Voices: 15 steps to starting your own electronic-kit business is an interesting article. This engineer started her own successful electronics-kit business. Limor Fried has made Adafruit Industries into a successful electronics-kit business. You can too. Based on her own experience, she offers 15 practical steps for engineers who dream of starting their own kit business.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Tindie Guides That Hackaday Prize Entry Into Your Hands
https://hackaday.com/2018/09/30/tindie-guides-that-hackaday-prize-entry-into-your-hands/
The Hackaday Prize invites everyone to focus on specific challenges with encouragement of prize money and motivation of deadlines. But what happens after the award ceremony? While some creators are happy just to share their ideas, many projects need to get into the real world to make their full impact. Several past prize winners have used their award as seed money to start production and go into business. Recognizing this as something worth supporting, a new addition this year is Tindie’s Project to Product program.
https://blog.tindie.com/2018/03/2018-hackaday-prize-go/
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 Lessons I Learned Bringing My Own Product to Market
https://blog.hackster.io/10-lessons-i-learned-bringing-my-own-product-to-market-2446692dd760
About six years ago I brought my own hardware product to market (a consumer lighting device). Eventually my product was sold in a few hundred retail stores in three different countries.
During this process I learned many lessons that I want to share with you today. Hopefully the lessons I learned will help you speed up the process of getting your own product to market.
Lesson #1 — However long you think it will take, it will take longer
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 Lessons for Hardware Creators from a Desert Music Festival
https://www.avnet.com/wps/portal/us/resources/technical-articles/article/markets/wearables/three-lessons+for-hardware-creators
When a creator has a big idea, they often need a big partner to help them make it happen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
7 Tips to Start Small Scale Manufacturing | Business Ideas for Product Makers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJu4CosK6RQ
If you’re interested in how to take advantage of small scale manufacturing with your business making stuff, hope you find these tips and ideas useful!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building a great startup requires more than genius and a great invention
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/17/building-a-great-startup-requires-more-than-genius-and-a-great-invention/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
Many entrepreneurs assume that an invention carries intrinsic value, but that assumption is a fallacy.
Here, the examples of the 19th and 20th century inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla are instructive. Even as aspiring entrepreneurs and inventors lionize Edison for his myriad inventions and business acumen, they conveniently fail to recognize Tesla, despite having far greater contributions to how we generate, move and harness power. Edison is the exception, with the legendary penniless Tesla as the norm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EEVblog #588 – How To Do PCB Production Testing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UESc7ms4efo
Dave shows how the assemblers will production test the µCurrent PCB panels using his new test jigs. And he will does a trial run on 50 µCurrent PCB’s to determine the average testing time. What will take the longest – PCB testing, or wrapping, or packaging?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Chinese Manufacturing Wins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Jfrzkmzyc
Tomi Engdahl says:
Top 10 Considerations When Moving from Hand-Soldering to Machine Assembly
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/duane-benson-2/articles/top-10-considerations-when-moving-from-hand-soldering-to-machine-assembly
Times have changed — the hardware startup is back and within just about anyone’s reach
Hand-soldering a few PC boards is surprisingly popular given how many components come only in surface-mount technology (SMT) packages these days, especially when you consider just how small some of those parts are (see also “Hand-Soldering Surface-Mount Devices”).
It wasn’t that long ago when all but the largest SMT components were feared, but that changed sometime during the last decade. These days, being able to put iron to sub-millimeter pitch parts seems to be a badge of honor.
Still, when building more than a small number of boards, the pride of such an accomplishment may not be enough. At some point, it’s time to go pro and send your boards off to an electronics manufacturing service (EMS) provider or to an in-house SMT assembly line if you have one.
Doing so will open up your free time and ensure a more reliable product, but it’s not as easy as just throwing some parts in a box and shipping it off to an assembly house. Rules change when the soldering implements aren’t directly connected to your own brain.
Sometimes the techniques that make things work when hand-soldering will completely break a machine assembly process. To cure that ailment, I’ve compiled a list of common traps to avoid when moving from hand-soldering to robotic assembly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Tour Through the Archetypical Asian Factory
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/28/a-tour-through-the-archetypical-asian-factory/
Overseas factories can be sort of a mythical topic. News articles remind us that Flex (née Flextronics) employs nearly 200 thousand employees worldwide or that Foxconn is up to nearly a million.
