SlideShare a Scribd company logo
Client Confidential
Hardware Startups 101
for “Career Engineers”
March 2014 to NES-OSA
Gregg Favalora
CTO – VisionScope Technologies, LLC
Favalora@gmail.com
Visit http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
for links to the cited meeting calendars,
pitch deck fundamentals, books, etc.
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course
• What will you learn tonight?
• Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market
• Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of
Tripods”
• The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.)
Affordable Manufacturability
Patents
Admin /
Legal
Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes
Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies
Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev)
Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales
Attracting and Retaining Talent
Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course
• What will you learn tonight?
• Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market
• Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of
Tripods”
• The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
A Company’s Lifecycle [Ideal versus actuals]
Startup
Profitable
M&A or
IPO
“Lifestyle Business”
Dissolution
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
You Can’t Predict the Ride’s Result or Duration
10
Actuality
Systems
Actuality
Medical
Series A
$1.5M
Note
$0.8M
Series B
$3M
Series C
$6.5M
Notes
$2.5M
1997 2004 2009
PerspectaRad
Acquisition
By OFH
Sold
Patents
2011
Vision
Scope
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
1997 – 1999: *Huge* initial struggle for $$
Persisted tenaciously...
ka-ching!
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
2000 – 2004 – Actually, a ton of fun
• 6 full-time employees
• Tiny office in Reading (128)
• Engineering
• Ship betas & product
• Rounds of funding
• Winning awards, getting grants
& customers
• Bringing in seasoned exec team
• ...a whole new set of challenges
& excitement
Build it, baby!
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept
1997-2001
• 100 million pixel display
• grad-school dropout
• ** three years ** to $
• undocumented sole-
sourced stuff (DLP)
• only 6 people
Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept
1997-2001
• 100 million pixel display
• grad-school dropout
• ** three years ** to $
• undocumented sole-
sourced stuff (DLP)
• only 6 people
Phase 2: $8M, Look for Market
2002 – 2006
• Started selling prototypes
• For “whole product” added an API for
standard 3D graphics (OpenGL)
• Selling products vs. components
• Failed to identify segment with
sufficient ROI for a $100k product
Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept
1997-2001
• 100 million pixel display
• grad-school dropout
• ** three years ** to $
• undocumented sole-
sourced stuff (DLP)
• only 6 people
Phase 2: $8M, Look for Market
2002 – 2006
• Started selling prototypes
• For “whole product” added an API for
standard 3D graphics (OpenGL)
• Selling products vs. components
• Failed to identify segment with
sufficient ROI for a $100k product
Phase 3: $2M, Pivot out of HW
2007 – 2009
• Good clinical studies, but no VC
interest. PIVOT: became a medical
software company for prostate cancer
• Attend procedures in OR, understand
reimbursement, hire VP Clinical, study
successful competitors... * recession *
Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept
1997-2001
• 100 million pixel display
• grad-school dropout
• ** three years ** to $
• undocumented sole-
sourced stuff (DLP)
• only 6 people
Phase 2: $8M, Look for Market
2002 – 2006
• Started selling prototypes
• For “whole product” added an API for
standard 3D graphics (OpenGL)
• Selling products vs. components
• Failed to identify segment with
sufficient ROI for a $100k product
Phase 3: $2M, Pivot out of HW
2007 – 2009
Good clinical studies, but no VC
interest. PIVOT: became a medical
software company for prostate cancer
• Attend procedures in OR, understand
reimbursement, hire VP Clinical, study
successful competitors... * recession *
Phase 4: Wind down, asset “sale”
2009
• ~70 shareholders (!) approve sale to
my new employer, OFH
• Became wind-down CEO 2009
• Patent broker, 150 prospects
• Almost-sale in 2010; depressing!
• Actual sale in 2011, gave some $
back to investors
Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Key Lesson
• Step outside your “engineer hubris” and give deadly-
serious thought and sales experimentation towards
answering this question as soon as minimally viable:
HOW MANY OF THESE CAN WE SELL
AND AT WHAT PRICE
• Disregard “build it and they will come.” Only trust $$$.
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course
• What will you learn tonight?
• Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market
• Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of
Tripods”
• The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.)
Affordable Manufacturability
Patents
Admin /
Legal
Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes
Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies
Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev)
Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales
Attracting and Retaining Talent
Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
What Will Be On My Mind as a Startup CEO?
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Avoid My 12-year Fishing Expedition
Gregg
The Elusive
“Market”
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
The Chasm
http://www.disrupthealthcare.org/2013/03/selling-hospital-based-incubator-idea.html
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Want to Sell More than 100 of your Widget?
Source: Crossing the Chasm
Product must:
provide value
be “whole”
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Customer Development
• Key lesson – buy these books
– The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for
Products that Win (Steven Blank)
– Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products
to Mainstream Customers (Geoffrey Moore)
– (Free e-book) Bringing a Hardware Product to Market (Elaine
Chen)
• These are listed in the Online Handout
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Cheap Prototypes & Affordable Production Runs
• In this audience, you’re the experts.
