Hardware PrototypesA bit about

@BoltBoston

Ben Einstein | Managing Director | Bolt@BenEinstein

Helping Hardware Startups

Established Model

Design

Prototype

Scale {first run}

StartupsAre far more fun than fortune 500s

{

Turns out

}

On to THE PrototypesOkay, enough already

Helping Hardware Startups

What do you want to learn?

The most important question to ask

Just like with software/web:

Speed, Speed, Speed

How?

Helping Hardware Startups

I know!

Let’s Hire

Helping Hardware Startups

I know!

Let’s Hire

Helping Hardware Startups

Stages of PrototypesPOC

Looks/Works like

DFM/DFA

Pre-Production/Functional

Proof-of-concept

Verification test prototypes

“Final”

Design for...

A small subset of

Helping Hardware Startups

Proof-of-Concept

POC

POC

POC

POC

Helping Hardware Startups

Looks & Works Like

LOOKS

LOOKS

renshape

LOOKS

LOOKS

Works

Works

Works

WORKS

Works

Helping Hardware Startups

Design for X

DFM

DFA

Functional

Functional

Functional

Time to Scale!This sucks

Helping Hardware Startups

The

Uncanny Valley

# of Units Built

1 100 1k 10k 100k

Ease

of M

anuf

actu

ring

‘Easy’

Shitty

Helping Hardware Startups

The

Uncanny Valley

# of Units Built

1 100 1k 10k 100k

Ease

of M

anuf

actu

ring

‘Easy’

Shitty

Exactly where you want to be for your first production run

MOQ ~5k

Jigs/Fixtures =

Your best Friends

Don’t Do

This !

(Unless you really, really

Have to)

Helping Hardware Startups

I’m not an EE, but

PCB Fab

Helping Hardware Startups

Typically

~3 Components Drive Cost

Helping Hardware Startups

I’m not an EE, but

PCB Fab

if you have firmware, talk to experts about

MCU selection

Helping Hardware Startups

I’m a bit biased, but the

Best Thing You Can Do:

Helping Hardware StartupsHelping Hardware Startups

Happy to Help Anyone!On the webwww.bolt.io

Via emailinfo@bolt.io

On Twitter@BoltBoston

Helping Hardware Startups

Product Design

Firm

Product Design

Firm

Venture Capital FIRM

Product Design

Firm

Venture Capital FIRM

Manufacturing Support

Helping Hardware StartupsHelping Hardware Startups

World-class experts that have shipped tens of millions of units1 Expert Staff

Product Design & Development

Ben EinsteinManufacturing

Scott MILLERVenture Capital & Operations

Axel Bichara

Mechanical EngineerING Electrical EngineerING Industrial Design PROGRAM ManagerPrototype EngineerING

Helping Hardware StartupsHelping Hardware Startups

2 High-End prototyping ShopAll the tools startups need to build fantastic functional prototypes

Helping Hardware StartupsHelping Hardware Startups

3 Cash & DiscountsTo make getting to market more cost-effective

Cash

protomold

Deep Discounts Lines of Credit

Helping Hardware StartupsHelping Hardware Startups

4 ManufacturingGet help scaling production

DFM/A • RFQs • CM Selection • BOM refinement Logistics • Quality

Helping Hardware StartupsHelping Hardware Startups

5 CommercializationGet to customers the right way

Venture Capital Crowdfunding Retail/buyers

‣ Extensive help with raising follow-on financing

‣ Strong relationships with hardware-friendly follow-on angel and institutional investors

‣ Strategy, planning and custom financing plan development

‣ Deep experience with working with crowd funding platforms for early customer validation

‣ Planning, estimation and marketing

‣ Smooth handoff to manufacturing at scale after successful campaign

‣ Distribution support for retail interaction for B2C companies (including deep relationships with buyers)

‣ Help with modern retail scaling (direct, e-tailer, speciality, and big box)

‣ Extensive support for B2B go-to-market