Freewrite Factory Tour Day 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUsN5Re16eo
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/30/lessons-in-disposable-design-from-a-cheap-blinky-ball/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Top Tips: Rapid Prototyping for Small Shops
https://www.machinedesign.com/mechanical/top-tips-rapid-prototyping-small-shops?code=SolidWorksTopTips2Effort1-10242018&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=20888&utm_medium=email&elq2=81b8ea6390464b97a06e8c125da17005
Sponsored by SOLIDWORKS. With the proper digital tools, small shops can take advantage of the agility and flexibility offered by rapid prototyping techniques including injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, CNC machining, and additive manufacturing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Effects Design Colloquium at Brown University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRJziCxbpo
talk about my design process in creating my line of effects, and reveal the cautionary tale of the first Frantone pedal that never got off the ground.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ANATOMY OF A PRODUCT QUALITY ISSUE: POE HAT
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/poe-hat-revision/
One of the neat new features of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ is its support for IEEE 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet (PoE).
The Raspberry Pi board itself provides a PoE-capable Ethernet jack and circuit protection components; the power regulation electronics, which would be too costly and bulky to include on the main board, live on a separate HAT.
When we announced the 3B+, we revealed that an official Raspberry Pi PoE HAT was in the works and, after a few unforeseen production delays, we we released this HAT at the end of August.
If it’s not been tested, it’s broken
It’s a truism that if you don’t test an aspect of a design, it will certainly be broken. Those of us with a Broadcom background sometimes refer to this as Alan Morgan’s rule, after its most enthusiastic proponent.
Extensive testing over all configurations, operating parameters, and use cases is the only way to minimise the likelihood of releasing a product with a hardware issue. Even relatively simple hardware can end up catching you out by throwing up some unexpected bug or issue.
We made several mistakes with the first version of the PoE HAT
Fortunately, this bug turned out to be easy to fix
Once we had confirmed that there was a problem with the PoE HAT, we took the product off sale, and recalled and reworked the outstanding units.
Tomi Engdahl says:
8 Strategies to Develop a New Product
https://blog.hackster.io/8-strategies-to-develop-a-new-product-40c4c51a34ea
There are multiple ways for you to develop a new physical product and bring it to market. However, the strategy that is best for you depends on your specific experience, your product, your team, and your finances. There is no strategy to develop a product that is best for everyone under every situation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Product Testing and Certification Really Matters
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/why-product-testing-and-certification-really-matters/21150134559797
Do you ever think about all those marks and logos on electronic equipment? You should; they’re your assurance of product quality.
What happens when inferior products are selected—either unknowingly or as a means to reduce cost? This type of situation is happening more often in the world of manufacturing because of both the growing interest in devices from the Maker community and the growing ease of purchasing inexpensive electronic components from no-name suppliers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bill Gross On Why Your Startup Will Succeed
https://hackaday.com/2018/11/27/bill-gross-on-why-your-startup-will-succeed/
Bill Gross is one of the great heros when it comes to technology incubators. Twenty years ago, he founded Idealab, a business whose business plan is to create more businesses. This started out with just a handful of companies in 1996, and has since gone on to found 150 companies, that have collectively raised three and a half billion dollars. Out of these companies, more than half have either gone through successful IPOs and acquisitions, or are currently operating. That investment has generated a 13.5x return, and created more than 10,000 jobs
Tomi Engdahl says:
From Idea to Schematic to PCB – How to do it easily!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35YuILUlfGs
Electronoobino board | How to make your Arduino UNO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj8kctq_pTQ
Tomi Engdahl says:
Four ways to bridge the widening valley of death for startups
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/24/four-ways-to-bridge-the-widening-valley-of-death-for-startups/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Strange and Twisted Tale of the Poco Handheld Computer
https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/the-strange-and-twisted-tale-of-the-poco-handheld-computer
The Poco is a new kit that lets owners snap together a programmable handheld video-game player. But it started life in 2009 as something completely different. The original concept was to make the first HD camcorder with a 14-megapixel photo capability, with a footprint about the size of a credit card.
