- Tell us something about yourself, your background
I am an entrepreneur, inventor, and podcaster.
I got a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University and worked for the Boeing Company. I soon realized he liked aviation and airplanes, but not big companies and bureaucracy.
Seeking a role with more impact, I moved to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, got interested in telecom and became a project manager for a small company. My new role and responsibilities in more dynamic companies served me well for many years.
Over the years, the small telecom got gobbled up by large companies. Soon Alan found himself, once again, back where he started – working for large, bureaucratic companies.
- Tell us about the product you invented with a brief explanation:
Wonder Wallet: a thin, flexible wallet that carries twice as many cards, but is half as thick as most wallets and flexed for comfort
- How/Why did you start inventing. What set you off? How did you get from idea to finished product?
I longed to work for myself full-time, but like many professionals, found it difficult to make the leap from bi-weekly paychecks to self-employment.
In 2002, I invented a thin, flexible wallet that carried twice as many cards, but was half as thick as most wallets and flexed for comfort. I didn’t know quite how to best proceed, so I created a crude prototype out of cardboard and plastic pockets, taped together for my first proof of concept. I also found a local patent attorney and filed a patent on my invention.
Now my invention felt real to me, but I felt it could be a big success – if only the “right” company would get behind it. I continued with improved prototypes made of leather swatches sewn together to have the look and feel of a real wallet.
Like many inventors, I soon discovered that inventing was the easy part, achieving commercial success was the hard part.
I vowed to do whatever it took to achieve success with my thin wallets which I called Savvy Caddy. For me, the journey to success was long and arduous.
Along my journey to success, I manufactured my wallets in China, sold to thousands of individuals at flea markets, on military bases, VA hospitals, and even on QVC for two years. Customers loved the thin, flexible wallets, but every time I attempted to license the concept, there was only mild interest.
Finally, in 2015, after 5 years of persistence, I licensed my invention, now called the Wonder Wallet to Allstar Products – a large As Seen on TV distributor. The Wonder Wallet was a huge TV sales success story, selling in over 10,000 retail stores accruing over $30 million in sales.
- Where are you now?
Today, I continue to invent, but also focus on helping other inventors to succeed, providing a variety of resources to help inventors.
Via my website alanbeckley.com, I have over 5 years of blogs on inventing topics. I also provides weekly webinars for inventors called License Your Invention for Royalties. Additionally, I have a digital online course – Land Your License Deal.
In January 2019, I started a podcast interviewing successful inventors called Inventors Helping Inventors. Today, my weekly podcast is heard on all the major platforms in the U.S., Canada, and 15 other countries.
In October 2020, I began a bootcamp for inventors called Pitch Your Product Like a Pro. In this 5-day bootcamp, inventors learn how to differentiate their inventions and how to create an effective 30-second pitch, their slam-dunk pitch.
I have big plans for 2021 to leverage new ways to assist inventors.
My goal is to leverage what I have learned and use it to help other inventors to avoid pitfalls and achieve success more quickly.
- Website: Click HERE
End of Interview
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