Details

<p>Preface ix</p> <p>Acknowledgments xvii</p> <p><b>Phase I Development</b></p> <p>Chapter 1 Develop the Idea 3</p> <p>Chapter 2 Create Your Product 21</p> <p>Chapter 3 Brand Marketing 57</p> <p>Chapter 4 Design the Process 89</p> <p><b>Phase II Launch</b></p> <p>Chapter 5 Packaging a Product 119</p> <p>Chapter 6 Produce Your Product and Platform 139</p> <p><b>Phase III Rollout</b></p> <p>Chapter 7 Get Distribution, and Get on the Shelf 163</p> <p>Chapter 8 Demonstrate Local Success 191</p> <p>Chapter 9 Financing Primer 217</p> <p>Notes 243</p> <p>About the Author 245</p> <p>Index 247</p>

<p><b>VIK VENKATRAMAN</b> is a dreamer, free thinker, and student of life. He is the founder of both Star Power, the first 100% pure starfruit juice sold at specialty grocery stores, and V Bespoke, a fashion company offering affordable, high-quality, custom-tailored clothing. Vik is a former brand manager for Red Bull, and as a highly respected entrepreneur and management consultant with Deloitte Consulting and American Express, he has advised Fortune 500 retail, travel, and consumer product companies on a wide range of issues, including operations, marketing strategies, and manufacturing. Vik studied biomedical engineering at Columbia University, where he graduated with honors.

<p>EACH YEAR, passionate, hard-working individuals launch tens of thousands of new products. Unfortunately, although a great number of these products serve a need or satisfy a want, the majority disappear from the marketplace within two years. It doesn't have to be this way. Most products fail not because they weren't good ideas but, rather, because the entrepreneurs behind them weren't prepared. In <i>Inspired! Take Your Product Dream from Concept to Shelf,</i> entrepreneur Vik Venkatraman provides the expert guidance you need to avoid the common mistakes most people make. <p>Divided into three sections—<b>Development, Launch,</b> and <b>Rollout</b>—and using what the author refers to as The Inspired Method to help you build mutually beneficial relationships and make informed decisions, <i>Inspired!</i> walks you through each and every step of bringing a new product to market and ensuring that the product succeeds, including how to: <ul> <li>Use Web tools to determine demand</li> <li>Utilize your personal network to gain access to those who can assist you through the various stages of launching a product</li> <li>Create a mock-up and a prototype, and the difference between the two</li> <li>Select a name that increases your chances of success</li> <li>Negotiate with suppliers, including the questions you should ask</li> <li>Determine whether to manufacture your product domestically or overseas</li> <li>Pitch your product to retailers, and how to get your foot in the door in the first place</li> <li>Market your product on the Web</li> <li>Find financing from angel investors, venture capitalists, banks, grant programs, and entrepreneurship competitions</b></li></ul> <p><i>Inspired!</i> also includes sample letters to potential business partners, invaluable insights from successful entrepreneurs, and exercises to reinforce what you've learned. <p>Launching a successful new product requires much more than just a great idea. <i>Inspired!</i> arms you with the knowledge—the knowledge most entrepreneurs lack—that can help you save time and money, and ensure that your product is one of the 10 percent that proves to be a huge success.

US