Predictable Designs Podcast

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.

In this episode I talk with new hardware entrepreneur Kris Christopher, founder of Grow Nanny which is a hardware startup that is developing indoor gardening products with an ultimate goal to help feed the world.

Before founding his hardware startup Kris was a truck driver for Pepsi, so he had no experience with technology development especially with hardware design. Since coming up with his product idea to help feed the world, Kris has been incredibly motivated and has taught himself a good amount about both software and hardware development.

Fortunately Kris isn't making the common mistake of hiding away from the world while he develops his product. Instead, he is reaching out to as many experts as possible to help get feedback and guide him along the best path to market. In addition to seeking out consulting and coaching from me, Kris has also been actively meeting with various professional investors, and attending lots of entrepreneur meetups.

If you're a hardware startup founder without any product development experience, this interview will show you that it is possible for you to succeed in hardware, if you are willing to learn and seek out help when needed.

In this episode I talk with Dave Millman of BizDev Global who specializes in helping hardware startups find their first customers. Today, we'll be discussing 5 of the biggest mistakes that hardware startups make when it comes to customers.

Dave is an expert with decades of experience helping tech startups find customers. He even had the opportunity to work with Steve Wozniak on a new product that he developed after first leaving Apple.

As we discuss in great detail, way too many entrepreneurs begin their hardware product journey by completely ignoring the customer. The typical entrepreneur starts with the product, and then eventually works toward the customer after development is nearly complete. This is backwards. For real success, it is critical that you first begin with the customer and then work with them toward the product.

This is a much smarter strategy than spending months or years, and likely thousands of dollars, developing a new product without starting with the customer. The biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make is they assume that they really know what other people want. Incorrect assumptions like this are the death for many hardware startups.

In this interview Dave shares five of the biggest mistakes he sees hardware startups make when it comes to customers. This is a interview you will not want to miss!

In this first episode of the Predictable Designs Podcast I speak with Michael Morena, co-founder of AdhereTech which is a startup that manufacturers and sells a medication adherence hardware product to large pharmaceutical companies. The AdhereTech smart pill bottle device is currently used by tens of thousands of patients.

In my interview with Mike he shares many of the lessons he learned and challenges he faced developing the product, pitching it to large pharmaceutical companies, and finding a world-class manufacturer. Fortunately, Mike had two other co-founders which helped to split up the various tasks, so we discuss the benefits of having a founder team with complimentary skills.

The business model that AdhereTech uses is really quite beautiful. They don’t just sell a one-time hardware product, instead they collect a recurring revenue for the back-end services that are included with their product. Mike shares how this recurring revenue was really helpful in their fundraising efforts.

This an interview you do not want to miss!

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.