The Agency.com founder has teamed up with architect and illustrator Keith Milone to start the new company, which says it will have a focus on idea and invention development firm, primarily marketing and licensing its own products and intellectual property.
The company says it is developing products for a range of industries, including garden/outdoor, automotive aftermarket, toys, education, hardware/tools, and recreation/leisure.
"If there is a qualification for inventing, it is this: a bottomless pit of youthful curiosity," Shannon said, "and curiosity is something I have in spades. Combined with the incredible lessons I learned while launching and growing Agency.com, I'm eager to put my skills to the test with Invention Asylum."
Shannon co-founded Agency.com in 1995, with Time Inc executive Chan Suh. At its peak, the agency had annual revenues of more than $200m, 1700-plus employees and offices in the US, Europe and Asia.
Agency.com went public in 1999 and was sold in 2001 to Omnicom, the world's largest advertising holding company.
As well as Agency.com, Shannon also founded New Voice Theatre Company in NYC; the non-profit organisation the ; co-creating the first online art & culture magazine, ; and writing or co-writing seven feature screenplays including the recently-optioned .
His partner Milone is an award-winning architect, who co-founded NYC architecture firm Skyline Architects & Designers. Milone has also held positions as director of operations for Citibank's Portfolio & Occupancy Management Group and other commercial real estate positions.
"I've been inventing all my life," Milone said, "and I realised that if I was ever going to make a run at turning those ideas into marketable products, it was now or never. This is going to be an amazing company and I couldn't be happier."
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