Tomi Engdahl says:
One Kickstarter campaign allegedly had $100,000 stolen, but still shipped its keyboards
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/12/22/18151967/keyboardio-model-01-keyboard-kickstarter-fraud
On its quest to make a “better keyboard,” Keyboardio raised more than $650,000 — then found itself scammed out of $100,000, according to the company’s founders. It could have been an existential problem for such a small company, but Keyboardio has managed to weather the setback and now has advice for others on how to avoid running into the same scam.
The keyboards took a while to fully reach backers. Keyboardio promised delivery in 2016, about a year after launch, but wasn’t able to start shipping until 2017.
After shipping to Kickstarter backers, the team kept producing keyboards, but ran into a new struggle that it wasn’t expecting: the Chinese factory’s Director of Overseas Sales had left the company, but didn’t tell Keyboardio, ultimately stealing $100,000 from the team
their contact failed to pay one of the installments. THE company caught onto the alleged scam when the factory didn’t ship the next batch of keyboards
WHAT DOES THE COMPANY HAVE TO SAY?
Vincent and Dekker say there’s one thing they could have looked out for to catch the fraud earlier: a seal.
someone on the ground in China can help, although Dekker doesn’t think there’s a “silver bullet single solution”
Luckily, they say, the lost $100,000 didn’t kill the company or negatively impact their backers.
As for broader advice, Dekker says small hardware makers should always “have a cushion” of cash because something will inevitably go wrong. “It’s not always going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen, but there’s going to be delays. Everything is going to take longer and be more expensive than you think it is,” she says.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why your startup shouldn’t rush to $1 million in revenue
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/27/why-your-startup-shouldnt-rush-to-1-million-in-revenue/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
There is a prevailing belief that the magic formula for early-stage tech startups hinges on how quickly they achieve $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Investors in SaaS companies, in particular, are very guilty of pushing this or its equally loaded corollary, “When will you sign your first six-figure deal?”
But in the rush toward these numbers, too many startups lose sight of their primary intent: These metrics are supposed to be an indicator of product/market fit
Tomi Engdahl says:
Investors and entrepreneurs need to address the mental health crisis in startups
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/30/investors-and-entrepreneurs-need-to-address-the-mental-health-crisis-in-startup-culture/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
Colin Kroll was the co-founder of Vine and HQ Trivia, both consumer sensations that brought joy to millions; Anthony Bourdain had been a chef, journalist and philosopher who brought understanding and connectedness to millions of lives; Robin Williams built a career as a brilliant comedian and actor.
What these three share in common is that they were all people at the pinnacle of their industry and they all died too soon. Their premature loss is a tragedy.
The most brilliant and creative amongst us are sometimes the most troubled, and nowhere is that clearer than in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
When designing a new product, BOM optimization can save money and production time
https://ces.eetimes.com/when-designing-a-new-product-bom-optimization-can-save-money-and-production-time/
Creating the right kit for a new product is a difficult task. In some instances, it’s harder than making the original prototype. Performing bill-of-materials (BOM) optimization can provide significant savings in component costs, manufacturing and for the designer, time spent figuring out what went wrong.
Ensuring the supply of critical components needs to be secured even if design changes are not required
Why component testing pays off in the long run
https://ces.eetimes.com/why-component-testing-pays-off-in-the-long-run/
All it takes is one component to fail to make an electronic device unusable. It’s critical to test each one individually and once it’s part of an end product. The challenge is how to balance the necessity of effective component testing with healthy profit margins.
Testing detects problems and defects before the product hits the market. Its failure creates a loss of revenue that would far outstrip the cost of testing. For a consumer electronics product, the consequences can be a devastating loss of sales, a poor perception of the brand and even shuttering of the company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CR-10 3D Printer- Now Open Source Hardware Association Certified!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBzBjov-yX8
Now fully Open-Source- the original, large build area, all-metal 3D printer from Creality3D
https://github.com/Creality3DPrinting/CR-10
Tomi Engdahl says:
Your BOM is not your COGS
https://hackaday.com/2018/12/06/your-bom-is-not-your-cogs/
“The prototype was $12 in parts, so I’ll sell it for $15.” That is your recipe for disaster, and why so many Kickstarter projects fail. The Bill of Materials (BOM) is just a subset of the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), and if you aren’t selling your product for more than your COGS, you will lose money and go out of business.
