with them. The other thing is you asked me about mentorship and guidance. I have always gone right to a source. I'm not afraid to ask questions ever, right? I'm not. fearful of asking. Anybody for questions. So now I'm going to go back to a hair accessory I developed.

I developed a hair accessory called the Bunti. And it was a hair accessory. So I said, why not go to someone who knows about manufacturing hair products or hair accessories? I reached out to a gentleman by the name of Comer Cottrell. You may know who he is. Google him. You'll find out. Comer Cottrell was the inventor of ProLine products. He's a big shot. I think he owned a part of some football team. I'm the worst at stuff like that. But I wasn't afraid to go to him because I said, this guy is the CEO and founder of ProLine Products.

And he mentored me through developing my hair accessory. Dionne Warwick, also a mentor of mine. She said, Lisa, why not get into schools, elementary schools, colleges, and reach out and teach other people? And she mentored me through some of the things I didn't understand. With getting into school districts. So you're asking mentorship guidance. I ask for mentorship and guidance in spaces that I don't know. You don't know everything. I stay in my lane. I go to Noah for engineering advice. This is where we could work together very, very nicely. You know what I mean?

I stay in my lane and I ask questions to people who know more than I do, obviously.

Noah McNeely

Yeah, from my perspective, people ask me questions. I'm like, I don't know. You should probably talk to Lisa. And I see that happening in the future.

Steven Julian

Absolutely. And while you developed your own products and brought them to market, clearly one of the things in your story that kind of comes out is that being the face of the product, being the front. Facing salesperson of that product, whether it's on QVC or getting it into stores and approaching the right people and media, social media, sending out stamped letters and going back to how you started. So clearly getting the buzz around the product is one, but not the only specialty that you have. I do want to ask a little bit about...

Because one of the things I think people who work with you and work consultation packages with you will get opportunities to not only have one-on-one consultation, but also some of the connections you have. that you've developed and some that you kind of do yourself or help lead at least. So talk a little bit about the Inventor TV. Inventor Spotlight TV. Talk a little bit about that.

Lisa Ascolese

So Inventor Spotlight TV is a musically-inspired television show. Everything I do is musical. It has music around it, surrounding it. So anyway, Inventor Spotlight TV is a musically-inspired show, and I'll explain why. When you walk on the set, you have to dance on the set, and you have to dance off the set.

Steven Julian

Well, I'm out. I can't appear. Sorry. I'm already out. That's part of my backstory that I'm not going to share other than talk right over the guests, and I apologize for doing that, but I'm out. Okay, so you have to dance on the show. You've got me. I'm hooked. Yeah, keep going. It has in the air.

Lisa Ascolese

Anyway, so I invite guests on who have products or are looking to get their product license or sold. Looks kind of like a QVC set. And it has a format that gives people the platform to share what the product is, show prototypes where they started and where they are today. And so it's on YouTube. It's on my podcast and on my website, inventorsspotlighttv.com. And it's, again, giving people the opportunity and the platform to showcase and share their product and sell their product on air.

Steven Julian

And when it cuts, so here again, I'm going to just kind of highlight and spotlight one of the differences. While you certainly can help when it comes to, you know, so Noah, again, Noah, longtime listeners of this podcast, like where you get all your energy and where you help people the most is. I've got this idea. And then you help them develop the product to where it can go to minimum viable product, all that kind of stuff.

Noah McNeely

Yeah. I mean, I'm all about making stuff, not selling stuff, not figuring out how to sell or where to sell or, you know, a lot of the stuff that Lisa does. I mean, she knows about making stuff. Right. Don't get me wrong. Right. But I do want to correct you. My energy comes from Monster Energy Drinks.

Steven Julian

Oh, OK. What particular brand?

Noah McNeely

Monster.

Steven Julian

Oh, Monster. The white ones. They're not a sponsor of the show.

Noah McNeely

The white ones are my favorite. The orange ones are second and the green ones are third place.

Steven Julian

They're not a sponsor of the show. Yet. Yet.

Lisa Ascolese

I think somebody's getting paid for that.

Steven Julian

Well, we better. Can you get on that for it? We'll book a consultation with you and you'll show us how to get more sponsorship of the show. But we're still in talks with Frank's Cheese Hammers. But that's it. There you go. Threw that in. Got that reference done? There you go. Got it out there, Steve.

Noah McNeely

At the risk of interrupting whatever Steven was going to ask next, there's some questions. When I meet other people that help inventors, there's a couple of things I like to ask. And if you're not comfortable answering this with specifics, feel free to change the... The story a little bit to protect the innocent and the guilty. But one of the things I like to ask, what are some of the biggest mistakes or the biggest mistake you've seen an inventor make? And what's one of the smartest things you've seen an inventor do as you've been through this?

