---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being an independent inventor is tough…"
description: "\"Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product, patent it, then you're looking for someone who will see the benefit from this technology..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg"
---

#  Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a…

![“Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product, patent it, then you're looking for someone who will see the benefit from this technology. You assume all the investment and all the risk. It can be a challenge.” quote by Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg)

> “Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product, patent it, then you're looking for someone who will see the benefit from this technology. You assume all the investment and all the risk. It can be a challenge.”

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Inventing independently demands bearing full risk and cost, making success dependent on finding partners who value the invention.

**In simple terms:** Inventors face risk and need supportive partners.

Key Takeaway

Seek allies who see your product’s value.

Themes

innovation risk entrepreneurship

Mood

pragmatic determined

Type

business motivational

When to use this quote

- startup funding
- product development
- patent licensing
- risk assessment

Key Concepts

Intellectual property venture financing

Questions to Reflect On

- How can inventors attract the right partners?
- What strategies reduce personal financial exposure?

A Different Perspective

Finding partners can be extremely difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Independent Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent-inventor-4475349/) [Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor/) [Inventor Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor-tough-4475352/) [Investment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investment/) [Patent Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patent-looking-4475350/) [Product Patent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-patent-4475351/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/)

## Related quotes

> [As an inventor, it's a rite of passage to have an engine. I'd like to have my own engine someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/as-an-inventor-it-s-a-rite-of-passage-to-have-an-engine-i-d-like-to/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [That's one of the advantages of being an inventor and tinkerer - I have everything I need to make what I need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/that-s-one-of-the-advantages-of-being-an-inventor-and-tinkerer-i-have/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I'm an inventor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-m-an-inventor/)

[Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/)

> [I became an inventor by accident. I was out of the Air Force in 1956. No, no, that's not true: I went in in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-norris/i-became-an-inventor-by-accident-i-was-out-of-the-air-force-in-1956/)

[Woody Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-norris/)

> [It is not difficult to destroy Islam. Islam is the pumped up ego of a megalomaniac psychopath. Muhammad was a narcissist madman. Just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/it-is-not-difficult-to-destroy-islam-islam-is-the-pumped-up-ego-of-a/)

[Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/)

> [You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/you-can-never-learn-less-you-can-only-learn-more-the-reason-i-know-so/)

[R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/)

> [There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of-an-invention-which-the/)

[David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/)

> [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [ I don't know if I know anyone, with the exception of the early inventors of rock music \[who wasn't influenced by something\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-don-t-know-if-i-know-anyone-with-the-exception-of-the-early/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I don't think generally speaking, there are a lot of innovators and inventors. Many of the designers take what exists already and update it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-hilfiger/i-don-t-think-generally-speaking-there-are-a-lot-of-innovators-and/)

[Tommy Hilfiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-hilfiger/)

> [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/)

[Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/)

> [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/)

[Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/)

> [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/)

[Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/)

