Search suggestions

Hardware Startups: how to prototype fast ?

Hardware Startups

Hardware startups have been increased in number over the past few years. These organizations essentially contribute to global industrial development by transforming technological inventions into innovations. Hardware companies’ establishment is a challenging process.

You need to pitch your business idea to win venture capital from the investors.

Hardware startups are under a great deal of pressure from the employees. Investors want to get new prototypes to market as fast as possible. In contrast, founders, employees, and other people of hardware companies want to ensure prototypes are high in quality before they reach the market.

The development of a hardware prototype is a more difficult task than launching a software solution for a startup company. The hardware prototypes include devices used in the homes, medical devices, parts used in aerospace and automotive industries, etc. 

The first challenge that CEO, investors of hardware companies, organizations entrepreneurs, founders, employees, and other people face is to get from their prototype with a number of the best 3D printed prototypes to production-ready. 

In the world of entrepreneurship, communication, innovation, ideas and automation, we usually are talking about home devices, electronics devices or IoT, often with layers of software developed for the device in mind, when speaking about the hardware.

Product prototyping is not a new concept to the entrepreneurs and founders. It plays a significant role in the setting up of hardware startups companies and provides critical product insights on design and functionality, making prototype development a more efficient process.

Prototyping is a very challenging step and requires a number of considerable investments to manufacture prototypes with many moving parts.

If you aim to launch a hardware company, there are some key points you must be taken into consideration before diving in.

For that purpose, first, you have to develop some plans on how to market and distribute your devices to potential consumers, and how to make more investments in companies to achieve those targets. 

Methods required for the establishment of Hardware Startups and Organizations

You might think that establishment of a hardware startup company is tough, but it is not impossible.

A number of right strategies and calculated risks will help you to create your own hardware startup company. 

In pursuance of efficient and effective company development, entrepreneurs and CEOs need a highly applicable methodology that is specifically accustomed to the individual needs of a startup. 

Look for Funding

Hardware organizations need funding or seed round to get started with the conceptualization and manufacturing of their prototypes.

The necessary seed round and funding of hardware organizations is hard. Funding has always been elusive for many startups.

First of all, you need funding for the initial market research for your prototype, then you need funding for the manufacturing of your prototype.

The other purposes of funding include the design and production of prototype packaging. After that, you need funding to promote and distribute your product to your potential customers.

Hardware Club is a community-based firm for hardware organizations. The hardware club is based in San Francisco. Hardware Club is a source of the seed round and venture capital for startups that provide the funding the key hardware issues like manufacturing and distribution.

San Francisco based firm, hardware club, establishes a networked community of hardware organizations that can help each other through the funding.

Finding a Co-Founder

Picking up a co-founder or investor is a challenging task for entrepreneurs of hardware companies. You need a like-minded investor who can understand your idea and vision of your Hardware Company, and ready to make investments of money in your startup.

Moreover, companies and startups are successful when there is teamwork. An entrepreneur alone cannot drive its startup towards a roadmap of success. 

Your business partners and investors can complement your skills and drive your startup towards a defined roadmap.

Your investor comes in handy when things are not going in favor of you, and he/she becomes your motivation when you are building a hardware product. So, it is advisable to wisely choose investors if you want your hardware company to be successful.

Markets Research for the Device of Hardware Startups

A lot of the best hardware and software companies start by solving a single, niche problem and over time, become billion-dollar opportunities.

The main thing that would arise in your mind and your partner is that how to make your prototype interesting and fit the client's needs. This is very hard to grasp for engineers. Market research is the most time taking and crucial step for startups and businesses.

To understand the market needs and trends before launching the prototype for your hardware startups and organizations, you need to have the following number of questions in your mind to convey your mission to the targeted audience:

  • What is your product?
  • Who will go to buy it?
  • Why will they be willing to buy your device?

So, the above questions decide the community that will be interested in your device. You can experience a significant market and targeted community research by interviewing the targeted community members and tell them your mission.

This process takes place in several iterations as each consumer of the prototype of your hardware company has more than one viewpoint and preference. By doing this, you will remove a lot of bias and maximize your learning.

Manufacturing a Prototype for Testing

After performing detailed research of a number of targeted communities for your hardware company, you set specifications of your prototype based on their requirements.

To test the features and specifications of the prototype, rapid prototyping methods are deployed in hardware startups. 

Rapid prototyping technology is a technique of reducing the time between steps in the production of successful prototyping. In the rapid prototyping technique, a group of technologies is used to manufacture engineering prototypes of components in a minimum possible lead time using CAD software. 

