We have all heard necessity is the mother of invention.
This quote is often credited to Albert Einstein. But, it comes from Socratic dialogue, Plato wrote: “Our need will be the real creator.” Over time it morphed into the proverb we know and use today, inventions and innovation work to solve problems. They help us adapt to changes in our world and make life easier. But what are some real-life examples of necessity being the mother of invention?
In 1979 the jogging craze saw people joining gyms at increasing rates. Sony Engineer’s created innovation that changed the game with the Walkman. When the Walkman was introduced in the U.S. the waitlist to buy one was two months. At a price tag of $200.00 (roughly $700.00 in today’s dollars), it was clear that commusers saw value in this innovation. Consumers soon started viewing this new device as a necessity. You can read more about Walkman’s rise to fame in this article from the Smithsonian Magazine;
Sometimes it takes one aha moment for a new idea to revolutionize a market. We’ve all seen people out and about wearing Crocs, the foam shoes, introduced around 2002 that easily slip on and off. People who worked on boats lacked a shoe that was comfortable, non-slip, and could float. So rather than sinking to the bottom if your shoe fell into the water, it floated and could be easily retrieved.
At the time Crocs made their debut, Stellar Kent Corporation, www.stellarkent.com, a leading provider of corporate patent awards, had their own “aha” moment.
With the pace of patent filing increasing, prolific inventors were becoming the norm. In 1979 when Sony introduced the Walkman, a successful inventor might be granted a handful of patents during their career. By the time Crocs came to market in 2002, a successful inventor could be granted a handful of patents a year.
And at that time, one of the only patent awards on the market was the standard wall plaque. With wall plaques, prolific inventors quickly ran out of space to display their accomplishments. Inventors were also growing tired of traditional patent plaques and were ready for a change.
Stellar Kent Corporation, was aware of the dilemma that faced corporations with the goal of incentivizing their inventors and creating interest in patents with patents awards that inventors would be excited to receive.
Stellar Kent’s aha moment happened while the corporate president was waiting in the checkout line at a department store. As she waited a store employee came by to change a sign at the register. The employee pulled off a sign that was adhered with magnets and replaced it with another.
At that moment a lightbulb came on. What if we created a fun stackable award that unitized magnets? Within months, the Hexagon, was introduced. It is a smaller, stackable, easy to display patent award. Several more options such as the building block award followed. Soon stackable awards became a popular option for for corporate patent award programs
If you would like to discuss how Stellar Kent Corporation can help your company develop a smooth flowing patent award program with stackable/connectable awards that your inventors will be thrilled to receive, contact us today our customer service specialists are standing by to help you; [email protected]
