I submitted my idea for something that tailors shirts in 2 minutes to a bunch of subreddits 2 years ago. I just got my patent! AMA

Are you going to call it the Tailor Swift?

Hahaha I should have named it that. Though I don't want ms swift to write a song bad mouthing me

I don't want ms swift to write a song bad mouthing me

Ms Swift is welcome to mouth me so fucking bad.

Well if you put it that way.... How can I resist

But imagine the publicity, dawg!

You're hired. Vp of marketing

You don't want there to be bad blood.

Bandaids don't fix bullets holes

So this works just like fitting a door or window screen? Looks like something a tuxedo shop or high school marching band doesn't know they need but couldn't live without once they had it.

Yep, it works something like that except with a flexible track instead

Along the lines of Tuxedo shop...are you intending to market it to sewists also? I would definitely use this while sizing something I'm working on rather than stabbing myself with a pinned garment.

Yeah that's what one friend told me. They have a sewimg machine and just want to test the fit before the final sewimg

Yeah that's what one friend told me. They have a sewimg machine and just want to test the fit before the final sewimg

Very awesome idea and very applicable to a wide swath of the population around the world. I backed you for the 5 set pack. Best of luck and congratulations on a seemingly very successful invention. I wish you the best of luck.

You are awesome Thank you so much

Yeah, I think I'm going to back this as well. However, I have to know: how can you live with yourself after releasing a video tutorial of your product without first clearing your microwave?

I cry every night

I hope it goes over well. I'm looking at it wondering what else I could use it for. The track could be used to "tuck" a T shirt down to help keep my pistol concealed but still give me easy access.

Haha I guess there could be a clip that attaches to the end to keep your shirt under the belt. No comment on the weapon concealment though

Do you have a video of the product being applied? I can't picture it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zipseam/zipseam-20-instantly-tailor-your-shirts

Here's a video

Nifty product, I think you should use a wheel instead of a card to push the fabric into the zipseam. (spline roller)

Haha I actually have a wheel drawn. But I didn't want to overpromise and under deliver.

This is exactly what I needed! I have lost some weight since moving to Japan. I don't want to get my shirts tailored because I'm still slimming down, but I'm also worried I might go back up too. Also am worried that I won't find anything that fits me in a Japanese store.

A quick adjustable seam is the exact answer to my problem. I hope you don't mind shipping to Japan!

It would be my pleasure to ship to Japan!

Thought this seemed familiar. This was the first project I ever backed on kickstarter

U da bestest like asbestos

Hey, I bought your invention from Kickstarter. I liked the idea, but not the execution. Particularly the flexibility and noticeability of it. Have you made any redesigns or plan for redesigns?

Yep in the second version I'm currently funding it is silicone so it's much more flexible, also has barrel shaped segments to add additional flexibility while balancing the clamping power! Check out the project and you can see the difference.

What was the first version made out of? It definitely looks more fluid. I wish i didnt throw out the 1.0 to compare them.

The first version was polypropylene

I think noticeability is the main issue here.

Weird. I've gone on plenty of dates and the girl would compliment my shirt

Did you have an assistant or financial advisor to help you plan ahead? In my mind I'm thinking you were a normal guy that came up with an idea but had no idea how much money you needed or what you had to do to get it up and going. Also I might use this, have bigger shoulders than my torso so my shirts are usually puffy in the torso area

I actually ran a pretty successful Kickstarter that raised 60k and am running another one with an improved design and material

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zipseam/zipseam-20-instantly-tailor-your-shirts

Otherwise you're not too far off with me not knowing what I'm doing besides selling it for more than what it costs me to make

Hi, Before kickstarter did you get a provisional patent? Or several along the way? How much were they? How detailed were they? Was this your first invention? Can you recommend a cheap way to complete a provisional patent?

This is my first invention. I filed the provisional patent myself and for micro entities it's like 450$. As long as you get the claims down it should serve as a good holding point for you while you investigate how profitable your invention could be

I had to go to a funeral yesterday - read "I had to wear the suit I haven't worn in ten months." I was wishing I had one of these doodads.

