I'm the Director of Hardware at Y Combinator, and we have awesome companies in our current batch running crowdfunding campaigns. Ask their founders anything!
Participating will be the founders of Tovala, Soundboks, Enflux, and Hykso.
Also joining me will be Philip Winter, CEO of Nebia, from our most recent batch.
Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
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Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#2At what stage should your product be before you launch your campaign?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#3What 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?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#4Did you make your own videos or work with a video production company?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#5What do I do if I need to use another company's patent in my product? How do I approach the situation/negotiation?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#6Did you have experience in hardware before this? Do you think that experience building hardware products is a pre-requisite to starting a hardware company?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#7At what stage should your product be before you launch your campaign?
I think it depends a lot on the product. If you ask @liseman or Kevin Hale they'll say launch NOW! That was the advice we got. :) In all seriousness I think you obviously need a working prototype, and clear validation that people like your product! Most importantly you should know what it's going to entail to deliver on your promise.
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#8What strategies did you use to get the word out about your campaign?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#9Thanks 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?
Re: Ask Us Anything: Y Combinator Hardware Companies Crowdfunding
#10Did you make your own videos or work with a video production company?
We made our own storyboard, Carlos, my co-founder is very creative and a good storyteller so he crafted the arch of the video. We studied Nancy Duarte's stuff. We worked very closely with our videographer who also put his heart and soul into it. In short, storyboard/script in-house, filming/editing outsourced.