Quirky Reviews

Quirky.com is a free community-led invention platform that brings real people’s ideas to life. It's the only brand that makes products invented by real people. The belief is that great ideas don’t come from the board room - they come from the living room.

Here's how it works:

1. Submit your brilliant product idea.
2. Every month, Quirky picks new ideas to turn into real products.
3. Once selected, your product goes through further design, development, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and distribution.
4. If your product is chosen, Quirky will make it, sell it, and pay you every time someone buys your invention!

Quirky aims to empower inventors and those inspired by everyday challenges to create a better product. You can find Quirky products on the shelves of major retailers all over the world. It's a platform where you can submit your invention ideas and work on your inventions on your own, or you can ask other Quirky community members for help. In exchange for the skills and services offered by the community, you will share “influence” with them, which means sharing a percentage of your royalties.

Pros of Quirky.com:

• Democratization of Invention: Quirky made invention accessible to everyday people by providing a platform where inventors could submit their ideas and potentially see them become real products.
• Community Engagement: The platform fostered a community of inventors, allowing them to collaborate and vote on ideas, which helped in filtering out the best concepts.
• Manufacturing and Distribution: Quirky offered a manufacturing and distribution platform to individual inventors who lacked access to these resources, helping them bring their ideas to market.
• Licensing Deals: After re-inventing itself, Quirky began pursuing licensing deals, which allowed it to empower inventors by taking away the risk of production and distribution, focusing on idea validation and market analysis.

Cons of Quirky.com:

• Failing to Connect with Consumers: Quirky struggled to connect winning inventions with actual consumers, leading to weak sales and high development costs. The company failed to realize that community voters are not the same as paying customers.
• Poor Product Quality: The platform's lack of focus and coherence led to a vast array of disconnected products, resulting in poor product quality and a lack of segment leadership in the market.
• Operational Issues: There were significant operational issues, including late shipments, non-delivery of orders, and poor customer service, which led to customer dissatisfaction.
• Overproduction: Quirky's attempt to speed up the innovation process by producing 50+ hardware products a year led to a lack of focus and poor execution, making it difficult to excel in any particular area.