Predictable Designs Podcast

In this episode I answer the following questions:Q1: What PCB design software do you recommend?Q2: How can I ensure that I'm able to sell my product so I don't end up with a warehouse full of unsold inventory?Q3: How can I find a technical co-founder?

In this episode you will learn the truth about prototyping a new product including the various stages and types of prototypes that are needed from idea to mass production.

Do you know which microcontroller is best for your new electronic product? In this episode you will learn about the various microcontrollers available, and how to select the best one for your specific project.

One of the most common questions I get asked is how long does it take to develop a new electronic hardware product and bring it to market?The simple answer is: probably longer than you think. The more accurate answer depends on 3 critical variables which I reveal in this episode.Near the end of this episode I then give you some concrete estimates on how long to expect it to take to develop your new electronic product.

If you are looking to outsource the development of a new product or parts of a new product, then in this episode I'm going to show you how to do it correctly so you end up with a solid design while minimizing your financial risk.

Just about any new electronic product requires some sort of “brains”. The question though is what type of brains does your product really need? There are two choices: a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a microprocessor unit (MPU). In this episode you will discover how to determine which of these processor choices is right for your specific product.

In this episode you will discover how much it costs to both develop and manufacture a new electronic product.

In this episode you will discover how to develop a new electronic product in 15 steps. Download your FREE PDF cheat sheet at https://predictabledesigns.com/15steps

In this episode I share with you 13 of the most common reasons why new hardware products fail. We'll look at three categories of failures including technical, financial, and sales/marketing.Most importantly, you will discover how to prevent these same failures with your own hardware product.

In this podcast episode I share my story about the worst day I experienced bringing my new product to market. I also share my most exciting day, and my most terrifying day. The story goes from my relaxing life in Alaska to presenting my product to executives at a multi-billion dollar company conveniently located at the top of a very intimidating skyscraper.I hope you enjoy it!

In this episode I discuss why it's critical for hardware entrepreneurs to simplify their product in order to successfully bring it to market.

Just about everyone with a new product idea immediately focuses all of their attention and money on getting a patent. But this is a HUGE mistake! In this episode you will learn what you should do instead.

In this episode you will discover 10 serious product design mistakes that I see repeated over and over again in the development of new electronic products. These include specific mistakes with the electronics design and the enclosure design, as well as more general product development 

Discover 10 ways to know if your new hardware product idea is really worth the time and financial investment it takes to get it to market.

There are 3 critical mistakes that I see so many hardware entrepreneurs make over and over again. Not only will you now discover these 3 critical mistakes but you will learn how to avoid making them yourself.

In this episode you will learn a process for validating there is a market ready to buy your new product before you spend the time and money getting it developed.This is a interview/presentation with Ivo Kalburdzhiev who is the founder of Creator Club, and one of the experts available to help you inside our Hardware Academy program.If you prefer to watch the video with all of the presentation slides then you can watch the full video on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-qvBzh6G_A&t=10s

In this episode I compare three different manufacturing strategies for new hardware products: offshore, domestic, and hybrid manufacturing.

Startup incubators and accelerators are two types of programs that support new companies in their early stages of development through mentoring, networking, resources, and funding. In this episode we'll explore the differences between the two and their pros and cons.

I'm going to share with you the four steps I followed to fund my manufacturing, build a global sales team, and successfully sell my product in hundreds of retail stores.See the full article where I share this story: https://predictabledesigns.com/the-4-step-process-i-followed-to-get-my-own-hardware-product-to-market/

Developing a new hardware product is never quick or cheap, but today you'll discover many ways to significantly reduce your cost and time to market.Prefer to read? If so, here is the blog version of this same content: https://predictabledesigns.com/ways-to-get-your-new-hardware-product-to-market-faster-and-cheaper/

There are many steps required to bring a product to market, but ultimately, it all starts with the product idea itself. If you have the wrong product idea, then all the other steps, no matter how well you perform them, won't really matter.Prefer to read? If so, here is the blog version of this same content: https://predictabledesigns.com/12-ways-to-select-the-best-product-idea-to-bring-to-market/

Finding investors and/or co-founders for your startup is never easy, but in this episode you will discover what it takes to get them interested in your project.Be sure to download the Ultimate Guide - How to Develop and Sell Your New Electronic Hardware Product.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I speak with electrical engineer Craig Rettew about how to build an audience for your product when you have no prior online marketing experience.Craig is an amazing electronics engineer (and expert in the Hardware Academy) but he is relatively new to online marketing, but realizes the importance of building an audience for your product as early as possible.

