Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#1

Post by gwintrob » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 5:09 PM UTC

Starting a Hardware Company with $60K
cobattery.com

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#2

Post by jpm_sd » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 5:47 PM UTC

Good effort, but the "battery" part seems like it is still in need of some attention. Developing a good relationship with a reliable cell manufacturer, and staying on top of quality control issues, is going to consume your life.

Also, get UL certified, or you're wasting your time.

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#3

Post by vpontis » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 5:50 PM UTC

jpm_sd wrote: post #2

Good effort, but the "battery" part seems like it is still in need of some attention. Developing a good relationship with a reliable cell manufacturer, and staying on top of quality control issues, is going to consume your life. Also, get UL certified, or you're wasting your time.

Thanks jpm_sd!

So for the battery, we are actually using a modified version of an older Samsung battery (not the Note 7 haha).

That's something that we didn't want to reinvent. So we are working with a factory who has made these batteries in the past.

I didn't include more about the battery in this post. Is that something you'd enjoy reading more about?

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#4

Post by annerajb » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:04 PM UTC

vpontis wrote: post #3

jpm_sd wrote: post #2

Good effort, but the "battery" part seems like it is still in need of some attention. Developing a good relationship with a reliable cell manufacturer, and staying on top of quality control issues, is going to consume your life. Also, get UL certified, or you're wasting your time.

Thanks jpm_sd! So for the battery, we are actually using a modified version of an older Samsung battery (not the Note 7 haha). That's something that we didn't want to reinvent. So we are working with a factory who has made these batteries in the past. I didn't include more about the battery in this post. Is that something you'd enjoy reading more about?

I would!

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#5

Post by nik736 » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:07 PM UTC

Well the idea is obviously OK but it looks really bad in my opinion. Who buys an iPhone and uses this gigantic, bad looking case for day-to-day usage?

How many of those have you sold already?

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#6

Post by AndrewKemendo » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

jpm_sd wrote: post #2

Good effort, but the "battery" part seems like it is still in need of some attention. Developing a good relationship with a reliable cell manufacturer, and staying on top of quality control issues, is going to consume your life. Also, get UL certified, or you're wasting your time.

They aren't building battery technology, they are a phone case company.

They simply need to design around a battery type - preferably one that is cheap and accessible - and let the user go from there. Maybe have the first one included, in which case the deal is just in volume discounts.

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#7

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:09 PM UTC

annerajb wrote: post #4

vpontis wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks jpm_sd! So for the battery, we are actually using a modified version of an older Samsung battery (not the Note 7 haha). That's something that we didn't want to reinvent. So we are working with a factory who has made these batteries in the past. I didn't include more about the battery in this post. Is that something you'd enjoy reading more about?

I would!

[deleted]

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#8

Post by vpontis » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:09 PM UTC

annerajb wrote: post #4

vpontis wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks jpm_sd! So for the battery, we are actually using a modified version of an older Samsung battery (not the Note 7 haha). That's something that we didn't want to reinvent. So we are working with a factory who has made these batteries in the past. I didn't include more about the battery in this post. Is that something you'd enjoy reading more about?

I would!

Sweet! I have some blog posts planned about how we are designing a new charger and our 3D print iteration set up. So I'll think if we have anything else on the battery.

I also wrote up a basic, but goofy, post on "What is a battery": https://cobattery.com/blog/what-is-a-battery

If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at victor@cobattery.com

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#9

Post by vpontis » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #6

jpm_sd wrote: post #2

Good effort, but the "battery" part seems like it is still in need of some attention. Developing a good relationship with a reliable cell manufacturer, and staying on top of quality control issues, is going to consume your life. Also, get UL certified, or you're wasting your time.

They aren't building battery technology, they are a phone case company. They simply need to design around a battery type - preferably one that is cheap and accessible - and let the user go from there. Maybe have the first one included, in which case the deal is just in volume discounts.

We actually include two batteries!

I think that's actually a key part of what makes CoBattery special. The case is designed for battery swapping and when you buy CoBattery you have everything you need to start swapping.

Re: Starting a Hardware Company with $60K

#10

Post by vpontis » Fri, Mar 31, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

Hey everyone, I wrote this post :). I'm happy to see that it's getting some traffic here.

Let me know if y'all have any questions. I would love to see this post help other people start hacking on hardware, so I'll answer anything I can.