it is a brand new weak and a brand new month kicking off Monsieur nine one to nine twelve, which will be published on the first of July. Eighteen people later this story is still relevant, just like the vast majority of our stories. Try to keep this entire archive evergreen at least as much as possible, sometimes in travelling, so talk about where I am but really affect the content of the story. So I've got a great story very today. Gonna lagree stories actually can be up this entire week and beyond this one is a tremendous success. Then we could set up by asking what do you you when you set out to raise twelve thousand dollars through cross funding, the actually end up raising nearly two million two million dollars. Actually one point: eight million falls into the category of a good problem to have, but it can so create problems, including a sea of knockoffs, we'll talk about it today.

Were calling it bendy. Straw idea raises one point: eight million on Kickstarter, but there's drama and intrigue also when you have a shot out to a couple of

prisoners who wrote in and asked me to clarify something from a recent episodes. We got a lot of people out there doing all kinds of things, some very grateful to those nor community who have skills that I dont and so a couple of lawyers right in and said. Another thing about provisional patent, which will talk about briefly in this episode, but I mentioned it another time recently. I may have suggested that a provisional patent is sufficient for some projects and the reality is that a provisional patent application won't actually protect applicants at all, but all it does is it secures a filing date? Should they choose to file a non provisional patent down the road? Somebody else said. Basically what this does. Is it just kind of hold your place in the patent system? So it's not without value, but is also not the same as having a utility patent or other non provisional patent. So thank you folks for setting me straight. I wanted to pass it on to the rest of our listeners and thanks to Christmas Ali Turn Wade Cabinet in anybody else out there that I missed. I say to him for the story: it's coming right up after this quick shot out to our sponsor

Emma coin was always interested in sustainability, while working for the LOS Alamos National Laboratory she completed her masters and environmental management harboured extension school. She was involved in important work, but wondered there is a way to be more personally proactive about fighting plastic pollution. One day in Thailand, she found it while travelling around Southeast Asia him I was walking along a beach that was completely covered in plastic waste for her it was the last straw. She became an activist against single use plastics, taking up the issue with friends and then in a local tax. Talk about how plastic was harming our

It was through being vocal that Emma was introduced. Two miles pepper and twenty seventeen miles had an idea that had been sitting on for a while, a reusable straw that can be bent into a small case, but was still capable of being stiff enough to not feel flimsy and a drink. With his idea and her professional background, it seemed like a match maiden have They got to work right away. They found a local engineer to create a cad design printed, a few prototypes local machine shop, in LOS Angeles and within just a few months, landed on a rock design. They were proud of a silicone interior wrapped in individual metal tubes. They could be connected to create a firm outer straw. The result was a collapsible straw that could fit into a pocket or purse, but still be strong enough. Once the mental pieces were connected to stir a thick drink, they called it of course, the final straw, here's a great tipper, someone out there. It must set up a Google news alert for anything that had to do with plastic straw, waste or government bans. She would then take the names of journalists were running those

goals and put them in a less to use later, as her press or contact list. Once she launched a campaign in speaking of that campaign, Emma MILES created the campaign from scratch. I worked with some friends to make a funny. Mermaid, asking customers to stop using plastic straws and then launched in March two thousand and eighteen justify short months after they began working together. I guess what happened next? What happened next was nothing crickets. Her press list was it died. Nobody wanted to give the final straw exposure at least not at first. It seemed as though the dozens of hours in my porygon2 personalized messages to journalists at all been wasted. They got a few sales over the next few days alone, with a couple articles on small websites, but nowhere near their twelve thousand five hundred dollar goal, but then, like a diver, Rushing into the water to save a plastic trap turtle in the ocean, Busby came along someone. There had defied their journalists, friends elsewhere and create a short video about the final straw in plastic pollution.

