From Crowdfunding to Development and Manufacturing with Erik Hunter of InD Creation

Predictable Designs Podcast · 27 Jan 2020 · 49m · Episode 5

What this episode covers

Erik Hunter, founder of InD Creation, discusses his journey from a non-technical aquarium hobbyist to launching a Kickstarter campaign for a frozen fish food feeder. He details his use of a Prusa MK3S 3D printer and TinkerCAD for rapid prototyping, and an Arduino-based controller developed by his brother, to create a functional proof-of-concept. Hunter explains how he bypassed expensive marketing agencies to build an audience via social media and forums, successfully raising over $40,000 to validate market interest and fund the transition to professional manufacturing with Connective.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Builder Circle · 55m

    S3 E7: Building Bootstrapped Hardware That Sells with Christian Reed

    Christian Reed, CEO of Reekon Tools, explains how he bootstrapped the company from a side project to an 8-figure business without VC funding, validating the idea with a $1.2M Kickstarter campaign. He details the manufacturing lessons learned at Formlabs, including how a supplier's factory fire forced a mid-cycle component swap, and describes building a 3M+ social media following through consistent, raw content creation. Reed emphasizes the importance of engineers thinking like entrepreneurs, focusing on product benefits and brand building rather than just invention.

  • Making It · 1h 01m

    Episode 204: The Maker Knife with Giaco Whatever

    Giaco Whatever, founder of Third Coast Craftsman, discusses the design, manufacturing, and crowdfunding of the Maker Knife with hosts Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto. Giaco explains how he used 3D printing for early prototypes and EDM machining in China for production, while detailing the stress of fulfilling pre-orders and his strategy for future products. The conversation also covers Giaco's acquisition of a large factory via foreclosure auction and his approach to building a sustainable, creator-led business without external investors.

  • Product Startup · 12m

    001: Inventing and DIY Product Development

    Filip Valica, founder of The Product Startup and host of the Product Startup podcast, explains why the current era is ideal for DIY product development. He highlights key enablers including access to consumer data, affordable rapid prototyping technologies like 3D printing and Arduino, and simplified design tools such as SketchUp and TinkerCAD. Valica also discusses the impact of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and simplified e-commerce infrastructure including Shopify, Stripe, and online brokers like Alibaba.

  • Thoroughly Considered · 27m

    16: 3,841

    Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt of Studio Neat discuss their highly successful Kickstarter campaign for the Glyph 2, which raised $176,000 from 3,841 backers. They explain that the product's success stems from its familiarity and the brand's existing audience, allowing them to utilize cost-effective injection molding at scale. The founders detail their manufacturing strategy with partner Premiere Source, noting how higher volumes justify the tooling costs and enable better quality control for components like the wood handle. They also reflect on how the campaign's success validates their strategy of serving their core photography audience rather than spreading too horizontally.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 10m

    186: Sleeping on the Factory Floor

    Indrek Rebane, CTO of Build It Hardware Accelerator and engineer at Hedgehog Engineering, discusses the realities of building physical products, from garage prototypes to mass production. He explains why Arduino-based prototypes often fail in manufacturing due to cost, reliability, and component availability issues, and emphasizes the importance of user testing and finding product-market fit before scaling. Rebane also shares insights on the Estonian tech ecosystem, the Garage48 Hardware & Arts hackathon, and the critical need for founders to avoid 'stupid money' and focus on making what customers actually want.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Predictable Designs Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.