It is such a thrill to be a member of the Genius Crowds community. Having been through one full cycle of submissions and collaborative comments, I was truly impressed by the number of great ideas that were submitted by the community. As you know, we pick items based on our criteria (mainstream appeal, marketability, ease of manufacturing, and the competitive landscape) to move to the next round.

I joined Genius Crowds with the expressed responsibility of expediting the “time to market” on both the existing prototype contenders and future ones. While I know it can be disheartening, frustrating and disappointing not to be chosen, it just takes one great idea in a lifetime for it to be rewarding. Also, as you have seen, just because an idea is not chosen today, it doesn’t mean that we don’t continually review our archives for ideas that may be more appropriate for any given partner down the road.

In the past, members would submit their idea(s) and would not get any feedback or explanation as to why their idea(s) was not chosen. Today, with the panelist review and commentary, we are now committed to give you, what we hope, is valuable feedback on your ideas. The comments and challenges we present to ideators are the same that a manufacturer or buyer might say to us when we present your ideas. It is my job to convince the manufacturer, buyer or retailer that your item is unique, useful and has broad appeal.

This is where the potential market for a product makes a difference. Our item selection is based on “mainstream” appeal, which means that it will serve a medium/large market segment of consumers. I have received a few PM’s, asking me to explain this term. Not to be repetitive, but our manufacturing partners like products that serve a wide audience segment so for example, a left handed decorative melon carver might not be considered mainstream. I hope this clarifies some of the business jargon. I look forward to working with you on your next round of ideas.

RC