# 216: 5 Key Tips For Starting Your Product Development Journey

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2024-03-11
- Length: 27m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/podcast/216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey/

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey#t=0) Introduction and Wade Harmidy's Background
- [4:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey#t=247) Tip 1: Defining a Clear Product Vision
- [9:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey#t=572) Tip 2: Considering the End User and Use Case
- [11:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey#t=687) Tip 3: Understanding MVP Design for Hardware
- [17:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey#t=1067) Tip 4: Setting Realistic Timelines and Avoiding Corner Cutting
- [21:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-03-11-216-5-key-tips-for-starting-your-product-development-journey#t=1283) Tip 5: Planning for the Big Picture and Business Goals

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch

## Mentioned

- MAKO Design + Invent (company)
- Six Sigma Black Belt (other)
- Lean Startup (other)
- Eric Rice (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [S2E37 Defied the odds:  A Physical Product Development Firm That Focuses on Startups & Small Businesses, Mako Design + Invent –Kevin Mako](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-08-23-s2e37-defied-the-odds-a-physical-product-development-firm-that-focuses-on-startu) (Being an Engineer)
- [Hardware Entrepreneurs: 3 Critical Mistakes You Must Avoid](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2022-06-21-hardware-entrepreneurs-3-critical-mistakes-you-must-avoid) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [IDology #11 - Most common mistakes in product development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/idology/2023-03-28-idology-11-most-common-mistakes-in-product-development) (IDology)
- [Why You Must Simplify Your Product to Succeed](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2022-07-19-why-you-must-simplify-your-product-to-succeed) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [#066 - How to apply lean startup principles to hardware, with Ash Maurya of Leanstack, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2019-01-16-066-how-to-apply-lean-startup-principles-to-hardware-with-ash-maurya-of-leanstac) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)

## Citing this page

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