Invention, intellectual property + $$$

Honest forethought

Having completed my final project at the time of writing, my desire to have the Piss Pedal become a real thing in the world is much less. I think a mechanical pedal, like on a trash can, is much more useful for what I'm trying to accomplish.

If I were to take this further, here are some thoughts on how I'd do that.

Dissemination plan

Business to business (B2B)

I would start by speaking with local businesses that have high bathroom usage rates -- who might incur high monetary and morale costs associated with bathroom cleaning. I'd find out how big of a pain point they're having in unisex bathrooms.

It would be pretty easy to check for myself. From there I'd assess whether pitching the idea of a better experience for users is something that is valuable to their business.

Within my own network there would be a few local businesses that I could test the product at, get reviews and make videos for using to market to other businesses.

Direct to consumer

I would generate content for social media posts (TikTok / Instagram / Reddit) and run social media conversion campaigns that drive users to a mailing list sign-up, that way I could gauge interest in the product.

I'd also consider working with certain, aligned YouTube creators around making content for the product.

Future

In order to make the project a viable product I would have to improve in these areas:

  • My cable management and system integration
  • There's currently no casing
  • Waterproofing / moisture management would be required
  • Changing from cable-powered to a battery would be something I would like to do -- because plugs aren't accessible in all bathrooms
  • And I would have to fix the base (which worked on the prototype but not on the toilet seat). My future base would include the base design that fits under the toilet seat bolts AND suction cups to hold down the back part of the base.

Permissions

As per Henk's suggestion (and my general sentiment):

You just DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO.

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.