Do they work on the suit jacket, too? anything in the works for that?

Nothing in the works for jackets yet. I figure people own a lot more shirts than jackets. Also the jacket has multiple layers which might make things difficult

I couldn't imagine it would work on jackets. A lot of the time the button can just be moved on the jacket anyway. It looked like the expected delivery was around the fall of this year, is that still on track?

Yep! Production just started. You can see a video of that in my latest Kickstarter update

how strong is it? can it hold the seam if for example i extend my arms overhead or drape my arms on my girls shoulder?

as a tall guy with broad shoulders and narrow waist good invention. can't wait to see it in market.

It will definitely be strong enough to do that haha.

What gave you the idea for it? It's a fantastic idea. I learned to sew from my mom, and it saves me a ton of money. For the layman though, this is going to be a lifesaver, so props to you!

I got a really baggy shirt at work and that made me realize how baggy the rest of my shirts were. I had a ton of student loans so I afford to get them all tailored. Thus was the spark

What a great idea! How did you know the end price when doing the Kickstarter? Were you working off estimates or were you already in production?

I gathered a ton of quotes from sites like mfg and Thomas net. I worked with a local manufacturer because I didn't want to get scammed by overseas suppliers and was able to keep an eye on every step of the process

Is there some kind of tax on the money you bring in through kickstarter?

Yep definitely taxed. Thanks Obama!

Thanks, I have been thinking of doing a kickstarter for a patent I just got, but wasn't sure what happens if the production cost ends up higher than the estimates/what you charged for the product on kickstarter. Or would that be part of getting your product out there even if it means losing a bit of money to launch?

That's when you have to price your Kickstarter so you don't lose money. But if extra expenses come you have to fulfill no matter what because you'll get good exposure

How you handle the patent process? Did you do all of your own search? Did you use a lawyer? Was there prior art that you had to work around to make yours unique?

I did a basic patent search myself but obviously couldn't do it in depth. So I filed a provisional patent myself after going through a couple templates and guidelines. After I knew there would be a market for the product I paid a lawyer to file a non provisional patent

How much did the patent cost? Aren't they usually in the tens of thousands of dollars? Did you fund it with the kickstarter money?

Yeah it was under 10k and I was able to save some money by doing all the technical drawings myself

Are they semi-permenant semi permanent? Or do you have to refit them after every wash?

How about adding some kind of adhesive. Install the product, if you like the fit, add glue in the fabric joint after taking out the locking stick thing.

There are now collars in the second version to lock in the fit

I am so confused as to how this thing worked, I thought you were measuring it out like that then cutting it and sewing it back. How does this thing work?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zipseam/zipseam-20-instantly-tailor-your-shirts

Semi permanent

As a fairly slim cut that's between a small and a x-small, this seems great. Does it do anything to adjust length of the shirt since shirts usually run slightly long on me? Also, would it work for thicker shirts such as flannels?

Should work on flannels! But the length is unaffected

How are you planning to ship to so many people?

Blood and sweat and tears my friend.... And also usps

Any ideas on how to transform this into a female product too? I've got lots of dresses that I have to buy to fit my upper chest but won't fit my lower torso.

Also, how did you go about creating the prototype?

I do have a photo of me wearing a dress tailored with the zipseam somewhere 😂

I've been sewing my off the shirts recently to achieve a slim fit shape and obviously, it takes time and it's pretty hard to do it alone. So I thank you for inventing this cause a bunch of these would be pretty fucking amazing have.

How much do you plan to retail it and do you think you'd be able to ship them outside the U.S?

I've shipped over 4000 packages already all over the world. I plan on retailing it for $25 for the 3 pack and 10 for the 1 pack but both include shipping domestically which is why it's not at the price point I like

Are going to be on shark tank anytime soon?

Isn't that every entrepreneurs dream?

Eh to be honest I don't see the point. If you have a good product and you hustle it, you don't need to give away large percentages/royalties on it. 99.999% of products you see weren't on there, right?

I mean being on shark tank is 1000000 of advertising

I saw the same thing on shark tank. I think they did a deal.