We’ve all been there; we throw together a project using parts we have laying around, and in our writeup we list the major components and their price. We ignore all the little bits of wire and screws and hot glue and time, and we aren’t shipping it, so there’s no packaging to consider. Someone asks how much it cost, and you throw out a ballpark number. They say “hey, that’s pretty reasonable” and now you’re imagining making it in volume and selling it for slightly higher than your BOM. Stop right there. Here’s how pricing really works, and how to avoid sinking time into an untenable business.
The BOM is a list of ALL components that go into a product. Sometimes you’ll have a hierarchical BOM, especially for an electronics project. Here you have a subassembly that includes the PCB and all its components, and then a product subassembly that includes the assembled PCB, enclosure, and fasteners, and then on top of that a packaging subassembly that includes the box and filler and manual and other stuff that’s not exactly the product itself.
Since it is quite possible that you’ll have multiple manufacturers and suppliers for different subassemblies, it makes sense to split the BOM into these separate categories, or at least have a column in the spreadsheet that makes it easy to filter.
The BOM needs to include every component; every bit of wire, every screw, every piece of plastic and resistor, including the amount of glue dispensed. Only then will you have a hope of understanding the complexity and cost of putting it all together.
The Labor
For a prototype or proof of concept, it’s a labor of love, solving problems that haven’t been solved before and creating a one-off. Going to production is an entirely different equation. Labor costs often exceed BOM costs, and cycle time for a process translates directly into money in some laborer’s pocket. Even if it’s you, your time isn’t free, and every second you spend doing assembly could be spent designing new products or enjoying life.
Understanding the labor cost is essential to understanding the total COGS. One way to do it is to list EVERY step in the process, from taking a part out of a box to handing it to the next station. Every step then gets a cycle time. This is how long it takes to repeat that process. Add all the cycle times for your entire process, and you have the total amount of time it takes to get a product ready. Divide by the labor rate, and you have the labor cost per unit, not including the overhead of the labor.
The Hidden Costs
When you buy a component, you have to pay for shipping from the distributor to your manufacturer. Then you have to pay for the shipping from the manufacturer to you, and you have to pay for the bulk packaging as well. You may have to pay duties or tariffs. Each of these things contributes to COGS.
Depreciation
In most cases the tools used to make the product have a limited lifetime. Injection molds can have a lifespan from 5,000 shots up to 1 million shots depending on how much you want to pay, and after that you need a new mold. Other tools will eventually wear down as well or need parts replaced. These are additional costs associated with the COGS
Putting it all together
When you add up all these costs, your product might look a lot more expensive than you first thought, but you have a much more realistic picture of the viability of your business, and whether you can sell your product at the price you want, or if you are forced to either cut costs or raise prices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
From https://hackaday.com/2018/05/17/diy-ssr-for-mains-switching/
Is UL / NRTL listing/approval even required? I was under the impression that it’s optional — but a good idea.
The listing is not required, but no reputable store will carry your products without it. UL / NRTL listing enables your company to buy product liability insurance. So that if your product kills someone or burns their house down you won’t lose your company from the ensuing legal mess. Since the place that sold the product will also get sued, reputable stores require you to carry product liability insurance and you have to have a UL/NRTL listing before anyone will sell it to you. That’s why all of the uncertified junk is sold by Fulfilled-by-Amazon vendors and not Amazon itself. Amazon won’t carry it. When we had the hoverboard fires people tried to sue Amazon and learned that Amazon did not sell them the product, some tiny vendor with no insurance sold it. Amazon simply put a box in the post on behalf of the vendor and charged the vendor a fee. Then US customs got involved an stopped the import of any non-UL/ETL listed hoverboards.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Cloned Bluetooth Tracker Meets its Maker
https://hackaday.com/2019/01/14/a-cloned-bluetooth-tracker-meets-its-maker/
Which is precisely how I came to purchase a two pack of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) “trackers” for the princely sum of $10 USD. I didn’t expect much out of them for $5 each, but as this seemed an exceptionally low price for such technology in a brick and mortar store, I couldn’t resist. Plus there was something familiar about the look of the tracker that I couldn’t quite put my finger on while I was still in the store.