In this episode I continue my conversation with Miguel Hernandez who is the creator of the Palocam which is a remote-control camera that can be driven up metal poles for filming sporting events from above.We discuss how he has been able to drastically simplify his product design based on the feedback he's gotten in the Hardware Academy.  His design simplifications include reducing the number of custom injection molded plastic parts from 18 down to only a couple, and removing a complex, nice-to-have feature that wasn't truly necessary.These simplifications not only will save Miguel tens of thousands of dollars on injection molds, but it also allowed him to reduce his product assembly time by over 500%! And, all of these simplifications significantly lowered his manufacturing cost without any negative impact on the product quality or functionality.We also talk about marketing and crowdfunding in depth including the importance of estimating your costs so you can know how much money you need to raise.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I speak with Hardware Academy member Miguel Hernandez. Miguel is the founder of Palocam which is a remote-controlled camera designed to be driven up metal poles for filming sporting events from above.Miguel has made a lot of great progress and we discuss many topics related to product development, manufacturing, and marketing. The overall theme of this interview is how to get help, collect feedback, and execute quickly.Miguel quickly implemented much of the advice he has gotten in the Academy and has already redesigned his prototype based on this feedback. This redesign drastically reduced his product complexity, manufacturing cost and assembly time. Because Miguel has proven that he can take advice and execute quickly he has also already gotten a very significant investment offer from another Academy member.This is an interview you do not want to miss!

In this episode I answer the questions asked by Miguel Hernandez in a very detailed post from inside the Hardware Academy.  The questions focus on three areas including reducing manufacturing costs, increasing sales, and funding.

In this episode I speak with Fraser Vaage who is the founder of a hardware startup named Snik that is developing a new bicycle security device.Fraser has a lot of marketing experience which is greatly benefiting his new startup. He is also fortunate enough to have as a mentor a mega-entrepreneur who sold his first company to Disney for $350 million.Fraser is also a very active member of the Hardware Academy, and in fact he has recently partnered up with another member who will handle most of the product development while Fraser focuses on the marketing.In our conversation we discuss a variety of topics around hardware startups but we focus especially on the marketing side of the equation.

In this episode I speak again with Dave Millman of SalesDev.Global about the importance of defining milestones for your project. We approach the importance of milestones from the perspective of enticing investors, and for making your project more manageable by breaking it down into bite-size pieces.Dave has decades of experience helping hardware startups and he specializes in helping them find their first customers. He is also one of the experts available to help you inside the Hardware Academy where he has also taught a couple of live workshops.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I'm sharing another one of the lessons from a course in the Hardware Academy. The topic of today's lesson is how to properly define and specify your product.This product definition is not only required for whoever eventually develops your product, but it is also needed in order to estimate your development cost and even your manufacturing cost as soon as possible.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs podcast I'm going to share with you various ways you can validate your product idea before you begin spending serious money to develop and prototype it. This is a critical early step that way too many entrepreneurs skip entirely or rush past.

In this episode I speak with Charles Lin of TechDesign where we discuss supply chains and manufacturing in Asia.We discuss everything from how to pick the best suppliers, understanding the supplier's mindset, advantages of manufacturing in Taiwan, and we finish up with a discussion on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on manufacturing.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I speak with Roberto Weiser of Developpa. Roberto is an electronics engineer that started work in the corporate world but wanted more freedom. So he left his life in a cubicle to became a full-time freelance engineer.Eventually, he decided to develop his own product which is a low-cost air purifier. Roberto faced some unique challenges being located and selling in a foreign country (Thailand). He also faced various other unique challenges that required him to be adaptable in order to deliver his product as promised.This is a great episode with tons of great lessons learned that you don't want to miss!

In this week's episode I speak again with hardware entrepreneur Wayne Frick of ChirpSounds about some of the hard earned lessons he learned getting his product to the current stage.My conversation with Wayne lasted nearly 1.5 hours so I split it up into two episodes. This episode includes the second half of our conversation as we continue to review Wayne's list of lessons he learned. See episode #21 for the first part of our conversation.See the show notes for this episode which includes the full transcript available for download.The Predictable Designs Podcast is sponsored by the Hardware Academy.

In my podcast today I speak with hardware entrepreneur Wayne Frick of ChirpSounds. I've worked with Wayne for a couple of years now and he was also one of the first members in the Hardware Academy.Wayne has made a lot of progress with his product but it's also been a bumpy road for him to get to where he is now. He was generous enough to want to come onto my podcast to share some of the lessons he's learned along the way.My conversation with Wayne lasted nearly an hour and a half. We really went in depth into lots of different aspects of building a successful hardware startup. So I've split up our conversation into two bite size pieces. This podcast episode includes the first half of our conversation, and I will be publishing the second half for next week's podcast episode.

In this episode I speak with Dave Millman of SalesDev.Global about some of the various aspects of bringing a new hardware product to market that are most commonly underestimated by hardware startups.Dave has decades of experience helping hardware startups and he specializes in helping them find their first customers. He is also one of the experts available to help you inside the Hardware Academy and he has even taught a couple of live workshops.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I discuss the importance of finding a technical advisor, and how critical it is to get help upfront to simplify your product.I share a couple of stories to highlight the importance of simplifying your product. One story is about an entrepreneur that likely saved at least $50,000 by eliminating one secondary feature of his product. The second story showcases another entrepreneur that greatly simplified his product development by changing one feature specification.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast the topic is all about development costs for hardware products.I'm going to start by giving you some cost ranges for the different strategies of developing a product. Then we'll hone in on tips and strategies for those of you that don't have the technical skills to do a lot of the development yourself but also have very limited finances to be able to outsource it.