Lisa Ascolese

Biggest mistake, I would have to say, ZZ, hands down, getting a patent for. something that doesn't exist. Okay. So putting a, rushing to get a patent for something that does not exist.

Noah McNeely

Okay, I really like you a lot. You're already at like nine and a half. You just went to 10. So that's fantastic.

Lisa Ascolese

Oh, I appreciate that. Let's try to keep me at 10, all right? So I'll try to keep me at 10. Yeah, so people will call me up and say, I need a patent. You need to help me get a patent. So what's the product? Well, I have this idea about this thing. Is it drawn out? No, but I have it in my head and I need to get it patented. Well, what are you going to do to get it patented? Well, I need your help to get it patented. I'm not helping you to get it patented.

Noah McNeely

I was going to say, I get the other end of that story where they've already got the patent on something that doesn't exist. And then they come in my office and they're like, it's got to be made just like the patent. In five minutes, I've already said, well, here's 12 different, cheaper, better ways to. make it than what's in your patent. And they're like, no, no, it's still got to be what's in the patent. I'm like, well, nothing prevents anyone else from doing the 12 other ways I just showed you.

You realize that your patent doesn't protect you at all. So same problem, two different angles.

Lisa Ascolese

For sure. And, you know, now you pay, I don't know, between $5,000 and $10,000 for the utility patent if you received it. I mean, a patent attorney will give you a patent. They'll allow you to pay for a patent. Of course. You know, without showing them a functioning product. If it's drawn on paper and you say it works this way, that's the way it's seen by USPTO, right? Okay, that seems like a viable, functioning, working product. But this is where Noah comes in. Noah says, well, it looks good on paper, but it doesn't function.

So that's the big mistake, spending money on a product that does not exist, spending money on a patent for a product that doesn't exist. I always say you've got to have a functioning prototype for us at least. Right, Noah?

Noah McNeely

I agree. And also, not only. that, but also challenge your original idea because a lot of times, like I said, people will get patents on an idea, but that's not the right idea for their business. And yeah, you can make that, but you just made a $100 product for what's really a $10 problem. So there's a whole bunch of stuff wrapped up in there. But on a more positive note, Steven?

Steven Julian

No, no. I thought you were going to forget. Well done.

Noah McNeely

On a more positive note, what's one of the great good things or smart things you've seen an inventor do?

Lisa Ascolese

A trial. I mean, doing things, trying things on their own, doing their due diligence, researching, doing their research first. Reading, networking, listening to other inventors, listening to podcasts like this and just being open, having an open mind. You know, many inventors think this is it. This is it. My product is the best. And you know, it's the best and there's nothing better. But do your due diligence, take the right step, read and understand that you don't just ask your mom if it's a great thing because then, you know. She'll tell you.

Steven Julian

Yeah. All your mom and. your family and friends will all say you're the smartest person.

Noah McNeely

There's two things that happen there. One, your mom just tells you how great it is, regardless of how great it is. Or two, you realize you have a bad relationship with your mom.

Lisa Ascolese

That's right. So the good thing is doing their due diligence, really researching, not jumping into, I won't name any companies, but not just jumping because somebody says. You know, do this now or by five o'clock, you know, this rate is going to go away. And I can help you invent this product and get it on the market for six weeks, in six weeks. I like people who check out those companies, do their diligence, do their fact checking, and have done everything and appreciate guidance.

Noah McNeely

Yeah, I think you and I probably both run into some of the invention development companies out there and engineers and, you know, whatnot. Some of them I think may just not know better, but others are, they do come on with that high pressure sales and it's like, we got to jump on this now and patent attorneys do that too. And I always viewed that. as if you have to give a high pressure sales, then you're selling from a place of weakness, not strength. And that's, so yeah, I agree. I think inventors that have gone out and done a lot of due diligence before they even call me.

They have a lot more respect for me just right from the first conversation.

Steven Julian

I'm about to say something that is probably the most simplistic and dumb thing.

Noah McNeely

Well, that's your job.

Steven Julian

That's one of the things. So, Lisa, I'm allowed to ask one dumb question each show, and I'm not allowed to bank them. I have had a string of shows where I haven't asked a dumb question. As you've sat here and kind of laid out what you do and how you can help, and while you and Noah do some of the same things and are generally both trying to help people get their product to market, I think one of the things that clearly comes through is help does not mean doing the work for the inventor and entrepreneur.

