Because of recent innovations in prototyping, crowdfunding, marketing, and manufacturing, it has never been easier — or cheaper — to launch a hardware startup than it is now. But while turning a hardware project into a product is now relatively easy, doing it successfully is still hard.
Renee DiResta and Ryan Vinyard, co-authors of The Hardware Startup, recently got together with Solid Conference chair Jon Bruner to discuss the startup landscape in hardware and the IoT, and what entrepreneurs need to know to build their businesses.
DiResta and Vinyard offered practical advice on some of the biggest pitfalls hardware startups face, including: rapid prototyping, pricing your product, making long-term plans for profitability, creating hardware teams (and how they’ll evolve over time), sustainability, where to manufacture (and why), scaling your business, and the “magic whoosh” (when you want to apply it in a start-up — and when you don’t).
All three will also be speaking at next week’s Solid Conference. Check out DiResta’s talk here, Vinyard’s talk here, and Bruner’s talk here.
Here’s a full recording of their conversation:
This conversation is part of our IoT profiles series.