INPEX® 2005 Proves To Be One Great Show
Inventors from 20 countries around the world came together June 8-11 to exhibit their inventions at INPEX 2005, America's Largest Invention Trade Show. Held at the Greater Pittsburgh ExpoMart in Pittsburgh, Pa., the show boasted one of its largest exhibitor showings to date.
"The show was an awesome experience for us," said Lisa Washington, exhibitor of Nite Hoops. "We met so many amazing people, and if nothing else comes of this, just the connections made with the other inventors will be worth it."
While the show offered exhibitors opportunities to network with manufacturers, it also included many resources for the inventors. The INPEX Resource Center featured representatives from various companies, and gave inventors the opportunity to meet for a short time one-on-one to learn about patenting, licensing, prototyping, business planning, marketing, branding and more.
The Resource Center wasn't the only learning tool for exhibitors. INPEX Inventors University™ featured seminars on venture capital, product development, direct response TV marketing, offshore manufacturing and much more. There were more than 20 classes in all. The presenters were experts in the various fields, and many exhibitors found the university informative and worth more than the cost of exhibiting.
Michelle Bollinger, inventor of The Drops™, said that the University really was useful for her and her partner. "We took a lot of great notes from the various speakers," she said. "We plan on putting those notes to use when we return home."
Local and national media attended the event, and gave many inventors the opportunity to talk about their inventions on the television or radio. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno also filmed inventors for the segment "Pitch To America". It gave most of the exhibitors a chance to pitch their product to the American public. The segment aired July 7, and featured nine different exhibitors.
Larry Moore, inventor of the New Generation Coffee Maker, said that the Tonight Show opportunity was awesome. "Having the Jay Leno show there was a really cool experience," he said. "We know that there's a chance that we won't get on, but just the opportunity to pitch to something like that was really great."
On the closing day of INPEX, Jeff and Rich Sloan of StartupNation Radio, gave the keynote address during an hour-long taping of their radio broadcast right from the show floor. They answered inventors' questions and featured two exhibitors, James Acevedo, inventor of the First Escape Smoke Alarm System and Dave Hammond, inventor of the Intelligent First Aid Kit. These men were invited to appear on the show after being selected in a contest held by StartupNation.
Dave Hammond talked about some of the topics that were discussed during the taping of the show. "James and I spoke about some of the trials and tribulations of our own inventions," said Hammond. "We also gave some pointers that we hoped were helpful to some of the other exhibitors who might have been listening."
The inventors were invited to take part in the nightlife that Pittsburgh had to offer. One evening, they were shuttled to Station Square in Pittsburgh's South Side, where they could shop at the specialty stores, and eat or party at one of the many bars and restaurants. Another evening, they had the option to purchase tickets to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team take on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at PNC Park.
Saturday evening, the INPEX 2005 awards dinner was held at Heinz Field, the home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. An international jury had judged the inventions earlier in the week, and many jury, merit and special awards were handed out to the excited inventors. The Grand Prix Award, which includes a $5,000 check, was awarded to Deborah Yungner for the ERBUS — Emergency Response Backup Utility System.
INPEX was informational and useful to many of the exhibitors who attended in 2005.
"The response, for us, has been amazing, and it was right from the start," said Thomas DeLong, one of the inventors of Sink & Drink. "We made many business contacts, and we've gotten many promising leads. Hopefully, this will be something that will work out for us."
Whether making connections with companies, forming friendships, networking with other inventors or just having fun and learning, INPEX 2005 seemed to bring people together.
INPEX 2006 will be held June 7-10, 2006.
