The Got Invention Show 

Sticky Notes: Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Alan Amron began inventing when he was just 12 years old, and he is still going strong. As a serial inventor he now has an amazing 40 patents to his credit. 

At first, Alan didn’t see himself as an inventor – he was just solving problems by coming up with ideas. He started out inventing toys to play with. When Alan was a young man his father went on vacation and the refrigeration in his meat store went out. Alan invented a temperature monitoring system that he eventually sold to the American Red Cross, Waldbaum’s supermarkets and others.

The story of the 3M Post-It Note began when he left his wife a message. He wrote on a small piece of paper and used a tiny piece of chewing gum mixed with a bit of dust to attach the note to the refrigerator door. His wife saw the potential of the idea, but unfortunately what ensued was a decades-long battle with 3M that claimed the idea as their own.

Alan learned a valuable lesson from the experience, and he now feels that if his idea is good enough for the industry, it’s good enough for a patent. He often works with “patent partners” who invest in his ideas, and he splits the profit with them 50-50. While Alan Amron is best known for the sticky note, his most lucrative invention is the battery-powered water gun that made him millions. Right now he is working on an invention for professional football games.

When asked about his invention process, Alan said if nobody likes his idea, he tends to put it aside and move on. When he gets a good idea, he visualizes it as a finished product. He then works backward to determine the best path for producing a prototype from a “napkin drawing,” pricing, marketing and contacting the right people. But he understands that some inventors can benefit from professional guidance.

You can learn more about Alan Abrams, his inventions and his story in his new book An Invented Life available on Amazon and Kindle, Barnes and Noble and audiobooks.  To chat with Alan Abrams, visit PostitNotesInventor.com. 

The Got Invention Show features 30-minute interviews where an inventor promotes an invention, seeks a licensing deal or looks for distribution opportunities. Host Brian Fried focuses on his guest’s challenges and solutions and asks about their journey, where they are right now and what will come next. Guests offer words of wisdom to viewers and listeners.

The Got Invention Show was picked up by DB&A Network which airs Brian’s interviews on AppleTV, RokuTV and Amazon Fire. The audio podcast is distributed on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and others for a total of over 100 million potential viewers and listeners. 

To become a guest on the Got Invention Show, visit gotinventionshow.com.  National Inventor Club Premium Members receive a discount.