The Cube was a bit thicker, but otherwise the shape, size, and even button placement on the itek was nearly identical. Reading through their respective manuals, the capabilities also seemed in perfect parity, down to being able to use the button on the device as a remote camera control for your smartphone. Which got me thinking: just how similar would these two devices be internally? Clearly they looked and functioned the same, but would they be built the same as well? They would have to cut costs somewhere.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless Charger Gives a Glimpse into Industrial Design Process
https://hackaday.com/2018/05/26/wireless-charger-gives-a-glimpse-into-industrial-design-process/
Almost every product on the market has been through the hands of an industrial designer at some point in its development. From the phone in your pocket to the car in your driveway or the vacuum in your closet, the way things look and work is the result of a careful design process. Taking a look inside that process, like with this wireless phone charger concept, is fascinating and can yield really valuable design insights.
Industrial Design Process: Foam Modeling a wireless charger Consumer product design and development
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3B6wgV60qg
Tomi Engdahl says:
Multi-Board Solder Stencils Explained
https://hackaday.com/2018/07/07/multi-board-solder-stencils-explained/
Easy PCB stencil creation and alignment
http://www.riderx.info/easy-pcb-stencil-creation-and-alignment/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/07/16/acrylic-stencils-help-with-component-placement-for-smd-assembly/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/07/18/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-a-trademark/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/07/24/custom-lcd-module-is-unexpectedly-cheap-and-easy/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/07/25/how-and-why-to-avoid-tolerance-stacking-in-your-technical-drawings/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anatomy Of A Cloned Piece Of Hardware
https://hackaday.com/2019/01/21/anatomy-of-a-cloned-piece-of-hardware/
What would you think if you saw a bootleg of a product you design, manufacture, and sell pop up on eBay? For those of us who don’t make our livelihood this way, we might secretly hope our blinkenlight project ends up being so awesome that clones on AliExpress or TaoBao end up selling in the thousands . But of course anyone selling electronics as their business is going to be upset and wonder how this happened?
Dave Curran from Tynemouth Software had one of his products cloned, and since he has been good enough to share all the details with us we’ve been able to take a look at the evidence. Dave’s detective work is top notch. What he found was surprising, his overseas manufacturer was blameless, and the bootleg board came from an entirely different source.
The product in question is the Minstrel ZX80, a recreation of the Sinclair ZX80 home computer on a PCB in the same form factor as the later ZX81. It’s a project we covered back in 2017 upon its launch, and it seems that Dave has been quietly selling kits ever since.
The path to the bootlegger
In April last year a customer who had bought a Tynemouth Minstrel ZX80 posted about it (Google Translate) on the Russian-language ZX-PK Sinclair enthusiasts forum. They put up a link to a high-resolution scan they had made of the board, and it was this scan that was used by another forum member who decided to make their own version (Google Translate). The translation isn’t exactly on-point, but it seems that he did indeed create it by hand in his CAD package before producing his first batch of boards.
What is clear from this tale is that the copy had nothing to do with any of [Dave]’s supply chain, so the popular theory that Gerbers sent abroad are sure to be bootlegged does not hold water in this case. We’re not saying it doesn’t happen, merely that it didn’t happen here. That an enthusiast with an eye to a quick buck would go so far as to directly clone the Minstrel from scratch is something of a surprise, as the task would require significant talent and expertise to achieve.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Down the Rabbit Hole of Electronics Manufacturing
https://hackaday.com/2019/01/31/down-the-rabbit-hole-of-electronics-manufacturing/
If you want to build hundreds of a thing (and let’s face it, you do) now is a magical time to do it. Scale manufacturing has never been more accessible to the hardware hacker, but that doesn’t mean it’s turn-key with no question marks along the way. The path is there, but it’s not well marked and is only now becoming well-traveled. The great news is that yes, you can get hundreds of a thing manufactured, and Kerry Scharfglass proves that it’s a viable process for the lone-wolf electronics designer. He’s shared tips and tricks of the manufacturing process in a prefect level of detail during his talk at the 2018 Hackaday Superconference.
