41–50 of 163 posts
Reminds me of this quote:
"As a designer, this is hard to admit: Extremely beautiful design is a negative warning signal for startup success. (70%+ accuracy.)"
https://twitter.com/dcurtis/status/571082598920925187
So, so true. Also, I've long noticed that startups who call themselves beautiful on their front page seem 99% bound to fail. Noticeably higher failure rate.
That really IS a nice pitch deck.
Can you (or someone else) provide a mirror? The public Dropbox links are no longer functional due to generating too much traffic...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B95cJ2uw4oQlSm5rSTEwU0NZLUk...
Mirror for the pitch deck? Looks like Dropbox is 429'ing it.
There are some questions about the deal we secured to return our investors' money. Without going into the specifics, I can say it was essentially an acquihire. I'm going to another company, and part of that deal allows me to repay our investors in full.
Just wanted to ask how common is it to return money to VC's? Or how is this any different than a bank loan, If the VC doesn't shoulder the risks that come with these kind of projects I wonder what is the value they add. People might as well borrow the money on loan.
"Having previously raised $250,000 from friends & family" I cant imagine any of my friends or family being able to give me a quarter million.
That really IS a nice pitch deck.
That really IS a nice pitch deck.
The idea is interesting, but I think the technology isn't there for scalability (need of better 3D printers like the OP said). Just allowing me to customize a radio (do people still buy radios? I'm curious) isn't of incredible value right now. I'd wager that "custom drones" would have been a more successful start point, but scalability would have been a problem.
http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/
Or maybe seeed studios is reminiscent of what they're aiming for.
The more advanced part being assembly and the like, plus coupling with suppliers.
I can only imagine how entertaining the customer support would be for something like that. FPE has it easy, whip out the digital dial calipers and is there, or is there not a 2.54 mm hole there or not, customer support is just simple yes no QA work, whereas debugging someone else's electronics design is not for the faint of heart.
Think of it like print on demand for books. Somebody PODs a "Complete genealogy of the Towne family in colonial Massachusetts" and puts it in the background photo of the pitch deck and the point isn't that almost nobody is interested in that topic, but that everyone who isn't hopelessly boring has something to make, whatever it is.
Should have focused on a specific sub-market at first, used it to proof-out internal tools and design->front door delivery processes, show the potential. Something boutique-ish but simple, maybe a few internal configurables, that could use customization. Like headphone amplifiers (since headphones are becoming like fashion accessories). Or e-ink pens.
It would be tough to startup the first ever disruptive retail car parts store if you focused deeply on parts for a '98 Saturn, however convenient it would be for a couple people. You'd have to make sure you focused deeply on ... How bout sparkplugs? Every spark plug commercially available today. It probably sounds insane, but there's a successful chain that theoretically sells nothing but batteries. This was actually pretty easy to focus. I think their project was immensely harder to focus. I think it would be extremely challenging to narrow their market yet still have more than a handful of customers.