Hardware Podcasts

S6E17 Scott Putnam | Invention, Licensing, and Venturing

Being an Engineer · 25 Apr 2025 · 48m · Episode 17

What this episode covers

Scott Putnam, founder of Inventor's Edge and inventor of the Swat-N-Scoop, discusses the divergent paths of licensing versus venturing for physical products. He highlights the common engineering trap of perfectionism, advising inventors to use 'good enough' prototypes to validate market interest before investing heavily in manufacturing. Putnam shares his personal journey of pivoting from a complex scoop design to a successful Amazon product, while offering strategies for navigating Amazon knockoffs and understanding patent claims.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Inventor's Edge, Amazon, Pipeline Design & Engineering, Simitech Group
Products
Swat-N-Scoop
Tools
Google Trends, Perplexity, LinkedIn, ANSYS

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