In this episode I discuss 6 different product development strategies. Which strategy is best for you will depend on several variables including your skills, how much money you have to spend, the complexity of your product, and how fast you need to get the product to market.Strategy #1: Do the product design yourselfStrategy #2: Design only the early prototype yourselfStrategy #3: Find a technical co-founderStrategy #4: Hire freelance developersStrategy #5: Hire a development firmStrategy #6: Partner with a manufacturer

In this episode I mix things up a bit by answering 3 questions asked by members of my Hardware Academy. The first question is about outsourcing the activities you can't do yourself. The second question is about pricing your product for different distribution channels. The third question is about how much it costs to get a new product to market.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I speak with Mike Morena and Shawn Litingtun about how to evaluate suppliers and manufacturers.Mike Morena started a successful medical device company called AdhereTech back in 2012 who’s core product is a smart bottle that helps to insure patients take their medicine on schedule. The product is now used by tens of thousands of patients.Mike is also a mechanical engineer with massive experience working with manufacturers and suppliers.Also on the call today is Shawn Litingtun. Shawn is an electrical engineer, who happens to be one of the best electronics designers I’ve ever worked with.In the past, Shawn worked for both Compaq computer and Blackberry, and now he does full-time consulting. In addition to electronics design, Shawn also has a lot of experience evaluating suppliers.

In this episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I speak with Steve Szymeczek from Penumbra Engineering. Steve is a mechanical engineer that specializes in 3D printing and additive manufacturing.In our call we discuss the pros and cons of additive manufacturing compared to the more traditional injection molding process. Although many people consider additive manufacturing to be the future of plastics manufacturing, we look at the practical uses now for low to medium levels of production.

In this episode I speak with Joshua Hsu who is a co-founder of a hardware startup named Introhm that is developing a fitness product.In our call we discuss a wide variety of topics including prototyping, product validation, patents, fundraising, marketing, and sales.

In this episode I speak again with Dave Millman of BizDev.Global. This time we discuss some hardware startup horror stories and how to avoid the same outcomes for your own startup.Dave has decades of experience helping hardware startups and he specializes in helping them find their first customers. He was originally my guest back in episode #2, and he has also taught a couple of live workshops inside my Hardware Academy program.

In this episode I speak with Scott Miller who is a mechanical engineer and the founder and CEO of Dragon Innovation. Dragon Innovation specializes in helping hardware startups transition from the prototype stage to mass manufacturing in China. They are well known for helping successful hardware startups such as Pebble and Ring.Scott is also a partner at Bolt which is an early stage investment company that focuses specifically on hardware products.Scott and I discuss his experiences working with Pebble, his story about Dragon being bought by a multi-billion dollar company, the biggest challenges of transitioning manufacturing to China, tips for designing a product for manufacturing, and his suggestions when seeking professional investors, and so much more.

In this episode I speak with Duane Benson from Screaming Circuits which is a PCB assembly company located in the U.S. in Oregon that produces both prototypes and small volume production runs. Duane and I discuss the process of manufacturing assembled PCBs, how to ensure their quality, the infeasibility of at-home PCB prototyping, and then we review various Design for Manufacturing (DFM) tips to help make your project go more smoothly.

My guest for this episode is Marty Zwilling of Startup Professionals. Marty has been involved with startups for many years even working with Bill Gates in the early days. He’s now a consultant and angel investor. We’re going to be discussing business plans, getting investors, the pros and cons of patents, and much more.

In today’s episode I’m continuing my conversation with hardware entrepreneur Allen Walton of SpyGuy.com. Allen successfully brought his new hardware product called the Scout to market in only about one year.My conversation with Allen was so valuable that we talked for nearly two hours. So I’ve split up my conversation with Allen into two podcast episodes.In part one we spoke about his experiences of starting with an eCommerce store selling products of the same category as the Scout. We also discussed the boost he received from appearing on the Tim Ferriss Podcast, the pros and cons of being a non-technical founder, the advantages of competition, trademarks, patents, online marketing, and more.Now in part two we discuss the pros and cons of selling on Amazon, prototyping, development, the transition to manufacturing, and lessons learned.

In this episode I’m speaking with hardware entrepreneur Allen Walton of SpyGuy.com. Allen successfully brought his new hardware product called the Scout to market in only about one year.Allen has taken a rather unique path to market with his new product that has given him a big advantage. We’ll get into all of the details in my interview where we discuss all things from product validation, to development, to manufacturing, and to marketing and sales.This is a value loaded interview. In fact, Allen had so much great information to share that our conversation lasted for nearly two hours. So my interview with Allen will actually be split into two episodes with part two releasing next week.

In this episode I speak with Nick Frank who is the founder of Knectiv, a company based in Austin Texas that offers product design services as well as manufacturing in China.

In this episode I speak with hardware entrepreneur, Erik Hunter of InD Creation. Erik successfully raised over $40,000 in a recent Kickstarter campaign for his frozen fish food feeder product. We discuss both his experiences with crowdfunding and strategies for developing and manufacturing his product.

In this episode we discuss the advantages and challenges of manufacturing electronic hardware products in China and Taiwan. I interview Case Engelen who founded a company in Taiwan called Titoma which specializes manufacturing electronic hardware products.