In total, Kerry put about 460 hours of work into producing 460 working Sympetrum-v3 badges. He registered about $14,000 of profit which works out to around $30 per hour for his labor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
7 Obstacles You Must Overcome to Bring Your Product to Market
https://blog.hackster.io/7-obstacles-you-must-overcome-to-bring-your-product-to-market-826733b16e2d
There are countless obstacles that you will need to surpass in order to bring a new product to market. This is especially true for physical electronic products.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Four process closure benefits for a company
https://www.controleng.com/articles/four-process-closure-benefits-for-a-company/
A process closure is easily misunderstood, but it can provide a process manufacturer many potential benefits such as increased profits and safer workers.
Beyond this distinction, there are business considerations in the closed versus open debate. A company needs to ask what they’re trying to achieve when they decide to close their process.
The four “P’s” of process closure
There are four ways closing a process can positively impact a business:
Profits: Open handling of flammable materials often necessitates a more stringent building type, additional HVAC considerations, more expensive building materials, and construction, which cuts into the company’s bottom line. Conversely, closing your process can reduce capital investment in a facility. However, it may add equipment costs.
People: Closed processing provides safer conditions for operators. This is especially true for environments where workers can be exposed to hazardous vapors, liquids, or toxic and potent compounds.
Perception: Potential customers or clients viewing a company’s facility may gain confidence in an operation by how the facility. Closing the process can minimize free dust, improve overall housekeeping, and can signify an appropriate culture for manufacturing goods even if the product or codes do not require such a closure. Perception can drive sales, especially in the case of contract manufacturing.
Product: Pharmaceutical products are at risk of contamination during processing and packaging. Different closure levels are required depending on the product type and the patient delivery pathway. Dedication to product purity is all about ensuring patient safety.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Manufacturing for Electronics
https://www.mentor.com/pcb-manufacturing-assembly/resources/overview/smart-manufacturing-for-electronics-8060d857-de43-4014-8b2e-cf9c2d7ea286?uuid=8060d857-de43-4014-8b2e-cf9c2d7ea286&clp=1&contactid=1&PC=L&c=2019_02_14_ebs_val_mss_smart_manufacturin
This white paper describes a completely digitalized strategy that supports both PCB and mechanical design and manufacturing. In a consumer climate that demands new products at an unprecedented rate, this approach can reduce time-to-market by 50 percent, shrink development costs by as much as 25 percent,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Young Entrepreneurs Learn What Really Goes Into Making a Product
https://hackaday.com/2018/12/15/young-entrepreneurs-learn-what-really-goes-into-making-a-product/
Just to be clear, the primary goal of the Papas Inventeurs (Inventor Dads) was to have the kids make something, have fun, and learn. In that light, they enjoyed a huge success. Four children designed, made, and sold laser-cut napkin rings from a booth at the Ottawa Maker Faire as a fun learning process (English translation, original link in French.) [pepelepoisson] documented the entire thing from beginning to end with plenty of photos. Things started at proof of concept, then design brainstorming, prototyping, manufacture, booth design, and finally sales. While adults were involved, every step was done by the kids themselves.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Inventors Chasing Their Dreams; What It’s Like to Quit Your Job and Hack
https://hackaday.com/2019/01/18/inventors-chasing-their-dreams-what-its-like-to-quit-your-job-and-hack/
The phrase “Hindsight is 20/20” is one of those things that we all say from time to time, but rarely have a chance to truly appreciate to the fullest. Taken in the most literal context, it means that once you know the end result of a particular scenario, you can look back and clearly see the progression towards that now inescapable endgame.