And that's short, video ended up being an enormous hit, with over thirty million views in miles blue pastor a thousand five hundred our goal reaching over a hundred thousand dollars in backing within a couple days, and that was just the beginning. By the end of the campaign. Emma Myles had raised one point: eight million dollars and sold over a hundred thousand straws to strangers. Now they had to follow through Emma contracted a team to completely redesign the straw prototypes. It cost nearly fifty dollars each dollars each needed to get the price way lower. The team work directly with the manufacturer to create a cost efficient design over the next six months and ended up with a product. She could sell it four to five ex market then, however, is something weird happened months before she kept her first draw. She got an email. This was an email from a discreet customer who was very upset at the low quality final straw. She'd purchased she wanted to refund Emma was bewildered. How could she have described customers when she hadn't actually shipped product? Then she did a Google search.

Sure enough less than two months after a campaign, it ended before she even had her own products made. There were already copycats and they were using her exact branding, name images, everything they even created fake. You are else like final straw with two hours: bundle, straw or final straw dot net This part was people were getting these big straws, realizing how awful they were in ensuring the way which, of course, was completely counter to Emma School final straw was already. If re provisional patent in the? U S, as I mentioned at the beginning, that just hold your place in the patent system, but to enforce intellectual property, and I spent about ten thousand dollars to get the full utility patent from their. She started: sending cease and desist letters a few of them per day to these knock off manufacturers,

Sellers she also found her patents with Amazon Alibaba and I express to get their help with fighting fix. Fortunately, once the real final straw started shipping out in October, the team was flooded with great reviews. Customers love the straw and those that had accidently purchase a counterfeit emailed Emma to say how much better the real one wise compared to the fix and the sales have been rolling in ever since. No one knows that, in order to keep the final straw is sustainable, bread and not just a one hit, wonder that's endlessly knocked off needs to keep innovating, and so thankfully she's not putting those knock off troubles slowdown, innovation, she's, gonna, be releasing new products and twenty nineteen to fight other areas of single use. Plastic waste like reusable cutlery and water bottles, the best part of it spite those real challenges is knowing she's helping people all over the world can excited about doing something for the environment and doing that with a straw. It doesn't sound

so I get a lot of questions from people who have fears and worries that this is what's gonna happen with their projects are going to have a tremendous success and in some ways napoleon copycat it. You know It's my perspective and I understand some might have a different one, but my general perspective is: do not worry too much about that, because it kind of falls into the category of good problems to have. I did. If you raised two million dollars in your crop bombing campaign expecting to raise twelve thousand dollars. It's not surprising that someone else out there is going to try to write that wave. The far greater problem actually remember this quote from self golden years ago. You said your put your greatest problem as an author is a creator is not piracy.

Its obscurity, in other words its far more likely that your kickstarter campaign or whatever it is it's just not going unnoticed. That's the problem. I think you should pay more attention to which is not to say that you shouldn't pursue the pattern for the trade mark or get some council from someone much more qualified than me. I just think, like first things: first, let's make sure you're out your idea is actually going to work and take off and have no demand in the marketplace, because that's the most important thing. I did like this Tipp, though, about how it must set up a Google news alert and she did it for anything in in her field. Her topic, broadly speaking, plastic straw, waste or government bans, which has been a lot of news about various municipalities, even cities banning the use of plastic straws. So in doing so, she is able to create this list. This database of journalists

How did she get in pitch and have we heard the story and allow them didn't actually do anything about it at least at first, but then you know the Busby connection worked because big media coverage tends to create other big media coverage. It's gonna the circular think so I love that tip. I think that could be helpful at anybody out there whose planning their product launch or a big crop. Putting campaign where is especially important to get a lot of attention in the beginning are that's Lawford today. I hope it is helpful to somebody out there. I don't forget. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. My hope is that you listen to the show and get an idea or get support for your idea or just get a little bit of knowledge to go out and do something for yourself. Maybe do something for yourself and for the rest of the world like. What am I doing here that you can do good and do well today. Show notes, are satisfied, school dot, com, slash, nine, twelve episode, nine one too thanks so much be sure. Subscribe

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