TLC's Homemade Millionaire Episode 4

Based on conversations here and over at Tracy's ProductX Blog, this Friday's Homemade Millionaire hosted by the Super Fantasticalicious Kelly Ripa is sure to be an exciting one!

Don't shoot me, but I will not be watching or tweeting this Friday. I've got it set to record on my DVR and will not check anything online until after I watch. I've got a hot date with my husband and we don't get out much. So, while I am very excited to go out and hear some live music in a very cozy setting (which will also include good food, wine and making conversation with grown-ups), I am very sorry to be missing the show, and will be with you in spirit!

If what I have been reading about is true, I think we might be in for some "real" reality Friday night. It looks like all three of these brainy broads with big ideas (sorry, I couldn't help myself) have very appealing products.

Sarah Haviland and her Think Brand Products look very interesting. Hmmm, the sleuth in me wonders why her website is "under construction" with "more info coming soon"...a clue? I guess we will have to wait and see!

I love, love, LUV Haris Lender and her Luv-A-Cuva - so simple, so ingenious! (big sigh...yes, her name and company name are still wrong on this promo video I grabbed from YouTube. They fixed the one on the TLC website, but I was unable to get that one :) sorry Haris!) Kelly clearly LUVS your CUVA too and I think it's a winner!

Robyn Zimmer and her Window Origamilook so fabulous, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want these beautiful window treatments in their home! Definitely a "why didn't I think of that" invention.

Wishing all three of you ladies the best of luck! We will be watching and rooting for you.

Kelly, if there's a chance you might be reading this, I hope the hip mends quickly and that Mark is waiting on you personally and appropriately (wink, wink).

TLC's Homemade Millionaire Episode 3

Hey party people! Looking forward to seeing what Homemade Millionaire has to offer this evening! While I am starting to wonder if this might be the most under publicized show in TLC's line-up... (a post for another time) I am excited for these three ladies!!

Will it be Erika Wilson and her fabulous Purse Flats, Jennifer Martinson and her Magic Dress or Carissa Brown and her Carissa Rose Designs for us busty gals?

While there is no promo video this week, I can tell you (from my very quick research this morning) it looks like a couple of these women already have some great press under their belts! Carissa Brown has been featured by Adam Glassman, Creative Director for O Magazine , and Erika Wilson's Purse Flats have been featured in Glamour Magazine's Fashion Blog and MSNBC's Elevator Pitch! Jennifer Martinson, if you're reading, please feel free to plug any of your own press here as well!

So excited for the three of you and can't wait to see what comes out HAUTE tonight!

Feel free to share any and all advice with us here! We're also having some great conversations about Homemade Millionaire over at Tracy's ProductX blog - so be sure to check that out too!

Best of luck to all of you!

Homemade Millionaire: One Reject's Take

Processing complete (big sigh). Now that my five year old has been sent on her way to p.m. Kindergarten and I have enjoyed a nice lunch while crying my way through yesterday's Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things, I think I am finally ready to provide my two cents on the Friday night Premier episode of Homemade Millionaire.

I tweeted myself silly...along with what seemed like about six other people. I even received a very sweet thank you DM from Kelly herself - Love you Kelly! One of the first things I was wondering as I was watching the show was "where is everyone?"

There has been a lot of commenting over on Tracy's ProductX blog, along with what seems like a lot of explaining by the winner, Marcy McKenna (me thinks thou doth protest too much).

This first part of my blog post is kind of like what my old boss and I used to call a "therapy letter". He would write a draft of a letter that would often start out not in the happiest of tones. I would type it up and turn it back over to him and we would hand the letter back and forth to one another with edits until eventually the letter was either never sent, or sent to the round file.

So, without further ado - here's me sounding a bit pitiful.

I flew to Chicago to attend Kelly Ripa's "Woman Inventor" casting call with a working prototype of my specialized cleaning tool in my hands and a prayer in my heart. I gave my best pitch... I know some of you have already heard it, and it seems VERY silly now:

"I'm a REAL Housewife in New Jersey - I haven't been nipped or tucked, and I still clean my own house, which is why I am so excited to tell you about my invention "Grime-Out!" This revolutionary new cleaning tool allows you to simultaneously scrub and rinse those tough to reach areas in the bath..."

See? I even brought my winning personality, which I have been told by many that I do possess, albeit in an often goofballesque fashion. I even write my own material! I also have in my filing cabinet a sealed envelope which I sent to myself certified mail a while back with another idea that's on the shelf for now.

As it turns out, and I shared this with the folks at Milojo as well, I too come from a family of inventors who have invented very significant things (e.g., Steve Jensen, invented Electronic Ballast for flourescent bulbs; John Christian Jensen, invented the P-Static Precipitator 1936, used on all aircraft today - my father and great grandfather respectively).

