Great Idea to a Great Company: Making Inventions Pay [Paperback]

Lawrence B Kilham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2001

This book takes the reader through the essential steps of forming a successful technically-based company. Included are such topics as forming a vision, creating a product, formulating a business plan, the basics of marketing, finance, production, patents and all the various elements, formal and informal, that pull the whole process together. All major points are illustrated by examples drawn primarily from family companies based on inventions. The story-telling style captures the attention of beginners as well as seasoned entrepreneurs. The book is very meaty and avoids the mantras, over-simplification and feel-good approaches of many "How to" business books.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lawrence Breese Kilham is from the third generation of a family which has produced notable inventors who became successful business people. His grandfather Jim Breese had over 50 patents in an oil burner business that flourished from the 20's through the 50's. His father Peter Kilham had almost as many patents and was the founder of the leading bird feeder business in the U.S. His sister Anne Kilham currently has a leading Maine Coast gift card business which is very successful. Larry draws on their experiences freely along with his own in the writing of Great Idea to a Great Company: Making Inventions Pay.

Mr. Kilham received a bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Colorado in 1963 and a master's degree in management from the Sloan School of Management at MIT in 1966. He hold three patents for important developments in chemical process instrumentation. In 1986 Larry was awarded the IR 100 award for inventing one of the 100 most significant technical products developed in the U.S. that year. This was for an instrument to automate higher quality plastics production. He has published technical articles which have appeared in professional journals and magazines, such as The TAPPI (pulp and paper industry) Journal, and Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine.

Larry has been in sales, engineering and management positions in various high tech companies since 1965. Currently he is president and owner of Eco Sensors, Inc., a rapidly growing environmental instrument company in Santa Fe, New Mexico..

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris, Corp. (August 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401003249
• ISBN-13: 978-1401003241
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,436,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for reading, November 23, 2001

By 

Robert Kerr (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Idea to a Great Company: Making Inventions Pay (Paperback)

This is a book written in language that can be understood for all levels by an author who has had the hands on experience it takes to get an idea off the ground. It has definately impacted my thoughts in planning my future process for my company. Highly recommended

5.0 out of 5 stars Putting His Heart Into It, November 14, 2002

By 

Reed Stevens (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Idea to a Great Company: Making Inventions Pay (Hardcover)

Not another sucker how-to book, this is a delightfully literate memoir of a smart man's journey to develope and market his own gadget, a hand held ozone sniffing device called Eco-Sensor. Guided by his father's example and supported by his loyal wife, Kilham forged bravely past the snapping jaws of a dropping market, fickle financing, parts shortages and personnel problems like security guard Lila's exciting gender transformation. Not just an inventor, Kilham created a highly satisfying business to manufacture and sell his product. He tells a delightful family history along the way.

"Great Idea" won't sell you any tapes and it doesn't flog his product, Eco-Sensor, because that's not his mission. Ever his father's son, Kilham wants to encourage us to be true to ourselves, to keep on through failure and to always, always reach for excellence. You don't have to be an engineer or even a business person to love this book. I could hardly put it down.

5.0 out of 5 stars A new bible for entrepreneurs, January 28, 2002

By 

J. Schultz (Moretown, VT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Idea to a Great Company: Making Inventions Pay (Paperback)

This book is full of wonderful examples of things for the entrepreneur to expect and beware of. I ususally circle a few such key passages in the text of any book, and jot the page numbers inside the cover. I ran out of room to write page numbers!