🎙 Inventive Journey | Real Stories From the Startup Survival Club

What is your trademark really worth?

For many founders and small business owners, the honest answer is: “I have no idea, but I feel emotionally attached to the logo.” Fair. Building a brand takes effort, money, late-night decisions, and at least one moment where someone asks whether the font feels “too corporate but not corporate enough.”

But trademark value is not based on feelings alone.

In this episode, we b...

Your business name may be one of your most valuable assets, but is it actually protected?

In this episode-style breakdown, we explore word mark trademarks and why they matter for startup founders, small business owners, creators, consultants, product companies, and anyone building a brand that customers need to recognize.

A word mark trademark protects the wording of your brand name, slogan, product name, or phrase. It does not depen...

What do high school debate team, chemistry labs, law school burnout, and credit card points all have in common?

Apparently… they can all lead to becoming a startup CEO.

In this episode of The Inventive Journey, Devin Miller sits down with Travis Cormier to unpack one of the most unconventional entrepreneurial journeys we’ve featured on the show. Travis shares how his path evolved from “super nerd” debate comp...

Scott Duffy’s entrepreneurial journey is proof that success rarely follows a predictable roadmap. In this episode of Inventive Journey with Devin Miller, Scott shares an incredible story that spans hot dog stands, catastrophic setbacks, Tony Robbins, Silicon Valley startups, internet media companies, and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Scott’s story starts in Los Angeles where his father intentionally pushed him tow...

In this episode of the Inventive Journey podcast, host Devon Miller talks with Michael Timmons, founder of GoodFences.ai, about a career built around solving difficult problems in unexpected places.

Michael’s journey started in Central Texas, where football taught him teamwork and an early software engineering job introduced him to the power of technology. He went on to earn an aerospace engineering degree from the University ...

What if the secret to success isn’t working harder?

In this episode of Inventive Journey, Devin Miller sits down with entrepreneur and business coach Liam Naden to discuss the extraordinary journey that completely changed Liam’s understanding of success, fulfillment, and entrepreneurship.

After building multiple successful businesses and achieving financial success, Liam found himself overwhelmed by stress, burnout, and u...

Dead trademarks create one of the most misunderstood areas of business law — and in this episode/article, we unpack why reviving an abandoned brand name can either become a brilliant strategic move or a costly legal disaster.

Many entrepreneurs believe that once a trademark registration expires, the name instantly becomes available for anyone to use. Unfortunately, trademark law is nowhere near that simple. Businesses may stil...

In this episode of The Inventive Journey, host Devin Miller sits down with Kyle Gray to explore how a winding path through music, travel, entrepreneurship, content marketing, and storytelling became the foundation for Kyle’s work helping entrepreneurs communicate with clarity.

Kyle’s story starts at the University of Utah, where he felt the pressure many young entrepreneurs recognize all too well: the pressure to know ex...

How do companies legally compete against patented products without getting sued?

That question sits at the center of some of the largest business battles in modern history.

In this episode, we break down how businesses legally navigate around patents through design modifications, licensing agreements, engineering alternatives, patent litigation strategies, and competitive innovation.

Many entrepreneurs mistakenly believe patents creat...

Can you trademark an idea? It’s one of the most common — and costly — misunderstandings entrepreneurs make when building a business.

In this deep dive, we unpack the real differences between trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets so business owners can stop guessing and start protecting their intellectual property strategically.

Many founders assume that simply having an idea creates ownership rights. Un...

Entrepreneurship is often marketed as an exciting adventure filled with innovation, growth, and endless opportunity. What gets discussed far less often are the difficult moments behind the scenes — founder disputes, intellectual property battles, broken partnerships, operational stress, and the emotional challenge of rebuilding after major setbacks.

In this episode of The Inventive Journey, Devin Miller sits down with entrepre...

What happens when an insurance executive leaves corporate leadership, joins an early internet startup, discovers the power of freelancers before remote work became mainstream, and then builds a company around helping small businesses scale smarter?

You get a fascinating entrepreneurial journey like the one shared by Elizabath Eiss on this episode of Inventive Journey.

In this conversation, Elizabath explains how her career evolved fr...

Patents are often treated like business lottery tickets. Inventors dream about billion-dollar exits, licensing empires, and passive income streams that magically appear after receiving government approval paperwork. But the reality of patent value is far more complicated — and far more interesting.

Some patents become worth millions or even billions of dollars. Others quietly expire with little commercial impact. So what actua...

In this powerful episode of The Inventive Journey, Devin Miller sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, and emotional intelligence expert Christopher Salem to discuss a journey filled with chaos, reinvention, business success, addiction recovery, and transformational leadership lessons.

Christopher Salem’s story is anything but traditional.

From struggling with direction in college to navigating toxic corporate environments, Sale...

What do cleaning toilets, surviving corporate layoffs, and building a tech-enabled franchise empire have in common? For Adam Povlitz, they’re all chapters of the same story.

In this episode of The Inventive Journey, Adam Povlitz, CEO of Anago Cleaning Systems, shares how he transformed a traditionally “thankless” industry into a scalable, tech-powered business by focusing on the one thing most competitors ignore: w...

If you’re an inventor or entrepreneur riding the high of securing a U.S. patent, this episode is your reality check—in the best possible way. Because while a U.S. patent is a powerful asset, it’s also geographically limited. And in today’s global economy, that limitation can become a major vulnerability if not addressed early.

We dive into one of the most misunderstood aspects of intellectual property: intern...

What does it really take to go from high performer… to elite?

In this episode of The Inventive Journey, Curtis McCullom shares a powerful and deeply personal story that challenges everything you think you know about success, mindset, and transformation. From his early days as a high school track athlete in Mississippi to becoming the #1 performer in his field—and ultimately walking away from a lucrative career—Cur...

What happens when another business files a trademark that looks a little too close to yours? Do you ignore it and hope for the best—or step in before it becomes a much bigger problem?

In this episode, we break down the trademark opposition process in a way that actually makes sense for business owners. No legal jargon overload, no unnecessary complexity—just a clear, strategic look at how to protect your brand before con...

How similar can trademarks really be before you land in legal trouble? It’s a question that seems simple on the surface—but quickly becomes complex once you understand how trademark law actually works.

In this episode, we break down the concept of “likelihood of confusion,” the legal standard used to determine whether one brand is too similar to another. And spoiler alert: it’s not about exact matches. ...