Today’s company is one of the stranger ones that I’ve come across recently, but I guess that makes sense considering that their name is Quirky. They’re a New York City based product development startup meets social network. That’s right—they’re doing for products what Threadless did for t-shirts. You submit an idea (at a cost, which is weird), and the community decides whether they produce it or not. Everybody has a product idea, but how many people actually take the initiative (and have the ability) to have their idea turned into a real product? Not many. Quirky will do the hard work for you, and they’ll only produce ideas that have been validated by enough pre-sales to make the project worthwhile.

Are You Quirky Enough?

I’m not sure that I’ve done the best job of explaining how Quirky works, so I’m going to let their video do the explaining (click through if you’re an e-mail or RSS subscriber).

So far Quirky’s product line includes a modular spatula system, a trash can that also dispenses bags, and caps that turn water bottles into paintbrushes. Those aren’t product ideas that I’ve ever had, but that’s why they call it Quirky. To me the weird thing about Quirky is that they charge people $99 to submit an idea, yet they only give 12% of the revenue to the “inventor,” while community members get an 18% share (split many ways). So, I guess you could try to make your full-time job participating in the Quirky community, but if you want more stability, you should check out their Jobs page. They currently have opportunities for Industrial Designers and a Bookkeeper, while there’s also a Community Ambassador position posted on Startuply. There’s something for everyone, so if you love cool products and crowdsourcing, Quirky cold be a pretty cool place to work.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Quirky.com
• Jobs at Quirky
• About Quirky
• Quirky’s Blog
• Quirky’s Process
• Quirky Success Stories
• Quirky Products

Would you submit a product idea to Quirky?

We've identified Quirky as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• accounting
• all employers
• community management
• design
• marketing
• New York
• product development
• social media
• social networking

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