And I think a lot of times, like going back to the getting a patent. The person goes, I've got this idea. in my head, so I need a patent right away. I think I'm sure you could also tell some stories of, yeah, I've got this idea, so you're going to help me, you know, so get it on QVC right now or get it on your network right now, even though it's just a napkin sketch. There's a lot of things you do to help. What you can't substitute for is the work that is going to go in by the person.

Whose idea it is? because of the work you put into the shoelace things when you were a kid and the Bosom Buddy breastfeeding cape and the other products that you brought to market. At some point, it's on the person inventing it and designing it and the entrepreneur. You're just helping them focus their effort. Is that a fair way to put it?

Lisa Ascolese

That is fair. And I say to my clients, I cannot, or people before they become my clients, right? So I listen to the passion in their voices. And if they're not passionate. And they're not determined to do the work. I cannot work with them. I said, I cannot have more passion about. your product than you do because it makes my job more difficult. I mean, this should be fun together. We should be passionate about it together, but their level should be a lot higher than mine. So yeah, if the client is not willing to put in the work and the effort and, you know, for example, I'll say, when you come to me, when you start working on this product.

Start looking at where you want a seat being sold. Have that vision. Where do you want it being sold? And then start doing some investigating about those places they want to sell the product. So there's always work to be done during the process. So yes, they have to do the work in order for this whole process to be successful.

Noah McNeely

Yeah, and that passion is something that there's no amount of money that they can pay me or you for us to have more passion than they do or to... Put in passion that doesn't exist there. And I kind of think about that as along the lines of you can't go out and pay someone to woo your future spouse for you. You know, that's never. going to work out.

Steven Julian

I thought I saw a movie about that one time.

Noah McNeely

It'll work out.

Steven Julian

Eventually.

Noah McNeely

Yeah, but only because they got around to realizing they had to put the passion in themselves, right? They have to do it.

Lisa Ascolese

They have to put the work in.

Noah McNeely

For an inventor, now this is not necessarily for corporate. I've done a lot of corporate work too and they're great and that's fine, but they're doing their job. They may not have the same kind of passion, but for an inventor, it really, and we did a whole show on this one time, it really is almost like a dating relationship leading up to marriage. I mean, you have to put so much energy into it. You better have passion for it or you're going to resent having ever started it. And I think that's something that the really good, successful inventors, they do that naturally.

It's the ones that are out there that I run into that they're just driven. I just want to invent something. Well, why? I just want to invent something. Well, why?

Lisa Ascolese

Because I just watched Shark Tank last night. I watched Shark Tank. And they. did it. They were picked. Mark Cuban picked them. And they got a million dollars.

Noah McNeely

If their passion is to get on Shark Tank, that's not it. It's the passion for the thing that may ultimately get you to Shark Tank, but it's the thing itself you need to have passion for. Whatever problem you're solving, who you're helping, whatever element of that you can have passion around, that's what's most important.

Steven Julian

Lisa, I want to ask you if... People go to your website, investingAtoZ.com, and we're going to kind of do the full rundown of how people can work with you in the future. I wanted to ask, on the logo, it says the inventress, inventing A to Z, and then it says lifting each other up two hands at a time. That caught my eye, and I'd like to ask you more about where that phrase comes from and why you used the phrasing two hands at a time.

Lisa Ascolese

And what's left off is sometimes you got to use your foot. And that's a part of my whole, a part of the mission statement I use. Because we do need, we need to be listed. You know, you. just, you know, sometimes it's, you know, they say it takes a village, right? I believe Hillary said that. Takes a village to, in order to succeed at anything you want to do. So I believe in taking two hands to my client and saying, okay, pushing them up. Let's go, let's go, let's go. And using that foot sometimes too, because it takes a lot of passion, faith, up.

People surrounding you who are positive in order to be lifted and inspired. Because sometimes people get down and they can't lift themselves back up. So it takes two hands to get lifted. It takes two hands at a time to get lifted back up.

Steven Julian

I like that.

Lisa Ascolese

Especially in this industry. You follow me? I mean, when you're starting a business and it doesn't go the way you want it to go, you fall down. And just a part of my book, I talk about that. Sometimes you get down on your knees and you can't. You just can't get back up. You can't. That passion doesn't necessarily come back. That drive doesn't come back. So you need somebody who's going to lift you up with two hands. I.

Steven Julian

also like the picture, helping someone up with two hands. There are times where you are standing face to face with them. You're standing up, they've fallen down, and you offer your two hands to help pick them back up. But I also like in your story, I also like in telling that, as you were describing it. I didn't think of the fact that sometimes you're behind the person pushing them with two hands. Come on, you got to move forward. You got to take this step. You can do it. You can do it.