Then again, it’s usually not that hard to identify a questionable decision, with or without the benefit of foreknowledge. But what about the good ones? How can one tell if a seemingly unimportant choice can end up putting you on track for a lifetime of success and opportunity? If there’s one thing Michael Rigsby hopes you’ll take away from the fascinating retrospective of his life that he presented at the 2018 Hackaday Superconference, it’s that you should grab hold of every opportunity and run with it. Some of your ideas and projects will be little more than dim memory when you look back on them 50 years later, but others might just end up changing your life.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Law A to Z: Intellectual Property
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/25/startup-law-a-to-z-intellectual-property/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DESIGN SYSTEMS & VERSION CONTROL – SAVING YOUR PROJECT FROM CHAOS
https://blog.taiste.fi/en/design-systems-and-version-control?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=promotedpost&utm_campaign=website&utm_content=designsystemsandversioncontrol
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/03/26/hacker-abroad-owning-a-business-in-chinas-electonics-markets/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup branding: how much does it really cost?
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/28/startup-branding-how-much-does-it-really-cost/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tell us who designed your startup’s brand
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/tell-us-who-designed-your-startups-brand/
finding the right brand designer is hard. Depending on your budget, industry and scope, brand designer and brand agency services can vary widely. It’s a niche community, and brand designers who thrive in chaotic, fast-paced startup environments are rare.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building a hardware startup in a software age
https://sifted.eu/articles/building-a-hardware-startup-in-a-software-age-automata/
Founders are wary of hardware because, well, hardware’s hard. Here’s how robot maker Automata has beaten the odds, raised money and dodged supply chain disaster
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nixie Power Supply Shows Ins and Out of Offshore Manufacturing
https://hackaday.com/2019/04/03/nixie-power-supply-shows-ins-and-out-of-offshore-manufacturing/
[Tony] built a high-efficiency power supply for Nixie tube projects. But that’s not what this post is about, really.
As you read through [Tony]’s extremely detailed post on Hackaday.io, you’ll be reading through an object lesson in electronic design that covers the entire process, from the initial concept – a really nice, reliable 170 V power supply for Nixie tubes – right through to getting the board manufactured and setting up a Tindie store to sell them.
High Voltage Nixie Power Supply
A modern DC/DC converter design capable of delivering current in excess of 40mA at 170V
https://hackaday.io/project/162301-high-voltage-nixie-power-supply
Tomi Engdahl says:
Developing The Ultimate Open Source Radio Control Transmitter
https://hackaday.com/2019/04/03/developing-the-ultimate-open-source-radio-control-transmitter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
2019 Hackaday Prize Begins Right Now
https://hackaday.com/2019/04/03/2019-hackaday-prize-begins-right-now/
This is the 2019 Hackaday Prize, the worldwide hardware design contest focused on product development. We know you can build a working prototype, and we still want to see you do that. But a great idea should have reach beyond your own workshop. This year’s Hackaday Prize is about taking your product across the finish line, from concept to design for manufacture.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A gadget maker’s worst nightmare…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m2K9f6vjgU
Creating a physical product is difficult, even without the added risk of someone stealing your idea. In this first episode of In the Making, Ashley Carman chats with creators about how they dealt with people ripping off their ideas and manufacturing knock-offs. We unpack the challenges they face and how they overcome them.
How one product can spawn hundreds of knock-offs
In the Making looks at the challenges hardware creators face
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/2/18290492/in-the-making-series-lumio-pressy-kickstarter-knockoffs-dragon-innovation
Nimrod Back raised more than $600,000 on Kickstarter for a customizable button that you could plug into your phone’s headphone jack. But just as the crowdfunding campaign was ending, copycats struck. They managed to launch clones of Back’s product, Pressy, before his even shipped. Today, Pressy no longer exists.
Creating a physical product is hard. Creators have to come up with an idea, prototype it, figure out how to manufacture it at scale, raise enough money to cover the costs, ship it to customers, and develop a full retail strategy, in addition to keeping their company running. The actual journey can be more complex, with unexpected hurdles that come with working in foreign markets, dealing with copycats, and changing technology.
This week, I chat with two creators who ran up against copycats. Max Gunawan, the creator of Lumio, a light that folds up like a book, says he’s used to knock-offs by now, although he hates to see them. He can’t focus on them, though, and he wants to innovate instead.
These guests explain the limitations of patents and how they protect themselves from knock-offs.