How do you Start from Scratch?

The conversation tends to go like this:

Me: I'm in product development
You: Really? I have this great idea I always wanted to make, let me tell you about it.
I listen to the idea, then you ask: So how much would it cost? You know, to make it?
I describe many caveats and exceptions, but eventually I have to name a number, and your face falls.

The reality is that making something new isn't easy, and it sure isn't cheap. So how do you start from scratch? How do you know if it's worth the risk? This is an area where research meets design to generate a strategic plan. The development process relies on identifying a quantifiable market opportunity - there must be money to be made in the first place. The process equally relies on understanding your users to the degree that you can spot these opportunities, harvest sufficient insights, and produce a desirable solution to a user need.

I recently embarked on this journey for the first time with a true start-up entrepreneur. Over the years I've heard a thousand great ideas, but this was the first one that had the opportunity, insight, and solution to potentially make it. Visit Goat Gear to learn more about the product you're seeing below.

Part Two: Tools that Help You ENJOY Cooking!

I hear you! You need an excuse to buy more stuff for your kitchen! I'm ready and able to enable...
Cookie scoops, like these classic stainless steel beauties from Norpro, will change your feelings about baking cookies. We all love cookies, but making 24-48 little balls is not the most gratifying task. The scoops keep your hands free, fill the sheet pan in 2 minutes, and perfectly portion the dough for even, round cookies.
Keeping with the stainless theme, shallow metal prep bowls like these by WINCO have more uses than you can imagine. They aren't deep like mixing bowls, but generously sized and shallow to make mixing pasta, salad, meatloaf, and everything else a breeze. Plus, they're a bargain from restaurant supply stores.If you've never tried keeping your spices in a drawer, it'll change your world. You can read all the labels at once and quickly find and replace what you're looking for. I'm still waiting for more stylish options to emerge, but for now these by Dial provide the best fit for existing drawers and bottles.
This is the best can opener I've ever used. And I've tested, cut up, and redesigned dozens of them over the years. This one locks in place for secure use and compact storage and it NEVER slips. Yet again, OXO transforms a frustrating task into a pleasurable one.Treat your self to an attractive oil cruet like this one from Mario Batali's line. Too often our counters are crowded with bulky oil bottles for cooking. Grab a couple of cruets, color coded or labeled, and transform your countertop into a sleek cook's station.

Catch up on Part One here!

Tools that Help You ENJOY Cooking!

Since when did cooking become purely about convenience? Cooking is more than just preparing food but it's hard to find the time to enjoy the process. I think the best kitchen gadgets these days help you cook quickly, but also with more satisfaction. As always, the best products surprise and delight consumers. You just might love to cook if you let yourself enjoy it. Here are some of my favorite kitchen helpers:

IKEA's Charm Cheese Grater, $5.99, with lid, fine & coarse graters, and compact storage. The perfect cheese grater, bar none.

Global Sanroku fluted knife, $99.95, your best friend that slices through anything like butter. Kuhn Rikon nonstick paring knives, $10, with a safety sheath that keeps blades perfectly sharpened. Sharp knives are joy.

OXO Salad Spinner, $29.99, drying lettuce in one quick spin is magical. Dry anything you can fit inside and save yourself from boring bagged lettuce.

Wilton Pastry Blender, $6.99, this is shameless self promotion because I designed this, and it's the best. Trust me.

Panasonic Rice Cooker, $29.95, yes rice is easy to cook, but never having to check on it is priceless. Think of it as a rice-crock-pot, which can make meals out of perfectly cooked rice all by itself.

Alessi Diabolix bottle opener, $15, an absolute pleasure every time I use it to open a bottle. Not only is it devilishly cute, it fits your hand beautifully.

StoreSpy: WS Sandwich Cookie Cake Pan

On the shelves now at Williams-Sonoma, the next in a long line of super-sized treats. The Goldtouch Sandwich Cookie Cake Pan reflects the trend of giant baked desserts, which I helped launch a few years back with the design of Wilton's Giant Cupcake Pan. Can we guess which cake-sized dessert will come next?