And then that makes more sense. when you go, sometimes you need your foot because I don't want to do the, you know, get off my lawn and show my age. But I do think that there is still room in this world for people to... And commonsensically agree, you know, sometimes I do need a swift kick in the butt to make that, you know, a good coach knows when to put their arm around you and tell you it's okay, you'll do better next time. And then a good coach knows the right time in the right way to give you a. swift kick in the butt to go, there's the wall, go run through it, you know, and nobody's going to do it for you.

Go climb over it or go around it or figure out what you got to do to go through the wall. I want to ask one other thing from your website. We've talked about ISTV. We've mentioned the book. But I'd like you to explain A-O-W-I-E. I was thinking, is there a way to say it? Is it Owie? Is it A-O-W-I-E?

Lisa Ascolese

I love it. I love it.

Steven Julian

Talk about it.

Noah McNeely

Forgive us our Southern accents.

Lisa Ascolese

A-O-W-I-E. So A-O-W-I-E or Owie. I've heard Owie.

Steven Julian

Yeah, exactly.

Lisa Ascolese

It's an acronym, the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs. I started this conference. I'm in my 13th year, celebrating 13 years. I brought AOE conference together because so many people were out there, not just women, but inventors needing support, a volume of support, not just from my voice, but from other inventors and entrepreneurs. So I put this conference together. It's a music-inspired conference. That I put on once a year, gathering women and men together who are inventors and entrepreneurs. I have people come on stage and. tell their stories. Many celebrities get on stage, tell their stories of entertainment.

Singers, last year we had Melba Moore. Dionne Warwick has come. Just a whole host of people telling their entrepreneurial story or journey. Talking about how they got to where they are and remain. And just a great, great place to bring people together. There's networking, food, singing, two-minute elevator pitch competitions, and just a whole host of fun. And in fact, the next one is coming up in May. It's May 3rd, 2026. Wow. May 3rd, 2026, AOE, the Association of Women Ventures and Entrepreneurs.

Noah McNeely

And do you do that in New York City?

Steven Julian

Yes, it's a super exciting place to be.

Lisa Ascolese

It will be held in New Jersey. It'll be held in New Jersey at the Jumping Brook Country Club, which is in Tenton Falls, New Jersey. And that will be available on my website. Tickets will be available to purchase next week.

Steven Julian

Nice. And since you brought it up... Again, I thought about this the first time you said it. I also think it's such a great story. And unfortunately, I don't know if we're going to have enough time because you probably got. consultations to get to and all kinds of stuff. But the musically inspired, how so much of what, and is that an outgrowth of kind of who you are at your soul? Is that just, hey, that's how I keep it fun and fresh? It energizes me. I don't need monster drinks because I have music.

You know, where does, because that's twice you've mentioned it. And it does seem like a lot of the outgrowth of what you do does come from this point of music.

Lisa Ascolese

So tell me. I'll mention it three times. So I'll mention it three times. I have a motivational Monday every Monday, which is musically inspired.

Steven Julian

Musically inspired.

Lisa Ascolese

Musically inspired. So we come on every Monday morning. I have people gather together. They get on a Zoom call. Music starts when they come on and when they leave, music plays. I am inspired by music. Music inspires me. It motivates me. It lifts me up. And so that's why everything I do is musically inspired because I see music injected into everybody else. It gives them a rise. You know what I mean? I don't know anybody who doesn't love music. Some kind of. music. Some form of music.

Steven Julian

Good point. Good point.

Lisa Ascolese

I love it. I love to dance. I love to sing. I love to innovate to music.

Steven Julian

It's a universal language, right? It is a universal language. Yeah. Math is a universal language, but so is music. And it's more artistic. And that's fantastic. All right. So, Lisa, thank you so much for kind of opening up your life and opening up your business and letting us, you know, kind of look in all the nooks and crannies and cover all these things that you do. I think we've come to the point in the interview where I just need to get out of your way. for those people who want to just interact with you in some way, whether it's a consultation, whether it's through the book, whether it's looking at AOE or AOE or however they want to say it, or ISTV.

How do people get in touch with the inventress?

Lisa Ascolese

Sure. They can go to my website, inventingatoz.com. They can email me info at inventingatoz.com and they can call me 732-647-5433. And yes, I give out my number to those who are going to call me about business. So yeah, that's how they can reach me. That's huge.

Steven Julian

Lisa Ascoli's, or excuse me, Ascoli, sorry, Lisa, dang it, I had your name right and I messed it up at the end. Lisa Ascoli's, the inventress, inventing A to Z, don't put the number two in, spell out T-O, so inventing A-T-O-Z. Lisa, thank you so much for being on the show today.

Lisa Ascolese

I appreciate you guys. Thank you for having me. Thank you.

