# 178: Venture Capital Funding for Hardware Startups

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2023-06-01
- Length: 20m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/

## Summary

Toph Day, CEO of Elevate Ventures, shares advice for hardware startups on navigating venture capital funding, emphasizing the importance of clean legal structures and avoiding complex SAFE agreements in favor of convertible notes. He discusses the necessity of building relationships with investors a year in advance and ensuring the firm invests in hard tech at the appropriate stage. Day also highlights the strategic value of partnerships over early hiring and the danger of feature creep, advocating for a 'narrow and deep' product focus to de-risk the development process.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=0) Introduction and Toph Day's Background
- [2:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=174) Understanding Venture Capital Rigor and Timing
- [4:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=278) Legal Structure: Avoiding SAFE Complexity
- [9:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=570) Market Validation and Pricing Strategy
- [10:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=605) The Power of Partnerships and Narrow Focus
- [13:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=820) Hardware vs. Software: Quality and MVP
- [17:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-06-01-178-venture-capital-funding-for-hardware-startups#t=1025) Rally Innovation Conference Overview

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Elevate Ventures (company)
- Mako Design + Invent (company)
- Rally (other)
- Under Armour (company)
- Fibu (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [S1 E7: Level Up Your Hardware Product Pitch with Haje Kamps](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-06-27-s1-e7-level-up-your-hardware-product-pitch-with-haje-kamps) (The Builder Circle)
- [Deep Tech Investing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-08-02-deep-tech-investing) (Oxide and Friends)
- [S3 E4: An Impact Hardware VC's Playbook with Carlota Ochoa from Extentia](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2025-11-11-s3-e4-an-impact-hardware-vcs-playbook-with-carlota-ochoa-from-extentia) (The Builder Circle)
- [An Interview with Avidan Ross](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-12-16-an-interview-with-avidan-ross) (The Amp Hour)
- [S1 E9: Building a Strong Capital Stack for a Hardware Product with Orin Hoffman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-07-25-s1-e9-building-a-strong-capital-stack-for-a-hardware-product-with-orin-hoffman) (The Builder Circle)

## Citing this page

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