Building Lean Hardware Startups from concept to retail is tricky and full of death traps! Learn how to master the 'Envy You' curve, like all successful startups do... Great Makers Ship. Others...

1. GREAT MAKERS SHIP
BUILDING LEAN HARDWARE STARTUPS
#LeanHW

2. @BENJAMINJOFFE
• 13 years in Asia (CJK)
• Founder of web/mobile
strategy consultancy +8*
• Speaker @ 150+ events
• MobileMonday Beijing
founder (35 events)
• 11 angel investments
• Now in hardware with
HAXLR8R

3. 2014
YEAR OF HARDWARE

4. 2014: Year of Hardware

5. HARDWARE RENAISSANCE
PROTOTYPING IS SOLVED
Arduino / Pi / 3D printing / Sensors / BLE /
Smartphones / Cloud
SUPPLY CHAIN IS BETTER THAN EVER
– China (Shenzhen) has the whole chain
– Fast, Affordable, Scalable
MORE FUNDING
– KickStarter (200,000 HW backers!), IndieGoGo
– More VC Angel money

6. LIFE OF A HARDWARE STARTUP

7. FROM CONCEPT TO RETAIL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Concept
Minimum Functional prototype (MFP)
Complete Functional Prototype (CFP)
Design-for-Manufacture (DFM)
First factory run (FFR)
Retail

8. LEAN HARDWARE RULES
“No hardware plan survives contact with a factory”
Cyril Ebersweiler, Founder of HAXLR8R
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Design with the right components
A prototype is ready when it can be manufactured
Your factory is your most important partner
Be memorable
Pick the right business model

9. HARDWARE’S DEATH TRAPS
What is your NVU plan?

10. THE NVU CURVE
If you
others survive i
t,
will en
vy yo
u!
$$
N
V
PROTOTYPING
Founders
Friends
Family
Fools
Accelerators
Angels
PRODUCTION
U
SCALING
Crowdfunding
Sales
POs
Banks
VCs
Pre-orders
Bridge of Dea
th
TIME

11. GOLDEN RULE OF LEAN HARDWARE
GREAT MAKERS SHIP

12. BUILDING WITH CHINA

13. THE APPLE CASE
BEFORE
Asia was cheaper
TODAY
Factories in Asia can scale (up and down) faster
Asian supply chains have surpassed what’s in the U.S.
(Labor cost is a minimal factor)
RESULT
“Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option
for most Apple products.

14. • In Shenzhen (hardware capital of the world)
– Cash + Mentoring
– Components all around to iterate faster
– Source suppliers
– Get ready to manufacture (and crowdfund)
• 29 startups
• 16 crowdfunding campaigns (avg. $250,000)

15. FROM PROTOTYPE TO PRODUCTION
$$
Accelerator program
PROTOTYPING
Founders
Friends
Family
Fools
Accelerators
Angels
PRODUCTION
SCALING
Crowdfunding
Sales
POs
Banks
VCs
Pre-orders
Bridge of Dea
th
TIME

17. HARDWARE IS NOT THE KEY
• Pure hardware is commoditized quickly
• A better way
– Combination HW+ SW
– Strong Positioning (‘a better way to catch mice’)
– High quality, high margins (rather than low cost)
– Lead Mindshare (media + marketing + reviews)
– Timely Financing and Distribution

18. SUMMARY

19. IT’S STILL CALLED HARDWARE FOR A REASON…
• LONGER CYCLES than software
• NO “MVP” (bad ratings will kill you)
• BROADER SKILLSET needed
(electrical + mechanical + software / design /
manufacturing / financing / distribution)
• MORE BARRIERS to reach customers

20. ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
• LEGO was fun, hardware is fun too
• Better ecosystem than ever before
• Less competitive than software
• People pay for things

21. BENJAMIN@HAXLR8R.COM
@BENJAMINJOFFE
APPLY
WWW.HAXLR8R.COM