Who can help me with an invention idea, and when

Rule ideas out cheaply. Then bring in the professionals.

Most invention ideas don’t make it, and finding that out shouldn’t cost a professional’s hourly rate. Test many ideas against the market, the patents and the numbers first. When one survives, bring it to a patent attorney, then an engineer, then an incubator or investor, with the work already organised so their time goes on the questions only they can answer.

1. De-risk before you pay anyone. On EntreDash, a first market read on an idea costs about $5.00.
2. Pay for judgment, not catch-up. A professional’s first hours usually go on learning what your invention is. Hand them that on day one.
3. Speak their language. Each professional needs the invention described their way: a disclosure for an attorney, a design brief for an engineer, a partnership overview for a co-founder, licensee or incubator.

From 100 ideas to the 1 worth paying for.

This funnel is illustrative. The counts are assumptions, not a measured success rate EST. Professionals come in at the last step, on the one idea that’s left.

Every row is pay-as-you-go prices from Plans [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDashEvery EntreDash price on this page, rounded up to whole packs. The last idea’s steps are listed one by one in the cost to develop an invention guide.

Where your professional budget goes

You still pay a patent attorney on both paths. What changes is what you pay them for.

Attorney fees only, not patent office fees. The 1 or 2 ideas on the usual path is our assumption.

The difference is when you bring them in.

The same people are on both paths. What changes is how many ideas reach them, and what you hand them when one does.

Search and opinion [3]Flat-fee patent searchKlemchuk PLLCSearch with attorney opinion, $2,600 flat[4]Should you do a prior art search before filing?Goodman Allen DonnellySearches usually under $2,000; inventors are often surprised and may need to design around, attorney drafting [33]How much does a patent cost?Bold PatentsPaid consults $200–$400 (often $250–$500); $495/hr; an attorney-drafted provisional $3,000–$10,000 in attorney fees (13 Jul 2026)[34]How much does it cost to talk to a patent attorney?Gearhart LawAn attorney-drafted provisional, $1,500–$3,500 (8 Jul 2025), attorney review of your draft [31]How much does a provisional patent application cost?Stellar PatentAttorney review and filing of an inventor’s own documents, $250–$2,000 (26 Jan 2025)[32]PricingAlloy Patent LawReview and filing from an inventor-completed draft, $500–$1,000; $600/hr.

When you have one idea worth protecting.

See a patent attorney or agent once an idea has survived the market read and the search, and before you show it publicly. In the US you have one year from your own public disclosure to file [18]MPEP 2153: Prior art exceptionsUSPTOThe one-year grace period for your own disclosure. Most other countries give you no grace period.

Many attorneys offer a free first consultation [2]How much does it cost to talk to a patent attorney?Goldstein Patent LawFree short consults exist; $250–$800/hr. Paid consults are often $200⁠–⁠$500, and hourly rates are commonly $400⁠–⁠$600 [33]How much does a patent cost?Bold PatentsPaid consults $200–$400 (often $250–$500); $495/hr; an attorney-drafted provisional $3,000–$10,000 in attorney fees (13 Jul 2026)[32]PricingAlloy Patent LawReview and filing from an inventor-completed draft, $500–$1,000; $600/hr.

Looking for one? Browse patent professionals in the EntreDash marketplace, and check deadlines with the provisional deadline calculator.

When the concept is settled and you need real CAD.

Bring in a CAD designer when a prototyper or factory needs files to work from. Product design firms commonly bill $100–$300 an hour [35]What is the cost of hiring a product design firm?Spark InnovationsProduct design firms bill about $100–$300/hr (31 Mar 2025), so every round spent working out the shape adds to the bill.

See a sample design and how the 3D concept model works.

When you know what to build.

Bring in a product designer or engineer once the idea has survived the search and you have a concept model. Then you’re paying them to engineer it, not to work out what it is. Product design firms commonly bill $100–$300 an hour [35]What is the cost of hiring a product design firm?Spark InnovationsProduct design firms bill about $100–$300/hr (31 Mar 2025), and a clear brief tightens the first quote [36]Writing an idea briefProjects HouseWhat a product brief for a design firm should cover, and how a clear brief tightens the first quote.

EntreDash gives you the design breakdown, a numbered 2D sketch, a 3D concept model you can download, and the shelf price and cost targets from your memos.

When there’s evidence, a protection plan and a business case.

Incubators and investors back ventures, not ideas. Apply once you can show that people want it, how you’ll protect it and how it makes money.

EntreDash’s market, IP and financial memos, customer interview kit and business model canvas cover most of it. Share summaries rather than your prior-art report or detailed description. Many won’t sign a confidentiality agreement.

Before you share much, agree who owns what.

A co-founder needs the summary, the design and the business case to decide whether to join. Put ownership of the idea and any future patent in writing before you share the detailed design.

Related: Do you need an NDA before sharing your invention? and how inventors license an idea to a company.

Where every number comes from.

1. 2
   How much does it cost to talk to a patent attorney?Goldstein Patent Law · supports: Free short consults exist; $250–$800/hr
2. 3
   Flat-fee patent searchKlemchuk PLLC · supports: Search with attorney opinion, $2,600 flat
3. 4
   Should you do a prior art search before filing?Goodman Allen Donnelly · supports: Searches usually under $2,000; inventors are often surprised and may need to design around
4. 18
   MPEP 2153: Prior art exceptionsUSPTO · supports: The one-year grace period for your own disclosure
5. 19
   EntreDash pricingEntreDash · supports: Every EntreDash price on this page
6. 31
   How much does a provisional patent application cost?Stellar Patent · supports: Attorney review and filing of an inventor’s own documents, $250–$2,000 (26 Jan 2025)
7. 32
   PricingAlloy Patent Law · supports: Review and filing from an inventor-completed draft, $500–$1,000; $600/hr
8. 33
   How much does a patent cost?Bold Patents · supports: Paid consults $200–$400 (often $250–$500); $495/hr; an attorney-drafted provisional $3,000–$10,000 in attorney fees (13 Jul 2026)
9. 34
   How much does it cost to talk to a patent attorney?Gearhart Law · supports: An attorney-drafted provisional, $1,500–$3,500 (8 Jul 2025)
10. 35
    What is the cost of hiring a product design firm?Spark Innovations · supports: Product design firms bill about $100–$300/hr (31 Mar 2025)
11. 36
    Writing an idea briefProjects House · supports: What a product brief for a design firm should cover, and how a clear brief tightens the first quote

Assumptions

1. A11
   The funnel is illustrative, not a measured success rate: 100 ideas and variations, about 20 worth a first market read, 5 worth a patent and money read, 3 worth a search plan, and 1 taken all the way. No published study gives these rates; change them to match your own ideas. Spark gives 3 to 4 directions a run, so 100 ideas take about 30 runs, and members get some free runs each month. The idea taken all the way is built out properly: a larger 3D model (more than 6 main parts), 3 rebuilds, one extra 2D sketch and the smallest packs of part close-ups and renders, on top of what the Design Set includes.
2. A12
   Taking ideas to a patent attorney without screening first, an inventor usually pays for a patentability opinion on 1 or 2 ideas before one survives. This is our assumption, not a measured figure.

EntreDash prices are live; outside figures were checked on 4 Oct 2026 or the date shown with each source.

Also see how to develop an invention and the sources behind every EntreDash report.