Need an advise - 2 invention alleys to choose from

[Maxkaz]

Hey there.

Like 30 minutes ago an opportunity arose and I am in a turmoil.

A work as an independent contractor and in the spare time am working on my invention - plant-watering device which is data-driven (meaning it waters the plant not after timer but when a plant needs to). I retain full control over the idea, gather information on all the next steps and basically see all the way up to millions of sales with all the check-up points (points of the journey where I decide if the idea is still worth pursuing or a flop).

And just like 30 minutes ago a distant friend of mine called to tell me that our idea was accepted by a university to run an accelerator program. What idea? The one I made some advise about several months ago. That friend of mine - she is no engineering person, more like an artist. And she is now studying biochemistry in her 56 years. She got that idea for a medical device, won some student conference with it and went to me to go through details of possible implementation. And now we are invited to go to a one-semester long accelerator to build a team, construct a prototype and present it to an investor and angel board. Of cause no real control is there (as all the IP of university-developed projects belong to the university) and perspectives of implementation (as it is a medical device and not home appliance) is more vague. But there are lots of guided experience, industry contacts and a big-big opportunity, much faster than self-watering plant pot.

I really do not know what to choose as I do not want to pursue 2 alleys at once - a life of a blue collar does not have room for too many hustles. What are your opinion, dear fastlaners?

 

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[ChetUBetcha]

Hey there.

Like 30 minutes ago an opportunity arose and I am in a turmoil.

A work as an independent contractor and in the spare time am working on my invention - plant-watering device which is data-driven (meaning it waters the plant not after timer but when a plant needs to). I retain full control over the idea, gather information on all the next steps and basically see all the way up to millions of sales with all the check-up points (points of the journey where I decide if the idea is still worth pursuing or a flop).

And just like 30 minutes ago a distant friend of mine called to tell me that our idea was accepted by a university to run an accelerator program. What idea? The one I made some advise about several months ago. That friend of mine - she is no engineering person, more like an artist. And she is now studying biochemistry in her 56 years. She got that idea for a medical device, won some student conference with it and went to me to go through details of possible implementation. And now we are invited to go to a one-semester long accelerator to build a team, construct a prototype and present it to an investor and angel board. Of cause no real control is there (as all the IP of university-developed projects belong to the university) and perspectives of implementation (as it is a medical device and not home appliance) is more vague. But there are lots of guided experience, industry contacts and a big-big opportunity, much faster than self-watering plant pot.

I really do not know what to choose as I do not want to pursue 2 alleys at once - a life of a blue collar does not have room for too many hustles. What are your opinion, dear fastlaners?

Hey there.

Like 30 minutes ago an opportunity arose and I am in a turmoil.

A work as an independent contractor and in the spare time am working on my invention - plant-watering device which is data-driven (meaning it waters the plant not after timer but when a plant needs to). I retain full control over the idea, gather information on all the next steps and basically see all the way up to millions of sales with all the check-up points (points of the journey where I decide if the idea is still worth pursuing or a flop).

And just like 30 minutes ago a distant friend of mine called to tell me that our idea was accepted by a university to run an accelerator program. What idea? The one I made some advise about several months ago. That friend of mine - she is no engineering person, more like an artist. And she is now studying biochemistry in her 56 years. She got that idea for a medical device, won some student conference with it and went to me to go through details of possible implementation. And now we are invited to go to a one-semester long accelerator to build a team, construct a prototype and present it to an investor and angel board. Of cause no real control is there (as all the IP of university-developed projects belong to the university) and perspectives of implementation (as it is a medical device and not home appliance) is more vague. But there are lots of guided experience, industry contacts and a big-big opportunity, much faster than self-watering plant pot.

I really do not know what to choose as I do not want to pursue 2 alleys at once - a life of a blue collar does not have room for too many hustles. What are your opinion, dear fastlaners?

Either way you would be hopping in the arena so both are good options to learn and develop yourself. Before you do anything I would suggest you become very clear on the idea of where you want to end up in life. Who do you want to be? What income do you want to have? What lifestyle do you want? etc. Once you have a clear(ish) understanding of where you want to go, its a lot easier to reverse engineer the path to getting there. Each option above has its own pros and cons. If I were you, Id write out a pros and cons list to compare both options. Dont forget you have a third option too (not doing either) It takes some deep introspection to do this so take your time. Don't feel rushed. Once you have your final destination, and your three options of what you can do, it should be clearer as to which path makes the most sense.

Hope this helps, just my two cents

 

[eramart]

I’d say second one. Automatic plant watering is nothing new, there are a lot of solutions, while in the university accelerator you have a lot of experts in otherwise hard to get to field (potentially with a lot of money involved).

 

[Maxkaz]

I’d say second one. Automatic plant watering is nothing new, there are a lot of solutions, while in the university accelerator you have a lot of experts in otherwise hard to get to field (potentially with a lot of money involved).

I got my market skews covered with first one) But I can always return to it if/when my accelerator flop/finishes…

Also feeling towards second one, but still dunno. My first one’s prototype is now running it’s thing while I am at work

 

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[RightyTighty]

Of cause no real control is there (as all the IP of university-developed projects belong to the university) and perspectives of implementation (as it is a medical device and not home appliance) is more vague. But there are lots of guided experience, industry contacts and a big-big opportunity, much faster than self-watering plant pot.

With the University owning the IP, you will gain some good experience and connections, with any ownership being unlikely unless you negotiate it up front (good luck with that).

Long-term, which path intrigues you more - working with a team on products with complex manufacturing and regulatory considerations, or being in control and bootstrapping smaller, less complex products? If you’re at all interested in become a startup whiz wheeling and dealing for VC deals definitely go the university route - it’ll be a master class. If the lean more towards having full control and developing/marketing your own products, the university project will be more of an apprenticeship. It would be worthwhile and you will learn some good skills, but much of it won’t be applicable to creating a lean physical product launch.

Based solely on the two choices as laid out in your original post, I’d go with the medical product. As others noted, the plant watering market is pretty much saturated. Unless you have something with sizzle (not just novel), that will cost less, or is designed for a niche market like the marijuana industry, I’d think you could come up with an idea with better potential.

Also, take a look back at your progress to date; if you realize you’ve been action faking or having trouble staying motivated to execute, go the university route. Besides the other benefits, it will be a good exercise in becoming accountable to yourself.

Bottom line: There‘s a lot of upside to pursuing the medical product and not a lot of downside. Should you dive in, first make sure the expected amount of hours and the term associated with the project are well documented. You don’t want to find yourself saddled with a long-term commitment that others are gaining the rewards from.

 

[Maxkaz]

There‘s a lot of upside to pursuing the medical product and not a lot of downside. Should you dive in, first make sure the expected amount of hours and the term associated with the project are well documented. You don’t want to find yourself saddled with a long-term commitment that others are gaining the rewards from.

My main thing here is the difference in scale. My own project is like a small yacht with one sail I can manage, steer and anchor myself. The medical one is like a huge cargo ship for which I would need to form a full crew and learn a bunch to just think of leaving the port.

 

[cmh]

Does the accelerator provide a salary, or some sort of living stipend? If so, that might be a good stepping stone. You say you are blue collar. That lifestyle tends to drain a man of energy and not leave much juice for the Fastlane pursuits. If it provides a salary I'd jump on it.

My second question is, how close is your watering pot to an MVP? If it's close, you could start marketing it and use the accelerator time as the first contact with the market. If the accelerator goes great and you start getting big money, you might put the pot on hold. If the accelerator doesn't go anywhere great, you can keep working for your daily bread, and focus energy on the pot, using accelerator connections to help.

 

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