Patent Infringement Attorney North Pole AK

Rosie Herman was more than $75,000 in debt when she started her company. She'd maxxed out her credit cards on in vitro fertilization to have her twin daughters.

Wanting to earn some extra money, the former manicurist created a salt scrub. She started by selling it to friends and neighbors; soon she was selling it at craft fairs and in select salons. When she launched One Minute Manicure nationally, someone came out with a knockoff – 60 Second Manicure.

"You're like, 'Oh, I guess I have something good that somebody wants to copy – that's a good thing,'" Herman says. "Then you get mad in the next breath, because you have to work harder and explain that that's not your product.”

Bad First Impression

Big companies like Gucci and Louis Vuitton live with knockoffs sold on the streets. But for a startup entrepreneur like Herman, who didn't have a 100-person legal team, a knockoff can be a nightmare.

"They will steal a part of your business," she says. Making things worse, if customers try the knockoff and don’t like it, they may confuse it with yours. “If they get a bad first impression, it's a harder sell to say that yours is better. You just have to work harder to get your name out there first."

Jewelry designer Marnie Greenwood says original pieces she displays and sells on her website, Marnie Rocks, are knocked off as often as the latest Kate Spade bag.

Author: Wendy Grossman

Copyright 2009 StartupNation, LLC

Click here to read more from StartupNation