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What do I do if I need to use another company's patent in my product? How do I approach the situation/negotiation?
What strategies did you use to get the word out about your campaign?
What are the pros and cons of crowdfunding, vs. self-funding, vs. VC-funding for a hardware startup? When should I be using which sort of funding?
Crowdfunding: Pros --> Big platform that you can piggyback on; somewhat well-understood form of funding; can leverage to build a brand Cons --> Less control over your brand and your message (e.g. hard to A/B test); commission
Self-funding Pros --> Complete control over your website, message, brand, etc. Can offer whatever incentives you want. Cons --> Harder to get the word out, generate press, access early adopters
VC funding --> This is important should you want to build a high-growth business and avoid the pitfalls of a lot of Kickstarter campaign. We've supplemented our Kickstarter campaign with VC funding and used crowdfunding as a means to get early adopters, build our brand and fund our first production run.
Thanks for doing this! How do I get started with hardware? I'm a software engineer trying to break into the hardware field. What resources can you recommend for someone in my shoes?
Did you have experience in hardware before this? Do you think that experience building hardware products is a pre-requisite to starting a hardware company?
Experience helps, but as in most endeavors, is not required. You gain experience by doing.
The most important thing you can do is get started and figure it out as you go.
When is the right time/scale to start knocking doors to find partners at schenzen?