In my last post I lamented that one of the biggest barriers to inventors and entrepreneurs is the sometimes high cost of tooling and how Kickstarter.com and crowd sourcing could be the answer.  No sooner had I write that then Proto Labs, the parent of Protomold and Firstcut CNC, dropped this e-mail into my inbox.

Cool Idea! Program to Award $100,000 in Proto Labs Services

Do you or someone you know have a cool idea for a brilliant new product? If so, we want to hear from you, and help turn that idea into a reality. We’re excited to announce the launch of our Cool Idea! Award*, a new program created to give product designers the opportunity to bring innovative products to life.

In 2011, we’ll grant award winners an aggregate of up to $100,000 in Firstcut CNC machining services and/or Protomold injection molding services. Unlike other awards that recognize products or innovative design after the product has already been created, the Cool Idea! program supports products in the idea stage, and helps move them from pie-in-the-sky to product-on-the-shelf. Winners can use their fully functional Firstcut and Protomold parts for prototyping, design iterations, testing, or even an initial production run.

Get more information about our Cool Idea! Award.