Tim Leatherman, founder of Leatherman Tool Group, discusses how rare it is for patented inventions to achieve commercial success.
Insight
Asking prospects for advice opens doors better than pitching them directly
“If you try to sell stuff to people, they get their antenna up. If you ask them for advice, they're plenty willing to talk to you.”
Insight
Leatherman: It is better to persist too long than give up too soon
“There's a fine line between persistence and failure to accept reality, and I was determined to try to go on too long before giving up too soon.”
Assertion Supported
A labeling lawsuit pushed Leatherman to source enough domestic parts for 'Made in USA'
“It spurred us into being more resolute and seeking more domestic suppliers and adding even more U.S. Content into our tools so that we can, in most of our tools now, we can label them as Made in USA.”
Disclosure
Tim Leatherman frequently needed pliers during his 1975 budget road trip
“On that trip, I was carrying a pocket knife, a multi-blade pocket knife, like a Boy Scout type knife, and I was using that for everything from adjustment making well, from Using the knife blade for slicing food for dinner to the can opener for opening cans and…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gerber rejected Tim Leatherman's original multi-tool prototype for not being a knife
“After a couple of weeks, I hadn't heard from them, and I was getting really anxious, so I called them, and they said sorry, we decided to not take this on. It's not a knife, it's a tool.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tool makers rejected Leatherman prototype as an unsellable gadget
“And when I wrote to them, the answers back was, sorry, this is not a tool, it's a gadget, and gadgets don't sell.”