Hardware Podcasts

6 Strategies to Get Your Product Developed

Predictable Designs Podcast · 4 May 2020 · 25m · Episode 17

What this episode covers

John Teel, host of the Predictable Designs podcast, outlines six strategies for developing electronic hardware products, ranging from doing it all yourself to partnering with manufacturers. He evaluates each approach based on the founder's technical skills, budget, product complexity, and time-to-market requirements, highlighting the trade-offs between cost, control, and equity. Teel emphasizes that while hiring a design firm offers project management relief, it is expensive and may alienate investors, whereas partnering with a manufacturer like those on Alibaba can accelerate development for incremental innovations but carries IP risks.

Most relevant to

founders before launch

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Predictable Designs, Hardware Academy, Upwork, Guru

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Product Startup · 27m

    216: 5 Key Tips For Starting Your Product Development Journey

    Wade Harmidy, a Six Sigma Black Belt project manager at MAKO Design + Invent, outlines five critical strategies for hardware startups to increase their chances of success during the early product development phase. He emphasizes the importance of defining a clear product vision, understanding the end user, and adhering to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) principles to reduce waste and accelerate time to market. Harmidy also stresses the necessity of setting realistic timelines to avoid cutting corners and planning for the big picture, including manufacturing and business goals, from the outset.

    Validation & product-market fitDesign for manufacturing & NPI
    6 chapters

  • Being an Engineer · 22m

    S2E51 The Hardware Academy | John Teel

    John Teel, founder of Predictable Designs and The Hardware Academy, explains his platform which bridges electronics engineering and entrepreneurship for hardware startups. He details the academy's tiered subscription model, ranging from $49 to $249 per month, offering courses on PCB design, power management, and go-to-market strategy. Teel draws on his 15 years at Texas Instruments and his experience launching a consumer lighting product to advise engineers on avoiding the common pitfall of ignoring customer validation until after development.

    Validation & product-market fitStarting a product company
    8 chapters

  • Being an Engineer · 50m

    S2E37 Defied the odds: A Physical Product Development Firm That Focuses on Startups & Small Businesses, Mako Design + Invent –Kevin Mako

    Kevin Mako, Founder of Mako Design + Invent, explains how his firm supports hardware startups and small manufacturers by guiding products from initial concept to first production run. He details the financial journey for inventors, emphasizing the use of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to bridge the gap between prototyping and manufacturing, while advising on the importance of a 'Smart Minimum Viable Product' (SMVP) to manage complexity and cost. Mako also discusses his company's strict ethical policy of never taking equity in client products to avoid conflicts of interest, and highlights the role of his podcast, The Product Startup, in educating the hardware community.

    Crowdfunding & preordersValidation & product-market fit
    10 chapters

  • It's Only a Prototype · 5m

    Introducing: It's only a Prototype Podcast

    Phil Staunton, founder of product design consultancy D2M, and co-host Tom Constable introduce the 'It's Only a Prototype' podcast, which explores the messy realities of launching physical products. Staunton draws on 15 years of experience and his own failed product launch to highlight the high failure rate of hardware ventures, noting that even top investors see only one in ten successes. The hosts outline key upcoming topics, including re-shoring manufacturing from China, handling intellectual property issues, and dealing with cheap imitations.

    Starting a product companyManufacturing partners & offshoring
    6 chapters

  • The Spark Gap · 1h 32m

    The Spark Gap - Episode 52

    Hosts Carl and Corey discuss the strategic transition from using development kits to custom hardware designs. They analyze the risks of supply chain dependency, the importance of selecting dev kits based on final product requirements rather than convenience, and the software implications of hardware abstraction layers. The conversation also covers practical advice for first-time PCB designers, including managing power supplies and simplifying assembly processes.

    Microcontrollers & dev platformsPCB design & layout
    7 chapters

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.