Lol wut please share

I've seen every single episode of shark tank, I can promise you there wasn't anything like this on that show.

Yeah I thought so too haha.

My guess is this person is referring to MTailor

Isn't that custom shirts that cost like $100 each. Targeting different markets

Hi, after looking at your demo video, I can say i'm definitely going to be backing the kickstarter for your success. Bests to you in the future. Can you also share with us your experience in the manufacturing? such as dealing with quality control and keeping on schedule ( alot of kickstarter projects tend to be delayed) and what would you do different this time around?

For the first time it was single cavity so production was slow. I was able to pick up each shipment which was 30 minutes away. So I checked each shipment. This time I'm going to visit them before they ship everything

Did you not come into problems of 'Prior art or disclosure' for discussing the invention on a public medium (Reddit) before having the patent?

I filed a provisional patent before disclosing it

At what point did you realise that there was enough demand for this?

Enough validation for getting an actual patent for example.

Btw I remember checking your kickstarter a while back, definitely one of the more cooler projects back then!

After I launched my Kickstarter and reached my goal in 3 days without any pr is when I realized it was profitable as an invention.

How often do you use the product yourself?

Every time I wear a dress shirt! So like a couple times a week. I still wear the same shirt you see in the first Kickstarter haha

Have you told your parents? If so what was their initial reaction?

They wanted me to find a chemical engineering job because I had out of state tuition and they didn't want to waste that. But I think they are fine with me pursuing this thing after the numbers came in

I really want to start this idea of something that can be easily applied and removed on shoes that protects them and allows for cleaner environments for EMTs, hospitals, etc without reducing the grip of the shoe. Any ideas on how to go forward with this concept? Should I talk to EMTs to get an idea on how they think it might work? What would be your first steps?

I would first make a prototype that I can test with friends. File a provisional patent once you get a satisfactory prototype by yourself. Or file the patent first if you outsource. Then maybe crowdsource to get a real gauge of the demand if you put it before consumers

I looked and couldn't find any reference to this question (that doesn't mean it hasn't been asked though)...

I just backed the 2.0 but then thought: Will it be possible to trim down the strip to adjust to different torso lengths? Even if it isn't, my backing will remain but if it isn't, that might be value add to the product itself.

Yep if it's too long just trim it to length :)

I've been waiting forever to get my hands on a zipseam. Will you be selling them again soon? I checked like 4 months ago and again last month I was worried you gave up on the idea!

Haha no I was just designing the new version. I didn't want to sell a inferior product

Do I have to remove the Zip Seam before throwing my clothes in the laundry or can I forget about it and leave it in place?

They are washer and dryer safe!

Wanna start by saying this is a great idea, and I'm excited for your success!

I have an idea that I was hoping to get patented and then sell to a large (very large) corporation, since the technology would be specific to them. How difficult was the patent process for you? I definitely don't have $5l-$10k to drop on this... and really I don't need the technology past selling it to these companies. Would I even need a patent for that...?

Sorry if that question isn't exactly relevant! Just curious about your experience getting the patent.

Marling this down for me to answer layer

Did your patent lawyer go absolutely ballistic when (s)he found out that you had shared your idea publicly, before patenting it, thus making the patent process rather riskier?

I already filed the provisional so I had the lock down date

Have you considered presenting your product on shark tank? This seems like the perfect product to do so.

Definitely considered it. In fact I've gone to auditions

How does one tailor shirts to a bunch of subreddits?

Spam

Are you afraid of tailors going Kill Bill on you for competing with their businesses?
EDIT: Missed a word.

Haha you either die a hero or live long enough to be a villaim

Without any legal education myself, doesn't sharing the idea in public before the patent's submitted invalidate it?

I've spoken to a patents lawyer before and he told me to be careful about this sort of thing. There was some anecdote I'm too lazy to look up about the inventor of the windsurfer and how he didn't get the patent because he tried the prototype on a lake near a public campsite or something. Showing the invention in public puts it in the public domain I think?

Hope this isn't the case for you. You might need to delete your old posts though.

I filed a provisional patent before hand to not publicly disclose my idea :)