14. 5 THINGS WE LEARNED
with 30 startups at HAXLR8R
(and investing in some more)
#LEANHW
15. “Some components seemed totally commoditized
yet turned out to be difficult to source. So we had
to replace them and re-design our circuit board
during the sourcing process.”
Zach Supalla (founder of Spark.io)
RULE #1
DESIGN WITH THE RIGHT
COMPONENTS
#LEANHW
$575K
16. “Visiting a factory in person early
in the design process brings better design results.
Their engineers can open up new possibilities.
Design with your factory.”
- Bunnie Huang (hacker of the Xbox)
$550K
RULE #2
A PROTOTYPE IS READY
WHEN IT CAN BE MANUFACTURED
#LEANHW
17. $580K
let’s cook better
“Not every product can be made in a toy factory.
Your factory will make or break you, so pick wisely.
Do not have a third party between you and your key suppliers.”
Zach ‘Hoeken’ Smith (founder of Makerbot)
RULE #3
YOUR FACTORY IS YOUR
MOST IMPORTANT PARTNER
#LEANHW
18. “If you think that brand is as simple as hiring an
agency to create your logo, you have a very long
road ahead of you. The first step is understanding
that brand is everything you represent.”
Marc Barros (founder of Contour)
RULE #4
BE MEMORABLE
#LEANHW
$291K
19. “The truth is that if your business model
is purely hardware sales today,
your business is essentially over.”
Jay Goldberg (Venturebeat)
$130K
Fantasy comes to life
RULE #5
PICK THE RIGHT
BUSINESS MODEL(S)
#LEANHW
20. It used to be made in Shenzhen
Now it is designed with Shenzhen