71–80 of 464 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Than what? It's slightly slower than starting an airline or just making a giant money bonfire.
Compare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Qu...
All OP will have afterwards is a bunch of unsold toasters and a newfound appreciation for bankruptcy protection.
>I also love learning about mechanical engineering and manufacturing, but have never actually tried making anything. I strongly recommend you hire professionals for this. I've worked as a Product Manager for physical products. There is a gulf of knowledge between designing something in CAD and designing something that will endure the rigors of toasting for 20 years. The previous sentence doesn't even cover the gulf o…
Yes I'm very interested in that idea too. One thing I think is vital is to separate the UI and any smart features from the rest of the device. For example, cheap induction cookers have a single mcu which has the code for running the induction heater, and also runs the UI, with just a cheap display/button board as the physical interface.
This mcu package seems to be at the heart of a huge number of brands, which are all then stuck with the same terrible UI. If the ui was running on it's own mcu, talking spi or whatever to the main controller, makers could differentiate with their own UIs. And hackers could hack.
I think that a toaster is a good place to start!
Improve these so they will work on kitchen stoves and toast a custom logo or message on the bread.
With a decent marketing campaign you could probably buy these Wholesale, modify them slightly and resell for 2 to 3 times the price.
Have you looked at other high quality toaster makers abroad? Dualit is in the UK and has been manufacturing high quality, hand built toaster for a long time, but most consumers would balk at the prices they ask for their appliances and I doubt you as a startup would be able to manufacture a toaster any cheaper. https://www.dualit.com/collections/classic-toasters https://www.dualit.com/collections/spares Frankly, I do…
The incredibly loud mechanical timer drove us all nuts. We always forgot to change the heating element (#slices) selector, so invariably ended up with one uncooked piece of bread. The pop up function is beefy but difficult to get escape velocity on small items. They eventually ditched it and went back to a £20 long slice Cookworks from Argos. They still have the Aga (also bloody annoying).
I think you are greatly over-estimating how many people would be willing to pay the cost of a North American made toaster. This would require an absolute ton of capital to do it on anything above a craft scale. The challenges of design, testing, certification (very important for a device that could burn your house down), manufacturing, supply chain, and support that are all specialized careers in themselves. I've got…
The is a reason why LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) is one of the most successful and valuable companies in the world.
I'm not saying it's easy. Any business endeavor, regardless of product market fit, still requires execution. Easier said than done, but many an entrepreneur has proven their critics wrong.
Americans are known for their willingness to take business risk and fail then pick themselves up and try again. Makes life exciting and worth living.
But that said, I'm not going to buy "American Made" just because it is, i'm going to buy "Quality Made" and if it happens to be a domestic manufacturer than all the better!
I've had a similar idea, except in addition to toasters, it's midsize pickup trucks, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers... What I've found is that regulations make it impossible to sell simple machines, labor costs make it impossible to compete on price, lawyers make it impossible to go to market without being sued, and consumers who say they want reliable, well-made goods will balk and buy cheap stuff en masse wh…
Among your examples I think this one is interesting.
Speed Queen is regarded as among the best washing machines + dryers and they are made in the US. They are extremely well built, they feel really sturdy to use and also are known for being extremely reliable.
I guess what I'm imagining is the Speed Queen of toasters..
https://a.co/d/2g7cOrc folding Camp stove toaster Improve these so they will work on kitchen stoves and toast a custom logo or message on the bread. With a decent marketing campaign you could probably buy these Wholesale, modify them slightly and resell for 2 to 3 times the price.
This wire bender looks fairly easy to make would work well to make custom logos or messages.
OK now I'm starting to think we live in the matrix - I've spend the last 24 hours (unemployed currently, you see) looking at toasters and designs, with the same idea. And because my toaster just broke. The state of toasters seems quite dire. Most are basically the same mechanism internally with different style covers. Some quick learnings/thoughts: - why are they open at the top? Some expensive Japanese toasters are…
If you didn't make the biga, poolish, or starter, it's not really bread. It’s just processed wheat product.