Fancy Yourself an Inventor? Submit Your Idea to Social Product Development Site Quirky

Samantha Bruck Dec 24, 2011 Tweet

Do you hold the idea for the greatest invention of all time, but unsure of how to get started to bring it to life?

NYC-based startup Quirky is a social product development site – or online idea community – that gives anyone the chance to become a great inventor.   When you post an idea on Quirky, you are asked to describe the idea in 140 characters or less, choose a category (kitchen, home décor, fitness, etc.), the problem that you’re attempting to solve, the solution, and key features.

Your idea then goes through a voting process – each week, Quirky eliminates hundreds of “good” ideas and chooses only two “great” ideas.  Great ideas are judged on 3 elements: design, market, and viability.

Your approved invention then gets handed off to Quirky’s team of design and product development experts, who will implement the idea for you and place it in retail stores, such as Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and The Container Store within months.

How does Quirky work?

The business model is clever. You pay $10 to submit your idea.  Once it is manufactured and sold, you get paid.  The more units sold, the more you make.

Some popular Quirky product include:

Pivot Power, a power strip flexible enough to fit any bulky power plug

Solo Collapsible Hanger, an easy-on easy-off hanger preventing stretched clothes forever

PowerCurl, a cord-storage product that menas you will never have to deal with tangled and unorganized cords again.

Give it a shot and see if your idea has what it takes to pass the voting round.  Good luck!