One of the most important improvements Edison made to the invention creation process, was the idea of the corporate lab. Before Edison, the only way inventors were able to come up with new ideas was to work individually and fund their own research, and then try to sell their ideas. Edison sold his idea so that he would have the funding to create these expensive enterprises. Today every major company and corporation has utilized this method of research labs funded by the corporate money. The first corporate lab was Menlo Park, which was created by Thomas Edison.

The lab at Menlo Park was also special because it was not only the first one, but the working enviroment in Menlo Park was unique in its own right. The technicians and workers at Menlo park were also semi laid back in their work enviroment. They would put in 16 hour days in the lab but some of that time was spent socializing with each other and also just having fun with the stuff they were working on. This allowed for an easy going atmosphere even when there was the pressure of a deadline. Many offices and corporations today work with this mindset, the hours are longer but the amount of time working is about the same.