> [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

## More by Lonnie Johnson

> [More and more, other countries are able to manufacture things cheaper, beating us in the marketplace in a lot of ways. So we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/more-and-more-other-countries-are-able-to-manufacture-things-cheaper/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [Lady Luck is indifferent. She smiles sometimes, and she frowns sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/lady-luck-is-indifferent-she-smiles-sometimes-and-she-frowns-sometimes/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [The invention that most people know me for is the Super Soaker water gun. I knew the gun worked well, and I knew it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/the-invention-that-most-people-know-me-for-is-the-super-soaker-water/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [It was because of the success of the Super Soaker, I was able to at least get an audience with people to present some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/it-was-because-of-the-success-of-the-super-soaker-i-was-able-to-at/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [Large companies can afford to file patents on every idea they have. Small companies, we have to weigh our options, do the research. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/large-companies-can-afford-to-file-patents-on-every-idea-they-have/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I have a collection of SuperSoakers. I have managed to keep most of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-have-a-collection-of-supersoakers-i-have-managed-to-keep-most-of/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I can remember times when we'd be having parties, and people would be dancing and everything and I would be sitting there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-can-remember-times-when-we-d-be-having-parties-and-people-would-be/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I didn't want to grow old and find that I didn't do what I could have done, that I didn't put my best foot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-didn-t-want-to-grow-old-and-find-that-i-didn-t-do-what-i-could-have/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I consider myself a general practitioner. I do electronic things. I do toys and water things, mechanical stuff. I'm very, very flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-consider-myself-a-general-practitioner-i-do-electronic-things-i-do/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [Peer review is fine, as long as you're making incremental improvements to a technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/peer-review-is-fine-as-long-as-you-re-making-incremental-improvements/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I decided I could develop a toy and get some revenue from that and then use that revenue to really become an inventor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-decided-i-could-develop-a-toy-and-get-some-revenue-from-that-and/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I wound up getting offered a job at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where I invented a power supply mechanism for the Galileo space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-wound-up-getting-offered-a-job-at-the-nasa-jet-propulsion/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I've invented a new type of engine that converts heat directly into electricity with no moving mechanical parts. It's called the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-ve-invented-a-new-type-of-engine-that-converts-heat-directly-into/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [Especially when you have a lot of technology you're developing as a small company, trying to protect that technology is a real problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/especially-when-you-have-a-lot-of-technology-you-re-developing-as-a/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

> [I love playing around with ideas and turning them into something useful or fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/i-love-playing-around-with-ideas-and-turning-them-into-something/)

[Lonnie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

[Explore all 40 Lonnie Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/)

## More Inventor quotes

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/)

[Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/)

> [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/)

[Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/)

> [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/)

[Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/)

> [I don't think generally speaking, there are a lot of innovators and inventors. Many of the designers take what exists already and update it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-hilfiger/i-don-t-think-generally-speaking-there-are-a-lot-of-innovators-and/)

[Tommy Hilfiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-hilfiger/)

> [ I don't know if I know anyone, with the exception of the early inventors of rock music \[who wasn't influenced by something\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-don-t-know-if-i-know-anyone-with-the-exception-of-the-early/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [There are many points in the history of an invention which the inventor himself is apt to overlook as trifling, but in which posterity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brewster/there-are-many-points-in-the-history-of-an-invention-which-the/)

[David Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brewster/)

> [You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/you-can-never-learn-less-you-can-only-learn-more-the-reason-i-know-so/)

[R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/)

> [It is not difficult to destroy Islam. Islam is the pumped up ego of a megalomaniac psychopath. Muhammad was a narcissist madman. Just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/it-is-not-difficult-to-destroy-islam-islam-is-the-pumped-up-ego-of-a/)

[Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/)

> [I became an inventor by accident. I was out of the Air Force in 1956. No, no, that's not true: I went in in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-norris/i-became-an-inventor-by-accident-i-was-out-of-the-air-force-in-1956/)

[Woody Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-norris/)

> [I'm an inventor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-m-an-inventor/)

[Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/)

> [At first he who invented any art that went beyond the common perceptions of man was naturally admired by men, not only because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/at-first-he-who-invented-any-art-that-went-beyond-the-common/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Blessed be those happy ages that were strangers to the dreadful fury of these devilish instruments of artillery, whose inventor I am satisfied is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/blessed-be-those-happy-ages-that-were-strangers-to-the-dreadful-fury/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

[Browse all 382 Inventor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product, patent it, then you're looking for someone who will see the benefit from this technology. You assume all the investment and all the risk. It can be a challenge.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lonnie Johnson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-you-develop-a-product-patent/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Inventor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-you-develop-a-product-patent/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e1/lonnie-johnson-16185_inventor_being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-y_533343.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product, patent it, then you're looking for someone…” — Lonnie Johnson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lonnie Johnson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonnie-johnson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Being an independent inventor is tough....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-you-develop-a-product-patent/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonnie-johnson/being-an-independent-inventor-is-tough-you-develop-a-product-patent/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
