From Napkin Sketch to QVC: Lisa Ascolese on Inventing the Right Way
You have an idea. Maybe you have had it for years, sketched on a napkin or sitting in a journal. The difference between you and the inventor on QVC is not talent. It is knowing the right way to move.
Signature Quote
"Do not share your information until the ink dries."
Lisa learned the hard way that an unprotected idea is a vulnerable one. This line from her book is the rule she lives by, and the one she wants every new inventor to hear first.
Lisa Ascolese, known as The Inventress, has spent decades turning everyday frustrations into products that sell. Her first invention came from being embarrassed to breastfeed in public, so she created the Bosom Buddy nursing cape. A sock she used to tie her hair into a church-ready bun became the Bun Tie, her first product on QVC. A lost pair of scissors while wrapping gifts became the Wrap and Store organizer, which sold out on QVC.
In this conversation, Lisa shares what inventing the right way actually means. Do your due diligence. Build a working prototype before you ever call a patent attorney. Do not add so much to a simple product that it can never get made. And keep your idea close until it is protected, because the naysayers will talk you out of it before it has a chance.
She also talks about the audacity it took to pick up the phone and call buyers and celebrities, including a 30-year relationship with Dionne Warwick that started with one cold call, and why she founded the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs to lift other women up. This is a practical, no-fluff conversation for anyone sitting on an idea.
This episode is for you if...
- You have an idea sketched somewhere and no clue what to do next
- You have wondered whether to patent first or prototype first
- You want to get a product onto QVC, HSN, or a store shelf
- You have been burned before and want a trustworthy guide this time
- You believe inventors should lift each other up
Lisa Ascolese is known as The Inventress, a name her publicist coined years ago and one she has since trademarked. Born in London and raised in Brooklyn by West Indian parents, she was inventing as a child, taking things apart around the house and making them work for her. Her first product, the Bosom Buddy breastfeeding cape, sold nationally and internationally, and she went on to sell multiple products on QVC, including the Bun Tie, the Wrap and Store organizer, and the Perfect Pockets organizer, which she later redesigned for HSN.
Today Lisa helps inventors go from a napkin idea all the way to the marketplace, teaching them to do it the right way with due diligence, working prototypes, and protected ideas. She is the founder of the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs, now celebrating its 13th year, and host of The Inventors Podcast. Her book is "The Inventress Guide to Inventing the Right Way: All or Nothing, Now or Never." Her mission is simple: lifting each other up two hands at a time.
🌐 Website: https://inventingatoz.com/
Her podcast, The Inventors Podcast, and her social channels are all linked from her website.
Listen on Major Platforms
🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ
🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345
📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt
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