Inventor Martin Lombardini on the origins of Cornhole Shootout – and thinking outside of the box

Martin, it’s great to catch up. Was it always on the cards that you’d invent toys and game, or did it swing out of left field a little bit?
Swung way out of left field! My background is in finance and real estate. I owned a mortgage company and did a lot of real estate deals – but I was always very creative about how I would do things. I’d want to do innovative, novel things around the practice of business. That said, I always had a passion for inventing. I remember being really small, seeing the VCR and worrying that by the time I’m old enough to invent something, everything will have already been invented!

Ha! And what was the first thing you invented? What helped you get past that worry!?
The first thing I invented – and I do have a granted patent for – is the first wearable drone. It’s one you can carry on your belt, but you could also carry it on your on your back or in a suitcase. It was really for public defence, the military – that type of thing. That gave me the spark, but I had a lot of toy ideas.

And when was this Martin?
That was probably back in 2019.

How did you find your feet in the toy industry?
Well, this is one of the special about the toy industry – it’s very open to innovation. New inventors can get traction. There’s the Mojo Pitch and other opportunities like that for inventors – both new and established. There’s a lot of competition, obviously, but also lots of opportunities. I actually grew up without many toys, so there’s almost a spark inside me to make the toys I wish I had.

On that, what types of toys did you find yourself drawn to inventing?
I started with pool toys and outdoor toys.

Was that strategic? I imagine those categories see fewer new inventors that something like games.
It’s funny you say that, because I hold games in very high regard. I feel they really have to be done right and have a lot of thought put into them. I recently partnered with Amy Holden on a board game concept called Mystical Minds that’s very unique and novel, so it’s a space I’m looking at.

What steers what you invent?
Being in the business now for some time, I have access to all these wish lists and stuff like that. When you first get them as an inventor, it’s like: “This is it! This is gold!” But the reality is that it doesn’t usually work as simply as that. So I don’t think about any one company when I invent – and I try to think about evergreen concepts… Bubbles, sports, boys’ action toys… Things like that.

What advice would you give new inventors about pitching?
It’s about building relationships. I’m also an instructor at InventRight, so I teach students how to do it from A to Z. When we talk about pitching, I always say: “Forget about your product. You’re there, it’ll speak for itself. Build a relationship and don’t be transactional.” You’re most likely getting a pass anyway, so you get so much more out of it if you’re able to see it as getting feedback from industry insiders. I think your odds of success go up a lot with that approach. It’s about building relationships.

Looking at your work with InventRight, what would you say are some key mistakes new inventors make that are avoidable?
The most common mistake is that people think it’s easy. Some think: ‘I have a patent; I’m going to get a deal.’ That’s a major misconception. Others have one idea – and are so taken by it that they’re not really into ideation. To be successful in this industry, that can’t happen. You have to have multiple ideas and you have to be dynamic about it.

Good advice. Now, earlier this year you were nominated for a TOTY for Cornhole Shootout. Congrats on that! How did the concept come about?
It goes back to building relationships and being open minded. I was pitching a company a completely different product – a floating basketball hoop, but done in a very unique way. We were chatting in a pitch, and they said: “Martin, did you ever think about maybe putting two games in one for something like this?” A spark went off and I started to develop this inflatable that included five different games. You’d play through them like a tournament.

Then I started saying: ‘Well, what’s the hottest of these games? Which one has an evergreen feel that I can focus on?’ That’s how the basketball and cornhole aspect came about. So the first iteration of Cornhole Shootout was an inflatable pool game! It then evolved away from the pool idea, but what I came up with was pretty premium – it was too expensive. I had pitched it to a bunch of different companies and there was a lot of interest, but I couldn’t close a deal…

Then I had a meeting with Matt Nuccio and I pitched him a couple of concepts. He liked all of them, but he thought there was something special about Cornhole Shooutout. He agreed to work with me to try to find a placement for it – and he did! That’s how it happened.

Kudos to Matt!
He’s a great guy. He’s straightforward and not going to BS you. Collaborating with him is very easy to do and he’s been a terrific cheerleader for the product because he believes in it. And that goes a long way.

Cornhole Shootout was nominated for a TOTY – has that had an effect in terms of how you engage with companies? Has it opened doors?
I think so. Certain companies and people that maybe weren’t as responsive before are more responsive now. It adds some credibility, right? Some people might think: ‘Maybe we should take more of a chance with Martin’ type of thing. I also I think that goes for being in the Mojo 100. Thank you very much for doing that, because it goes a long way.

Well done for being in there, Martin. Well deserved. Before we wrap up, what fuels your creativity?
It comes from a lifestyle of thinking out of the box. I study consciousness a lot and about the collective unconscious. There’re ways that people can tap into that. Then, you add a focus on what’s evergreen, what’s manufacturable and you start to get a feel for things.

Last question: Would you recommend more people in a financial career make the leap into toys and game? Is it a seamless leap?
Ha! No, not really! People are different, you know, but with this industry you’re going back to childhood. We run through our lives. I’m 48 years old and how often do you experience strong connections back to your childhood? Inventing toys sparks the sense of magic, wonder, imagination and creativity.

Thanks Martin. Let’s tie-in again soon.

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