Frankly, I think I could kick some pitching ass on HSN and I know a lot of other ladies who could too (ahem, Marianne, Tracy, Ro, Ginny), especially when talking about their own product. But, unfortunately, we didn't realize that "ready to sell" meant, ready to host.

I do think (after dishing with friends and getting lots of other opinions) that this show would have been better served had it waited to put Marcy McKenna on at a later date, therefore allowing time for the product she submitted for consideration to be, know it sounds crazy... "ready to sell". There were thousands of women who auditioned for this show who are!

Was Tonya set up to be the black sheep of the first episode? It clearly stated in the application that you needed to have a "working prototype" and to be able to show how it worked. I know this because, since I could not bring a functioning shower with me to Chicago, my husband (not a film maker or producer) shot a demo video in our bathroom which we sent in with an online application. Yes, I applied online AND went to the casting call.

Again - bear with me because I REALLY want to see this show to succeed, but it was tough to watch the curly haired lady giving Tonya and her rollers a hard time due to the fact that THEY are the ones that brought her there! Clearly someone somewhere thought that Tonya and her MagicKurl rollers (not a working prototype) were good enough to make it on the show.

As for Stefany, I think she has a fantastic product that speaks for itself - I don't think the cuff "barely fit" around her hair, I think she was nervous and her fingers were a little shaky. It seemed so unfair that she was out in the first five minutes of the show!

Where was all of the step by step, through the process help we thought we were going to see? I thought, along with many others, that they would at least entertain us with some fun bloopers from the audition tapes.

Okay - now here's me with my big girl panties pulled way up:

This is what I know. This is television. No matter how much I love Kelly Ripa (and I do love her) and trust that her inentions for what she wanted to create here were/are good, there are a slew of other folks out there with their hands in it as well. Whether you want to believe it or not, these shows are about two things: entertainment and making money.

Also, cannot forget to mention what I thought was the quote of the show by Marcy that went something like "I'm not gonna have to invent something am I?" Really?

I went to Chicago and I had an experience that I will never forget and because of it, I have launched a business and am doing what I love to do. I am connected with some of the most incredible, empowering women you could ever ask to be included with and am so proud of all of them!

If you audition for a show like this and stake your life and being on it, you will be disappointed every time. We make our own destiny - I know you already know this!

Biggest lesson I think for many: You don't need to be on a reality television show to be successful. Your target audience is NOT watching this show - your fellow entrepreneurs are.

I will continue to support and look forward to tweeting about the show Friday night - I hope it will gain some momentum and at least put a spotlight on some really fabulous inventors.

My hat is off to ALL of the ladies - Marcy McKenna, Tonya Englebrecht and Stefany DiManno! There is no questioning that you are all winners!

As always, thank you for taking the time to read and share!

Countdown to Homemade Millionaire!

Let the countdown begin! Clear your calendars and make a date to watch Homemade Millionaire this Friday, November 19th on TLC at 10 p.m. EDT! We'll be all a Twitter and hope you'll join us!

Let's meet a few of the Inventors...

I've said it before and I'll keep on sayin' it - I am one of the happiest casting call rejects ever! Oh the places rejection has taken me! Never in a million years could I have predicted how much one 24 hr. whirlwind of a trip to Chicago to pitch my silly little cleaning tool would impact the course of my life. Because of this experience I have reconnected with old friends and made valuable new ones. I recently launched JenCann Productions and am excited about earning some extra "buck rogers" (as we like to call them around here) for being creative and doing what I love.

I met so many fabulous ladies in Chicago over a year ago and have also become very close with a few fellow rejects from the NYC casting. I can speak for them when I say we are rooting for all of the ladies who were chosen and look forward to showing our support on Friday nights! This is one of my favs! If Debra's Bake Huggers don't make you say "Why didn't I think of that?" I'll eat my hat!

If you or someone you know made it on, please share with us so we can cheer you on!

Kelly Ripa! Sending big love and shouts to you, Mark, the Milojo crew, TLC and HSN for the incredible opportunity you are giving these hardworking, passionate Women Inventors! I am proud to be an inventor who comes from a family of inventors!

Next time you're sitting on an airplane, look towards the outer edge of the wing and notice those two black sort of popsicle stick looking things. Those are called P-Static Precipitators and were invented by my Great Grandfather, John Christian Jensen in 1936.

On your next trip to the big box store look up at all of those flourescent lights (enough to give you a headache right?) and notice how they don't seem to throw off much heat. That's because in the 70's a super cool genius guy named Steve Jensen (aka my dad) invented the electronic ballast for flourescent bulbs to keep them from getting hot. Sheesh, you'd think I'd be some rich heiress considering how many flourescent light bulbs there are in the world, but no... Dad holds the patent and was paid a whopping $100 by the company he worked for at the time, Radiant Technologies in Southern California.

Have a great day and don't stop creating!