It is an essential step for the fast manufacturing of the device or hardware during the prototype's beta stage. The beta stage is a refined version of a prototype for a hardware company as a device is manufactured for the end-user experience.

These fast manufacturing methods are 3D printing technologies that manufacture products in lesser time

There are several choices of rapid prototyping methods available for the beta testing of prototypes.

Through different rapid prototyping technologies, a wide variety of materials are available including metals, plastics, and polymers, depending upon the complexity and geometry of a prototype to be manufactured.

The material properties of prototypes manufactured using rapid prototyping techniques are not always appropriate for the final design of the prototype of your hardware company.

For instance, stereolithography technology produces very brittle components that degrade over time.

On the other hand, fused deposition modeling technology is something that creates thermoplastic parts that have relatively better material strengths but have coarser tolerances. 

This phase of developing a prototype in hardware startups checks the feasibility of a manufactured prototype. The engineers work together to reduce the technical and market risk.

After validating all the features, engineers, with prototype design teams, work on the aesthetics of the prototype.

Mass Production Process

A number of rapid prototyping technologies are deployed in hardware companies for the testing of prototypes at the beta stage.

The cost of any plastic prototype manufactured from the rapid prototyping techniques is 20 to 100 times higher than that same prototype produced using mass production techniques, such as injection molding.

Automation can be seen now in most of the manufacturing processes due to which mass production of the prototypes can be done in very little time. Due to the automation, the lead time for the manufacturing of a product has been decreased to a great extent.

Now after validation of the prototype specifications and fixing all the errors at the beta stage of the prototype for your hardware company, the next step is to transform the design from small scale to large scale manufacturing.

The selection of a manufacturing process for products of hardware startups depends on the investments or venture capital available.

Entrepreneurs, founders, employees, and a number of people of hardware companies must make sure to find out the best manufacturing process, and look for the best manufacturers for their products.

The contract manufacturers also need on-site support from the designers of hardware startup companies to build their products.

The packaging design of the prototype of a hardware startup company is also an essential step. Packaging representation should be eye-catchy, having written specifications and settings of your prototype. If your prototype is to be placed in a physical retail store, the design of packaging must be appropriate.

If the prototype of your business needs to be drop shipped, its packaging is the shock absorber that protects the prototype during shipping.

Finance and Costing of Prototype for Hardware Startups Companies

The proper understanding of costs involved in the lifecycle of the prototype of a hardware startup is essential as such costs contribute to the feasibility assessments of hardware startup companies.

The evaluation of cost before launching the prototype to the market helps to identify all potential risks involved, and the pricing of the prototype or component accordingly.

The proper evaluation of prototype costs leads to more sustainable profit margins for hardware startup companies.

Analyzing prototype manufacturing costs helps to increase the reliability and makes the final version of a part of a prototype more simple to save money during production.

While developing a costing plan for your hardware business, you have to set up a minimum order quantity (MOQ) and the venture capital to manufacture the MOQ.

The cost of products of a hardware startup company is the total cost to manufacture and shipping of the products.


Feedback from customers of hardware companies

After the product or component is manufactured and reached out to more potential customers or consumers, feedback of consumers is the essential stage as it helps to promote the product of your hardware startup to reach different communities and expand businesses.

Through the feedback, you can make the appropriate changes to your product and retest.

Conclusion

For hardware companies and startups, you need investors to invest money in your hardware business to manufacture a product or prototype for a demonstration to your potential clients.

The knowledge of prototyping as mentioned earlier methods for the launch of hardware startup companies is essential so that by analyzing potential customers and then listening to the problems of your potential customers.

You can design your products and parts based on their requirements and select suitable manufacturing technologies based on the design complexity of the product. 




Industery News
Bloged by Industery
November 17, 2020
8 Mins Read

What Is Prototyping In Design Thinking [Fidelity Prototypes]

6 Major Steps of design thinking for great final product: Understand, Observe, Define, Find ideas, Develop prototypes,Testing

Read More
Industery News
Bloged by Industery
February 02, 2021
8 Mins Read

Ultimate Strength Explanation [Elasticity, Extreme & Testing]

Ultimate tensile strength a the property of materials to determine their mechanical performance, basicly this define a material resistance on tention applyed

Read More
Industery News
Bloged by Industery
January 05, 2021
6 Mins Read

Total Manufacturing Cost [Formula | Variance | Cost Per Unit]

Total manufacturing Cost : In the simplest terms, The calculation involves multiple factor materials, labor, overhead, variance, inventory cost, depreciation...

Read More