How Much Is “Enough”? Rethinking the Value You Need to Extract From Your Invention

Introduction

Many inventors dream of making it big—selling a patent for a billion dollars, striking an enormous licensing deal, or landing the next blockbuster product. But have you ever stopped to consider how much you actually need to live the life you want? In this installment of Innovation Café, I discuss a simple but profound question: if a comfortable retirement or a dream lifestyle could be achieved with a fraction of that “big win,” why risk losing it all for the possibility of more?

The Problem: Chasing “Mega” Deals Over Realistic Goals

Too often, inventors (or creators of any intellectual property, including screenplays, books, or artwork) get so focused on the top-dollar scenario that they forget a critical truth:

“You’re human–and you don’t need an endless fortune to be happy.”

Lifestyle Cost: Think about what the retirement or lifestyle you truly want actually costs. It might be far less than “billions.”
Lost Deals: By holding out for an astronomical sum, you could end up rejecting a perfectly good offer—one that meets your realistic financial goals but doesn’t match your sky-high fantasy valuation.

Private Planes vs. First Class Seats

In the video, I highlight a key example:

Earning enough to upgrade from economy to first-class on flights might be your definition of comfort and success.
But do you really need the wealth that allows you to purchase a private jet? How much will that actually improve your life?

Might it be worth taking a “lesser” deal that still pays you handsomely—perhaps enough to cover your mortgage, fund your children’s education, or allow you to retire early in comfort?

Reflecting on Your “Enough” Number

Step 1: Ask yourself, “What kind of life do I see for myself in 10 or 20 years?”

Where do you want to live?
What kind of travel do you enjoy?
What passions or hobbies would you love more time to pursue?

Step 2: Estimate the financial figure needed to secure that future.

Is it $500,000? $5 million? $25 million? It might be far less than you assume.

Step 3: Evaluate any offers or deals based on whether they meet or exceed that figure. Don’t lose sight of your bigger life-picture by constantly chasing a bigger payout.

Why This Matters Across Creative Fields

This principle applies beyond just patents:

Screenwriters: Is it more valuable to sell your script for a respectable, life-changing sum today or wait for a hypothetical record-breaking bid that may never come?
Authors: A solid publishing deal could finance years of writing and comfort—even if it’s not a multimillion-dollar advance.
Artists: A single big sale might support you for the rest of your career, letting you focus on your craft rather than forging a name at exclusive auctions.

In all these cases, the potential for massive revenue might be overshadowed by the reality of a substantial, stable offer that sets you up for the lifestyle you actually desire. Another aspect to consider is that intellectual property is inherently only as stable as the government that protects it. That is, because IP is a creation of law and not something tangible you can hand to somebody, if the law changes or enforcement becomes impossible, the value of your IP could evaporate. Sound far-fetched? This happened to countless patents after Alice v. CLS Bank.

The bottom line is that advisors and lawyers will usually want you to push for the maximum return possible — but why? Consider a roulette analogy. Imagine that you walk into a casino and they have a special roulette wheel. There are 18 red slots, 18 black slots, and 2 green slots. It pays 100:1 if your ball lands in a red or black slot, but you lose if it lands in a green slot. The only caveat? You have to bet all of the money you have in the world. So you have a 17 in 18 chance of turning you life’s savings into a fortune, but a 1 in 18 chance of leaving utterly penniless. It’s a tough decision, but most people are too risk averse to take a random 6% chance at bankruptcy. Now somebody approaches you will a “deal”: They will pay you $10 for every $1 you bet, but they get to keep the profits (i.e. the $100:$1) if the bet wins. They are far more wealthy than you, so for them, a 6% chance of losing their investment combined with a 94% chance of making 10x their investment is a fantastic deal and an easy choice. Which deal would you rather take? Risking it all for 100 to 1 return, or a guaranteed 10 to 1 return? If the 10 to 1 return is enough for you to retire in the lifestyle you want, wouldn’t it make sense to sell your turn at the 100:1 roulette wheel for far less than its true value?

The Risk of “All or Nothing” Thinking

1. Stalled Deals

If you cling to an inflated valuation, your negotiations might drag on or collapse. That once-excited licensee or buyer could walk away, leaving you with zero return on your intellectual property.

2. Overlooking Alternative Benefits

Licensing agreements often come with royalties, ongoing partnerships, or future rights. By insisting on a massive upfront sum, you could miss out on beneficial collaborations or synergy that help your invention thrive.

3. Time Is Money

While you wait for that bigger check, months or years pass without monetizing your invention. You lose the compounding benefits of investing or improving your technology—and that’s assuming a better offer ever actually arrives.

Knowing Your (Human) Limits

Ultimately, the takeaway is simple:

Define the lifestyle or financial security you want.
Assess any opportunity that meets or exceeds that figure.
Consider whether holding out for more truly upgrades your life or just becomes a numbers game.

It may be tempting to compare your success to that of rare “unicorn” deals where an invention sells for mind-boggling sums. But if your personal happiness and financial freedom are achievable at a lower threshold, why risk everything chasing an even bigger windfall?

Conclusion: Balance Pragmatism with Ambition

Of course, we all want to dream big–ambition and optimism are cornerstones of the inventor’s spirit. But at Innovation Café, we encourage you to pause and determine where your real contentment lies. If a slightly smaller deal already sets you and your family up for a secure, enjoyable future, it might be the perfect fit. Take the money. Live your life. If your patent is really worth $1 billion, it might take you years to sell it, and it could be invalidated or become obsolete during that period. Would $50 million really be that much worse than $1 billion to make it worth risking it all?

And who knows? With your mind free from the weight of needing that ultimate billion-dollar sale, you might just invent something else that changes the world—and your bank account—all over again.