Noah McNeely

We enjoyed it.

Steven Julian

Noah.

Lisa Ascolese

All right, you have a great day.

Steven Julian

You too. Noah brought another genius to the table. A different kind of genius who kind of does some of the same things you do.

Noah McNeely

Well, I mean, there's plenty of people out there that need help and they need all sorts of different types of stuff. I need help myself in other areas.

Steven Julian

How much time do people have? I can tell them. Did I say that out loud?

Noah McNeely

We'll do another show on that. Lisa has so much wisdom and knowledge in areas that I just... I don't know anything about, and that's okay. The worst thing for me to do to someone is to try to give them advice in those. areas where I know nothing.

Steven Julian

Well, and so, again, people who are just coming on the show, go back and listen to our old shows. By the way, there's another podcast you should listen to kind of around the same topic here with Lisa. Go to her website and listen to her podcast. Just don't leave us. That's all I'd ask. But I would say, Noah, you've never... Run your own product business, right? You've never been the entrepreneur who had a business of a product. You help people get their products to market. You've been mostly around the development side.

Now, maybe you have been a partner in some things, but like there's no, you know, the Noah McNeely, you know, air guitar that you brought to market.

Noah McNeely

Well, I did sell some t-shirts in college. Hey, I did too.

Steven Julian

Oh, that's another.

Noah McNeely

I never got chased away from anywhere, though. That's another story about you that we'll make cover in the future.

Steven Julian

Listen, you're going to have to pay for that story. That's behind the paywall.

Noah McNeely

Right.

Steven Julian

That's in the podcast-only fans. Anyway, sorry, I ruined the show. So, yeah, and the other thing, I loved how Lisa. was talking about being musically inspired. And I know you say you're monster-inspired, but I think one of the things you and I share, because I'm comedically inspired, right? Comedy inspires me. Good stand-up comedy. Satire inspires me. I'm inspired when I laugh and when there's a joke that not everybody finds funny but I think is hilarious. That kind of stuff. So if I did a Zoom call, I would start with a bit and go, all right, let's show a bit.

So that's probably what it is. But Beyond Monster, are you willing to confess to the audience what else? Is there something else that inspires you?

Noah McNeely

Oh, my gosh.

Steven Julian

Ooh, Jody, I got him. Ooh, I like this. The awkward silence must be filled by the slightly annoying co-host.

Noah McNeely

Yes, please, please. No, I like, I like a lot of things. I do like really well done modern art. Now, not like the modern art where somebody just puts up a thing and says it's art like a banana on a wall. Interesting. I didn't know that. I don't get message art. I don't get. Yeah. You want to tell me something, just tell me something. Banana. on the wall, I don't know what you're trying to tell me. Right. But, you know, and when I say modern art, I'm talking kind of impressionism forward.

So I always kind of get inspired by that because a lot of it, you didn't want this deep of an answer, but a lot of it, it's like, I'm trying to figure out what the artist is trying to tell me sometimes, not the banana thing, but like, you know, a Van Gogh or whatever.

Steven Julian

He really doesn't like the banana. Yeah.

Noah McNeely

I don't know why I have to say it on that, but.

Steven Julian

You know why? Because you always have the banana stand.

Noah McNeely

That is true. There's always money in the banana stand. And the train of thought is just all the way you go. Okay, so a lot of times I view modern art as a conversation between the artist, whenever, wherever they lived, and the viewer. And it's not always the same conversation. What I take away from that art might be different from what you take away from it, but I can still take enjoyment in that, even if it has nothing to do with what the. artist meant.

Steven Julian

I love it.

Noah McNeely

That's my analog to music being inspiring.

Steven Julian

That's a great answer.

Noah McNeely

I don't dislike music. Sure.

Steven Julian

But that comes from your soul. There has been a lot of thought to that. And here I go back to, I'm fascinated with comedy. Because there's layers, there's depth, there's when this was written, why this was written. So yeah, I think everybody's got something that inspires them. Now all we have to do is figure out how to find out what inspires Jody. But that's a whole nother episode. And he's probably playing the outro music over me because he doesn't want to go there.

Noah McNeely

We'll have to take some guesses on that later.

Steven Julian

Yeah, exactly. So one more time, I want to thank our guest, Lisa Askeliz. She is the inventress, inventingA2Z.com. Make sure you go to productquickstart.com and you can do the contact us form for Noah. Do more than say, I have a great idea for a product. He'll help you get that product to market. And it'll also introduce you to other geniuses like Lisa. So for our intrepid producer, Jody Smith, and for Noah McNeely, this is your slightly annoying co-host, Steven. Julian, saying we will catch you next time on Product Genius.