• Avail yourselves of Maker Spaces, pay univ. shops, …
• Read Ben Einstein’s “Hardware by the Numbers” (online)
– Typical costs for contract manufacturing runs
– Seek affordable packaging
– You’ll learn the basics of financing, too
• New England-based contract manufacturers, box builds
– E.g. Cirtronics is fast, careful, quality, friendly
Remember there’s an Online Handout with references:
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Use makerspaces
Artisan’s Asylum
Somerville, MA
Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.)
Affordable Manufacturability
Patents
Admin /
Legal
Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes
Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies
Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev)
Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales
Attracting and Retaining Talent
Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
“Boring but important”
(as The Week magazine likes to call it)
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Money, Money, and Legalities
• Legal
– Network into an affordable, startup-smart attorney
– Get a good NDA early, as to help to not-trash some patent rights
• Taxes
• Accounting
• Financing your Startup
– (A) Write your BUSINESS PLAN & make a PITCH DECK
– (B) Raise the money
– (C) Execute towards the goals in (A)
– (D) Repeat to A; if you’ve missed the goals, your own stake will
take a big hit.
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Fundamental Constants of Financing
• Unless you’re a recent Stanford dropout with a software
startup concept in Palo Alto, the Constants are:
• Financing-to-financing period (T):
18 months
• First call-to-closed round (t[financing]):
9-12 months
• % of founder time chasing $:
75% (in my opinion)
Client Confidential
The Pitch Deck: see the online handout
• Customer Problem
• Product Overview
• Key Players (team)
• Market Opportunity
• Competitive
Landscape
• Go-to-market
Strategy
• Stage of
Development
• Critical Risks
• Financial Projections
• Exit Options
• Funding
Requirements
Source: Christopher Mirabile’s Inc. piece
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
A one-slide visualization of “dilution”
Source: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/10/14/understanding-how-dilution-affects-you-at-a-startup/
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
A one-slide visualization of “dilution”
Source: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/10/14/understanding-how-dilution-affects-you-at-a-startup/
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Actuality’s financing rounds (1999-2008)
Series A ($1/share) (2000) $ 1,500,000
“2001 Note” 807,500
Series B ($0.2826/share) 3,499,996
Series C ($0.35/share) 6,499,998
Note 1 (Mar 2006) 1,445,134
Note 2 611,206
Note 3 (2008) 536,356
$14,900,189
70%
Gregg’s Equity
at Start-up
0.7%
Gregg’s Equity
at Last Round
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Board of Directors
Great core
technology! Have
you considered this
other market?
Happy to help you
raise money for
your next round.
I bet the founders don’t
suspect the evil lurking
within this particular
Board Member…
MUAHAHAHA
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Characters to be Wary Of
• GOOD consultants are great;
– Get references, and then work with them on well-defined tasks
– [Lens design example]
• TRICKY consultants are hard to spot. Watch out for:
– Racking up a lot of deferred fees with little to show for it
– [Business development example]
– [“Not actually nice mentor” example]
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Regulated market? Think carefully…
Some topics required for compliance with 21 CFR 820 (cGMP), for example:
general provisions
quality system requirements
design controls
document controls
purchasing controls
identification and
traceability
production and process
controls
inspection, measuring, and
test equipment
acceptance activities
nonconforming product
CAPAs
labeling and package
control
handling, storage,
distribution, and
installation
records
servicing
statistical techniques
It demands organization-wide mind for Quality, plus the costs for certifications, etc.
Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.)
Affordable Manufacturability
Patents
Admin /
Legal
Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes
Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies
Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev)
Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales
Attracting and Retaining Talent
Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
Client Confidential
Sales for Engineers
• One-paragraph, iPhone-
friendly email intro. Take as
much time on the subject line
as on the very brief contents.
• Explicitly respect people’s time
• In demos, “you” not “I”:
– NO: “With our feature-rich
software, I can click here…”
– YES: “You can learn about your
customers with ClientSort 2.0…”
• Use less techno-jargon.
• The two best words are “for
example.”
• Smile, use first names, talk
about happy things
• Email their PR people
• Email one of their VCs
• Try to Shopify it – sell
prototypes (FCC / UL though)
• Don’t use gimmicks, e.g. don’t
use Re: unless it really is
• READ SOME ACTUAL
BOOKS ON SELLING
0 0
00
0 0
stretch break
you’re doing great, almost done
The Bourne Identity
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course
• What will you learn tonight?
• Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market
• Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of
Tripods”
• The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Launchpad: Steps 1-5
1. Enter the waters, pick cofounders. [ cite: Greenhorn ]
2. Quickly find MVP, try for POs. [ cite: Blank, Chen ]
3. Get a good NDA, find startup-friendly att’y
4. Prototype [ cite: HW by the Numbers; HW-friendly
makerspaces ]
5. Enter competitions & startup accelerators [ cite ]
Client Confidential
ASIDE: Bplan Competitions, Accelerators
• MassChallenge
• MIT $100k
• MITX Awards
• Babson
• Dartmouth (Tuck)
• HBS Alumni
• Hellenic Business
Network
• WPI Venture Forum
• Yale Entrepreneurial
Society
• MassChallenge
• TechStars
• Bolt
• Blade
• LearnLaunch x
• Greentown Labs
• Rock Health
• Healthbox
• […]
Business Plan competitions Accelerators, Funds
Client Confidential
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Two big well-regarded competitions
• MassChallenge
• Global (really!)
• APPLY BY APR 1 (2015)
• 4 months
• Office space
• Mentorship
• Network
• $2 million cash awards
• $10 million in-kind
• “…128 winners…”
• No equity taken
• Three contests / rounds:
• Pitch
• Accelerate
• Launch (Mar 13 2015)
• $350k cash + prizes
• In-kind prizes
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Launchpad: Steps 6-10
6. Try like heck to sell it & market it.
7. Get a mentor; get your ducks in a row about financing.
8. Open a 100-row investor-tracking sheet, try to get 18
months of money for your 12-month milestone
9. Accept or select Board Members with great care
10.Launch, publicize, & ramp!
bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
Good luck! Email me any time!
Gregg Favalora
VisionScope Technologies, LLC
favalora@gmail.com
http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos

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Hardware Startups 101: Tips for "career engineers" (NESOSA 2015; Favalora)

  • 1. Client Confidential Hardware Startups 101 for “Career Engineers” March 2014 to NES-OSA Gregg Favalora CTO – VisionScope Technologies, LLC Favalora@gmail.com Visit http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos for links to the cited meeting calendars, pitch deck fundamentals, books, etc.
  • 2.
  • 3.
  • 4. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course • What will you learn tonight? • Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market • Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of Tripods” • The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos
  • 5. Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.) Affordable Manufacturability Patents Admin / Legal Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev) Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales Attracting and Retaining Talent Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
  • 6.
  • 7.
  • 8. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course • What will you learn tonight? • Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market • Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of Tripods” • The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
  • 9. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos A Company’s Lifecycle [Ideal versus actuals] Startup Profitable M&A or IPO “Lifestyle Business” Dissolution
  • 10. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos You Can’t Predict the Ride’s Result or Duration 10 Actuality Systems Actuality Medical Series A $1.5M Note $0.8M Series B $3M Series C $6.5M Notes $2.5M 1997 2004 2009 PerspectaRad Acquisition By OFH Sold Patents 2011 Vision Scope
  • 11. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos 1997 – 1999: *Huge* initial struggle for $$ Persisted tenaciously... ka-ching!
  • 12. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos 2000 – 2004 – Actually, a ton of fun • 6 full-time employees • Tiny office in Reading (128) • Engineering • Ship betas & product • Rounds of funding • Winning awards, getting grants & customers • Bringing in seasoned exec team • ...a whole new set of challenges & excitement Build it, baby!
  • 13. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept 1997-2001 • 100 million pixel display • grad-school dropout • ** three years ** to $ • undocumented sole- sourced stuff (DLP) • only 6 people Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
  • 14. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept 1997-2001 • 100 million pixel display • grad-school dropout • ** three years ** to $ • undocumented sole- sourced stuff (DLP) • only 6 people Phase 2: $8M, Look for Market 2002 – 2006 • Started selling prototypes • For “whole product” added an API for standard 3D graphics (OpenGL) • Selling products vs. components • Failed to identify segment with sufficient ROI for a $100k product Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
  • 15. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept 1997-2001 • 100 million pixel display • grad-school dropout • ** three years ** to $ • undocumented sole- sourced stuff (DLP) • only 6 people Phase 2: $8M, Look for Market 2002 – 2006 • Started selling prototypes • For “whole product” added an API for standard 3D graphics (OpenGL) • Selling products vs. components • Failed to identify segment with sufficient ROI for a $100k product Phase 3: $2M, Pivot out of HW 2007 – 2009 • Good clinical studies, but no VC interest. PIVOT: became a medical software company for prostate cancer • Attend procedures in OR, understand reimbursement, hire VP Clinical, study successful competitors... * recession * Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
  • 16. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Phase 1: $1.5M, Proof-of-concept 1997-2001 • 100 million pixel display • grad-school dropout • ** three years ** to $ • undocumented sole- sourced stuff (DLP) • only 6 people Phase 2: $8M, Look for Market 2002 – 2006 • Started selling prototypes • For “whole product” added an API for standard 3D graphics (OpenGL) • Selling products vs. components • Failed to identify segment with sufficient ROI for a $100k product Phase 3: $2M, Pivot out of HW 2007 – 2009 Good clinical studies, but no VC interest. PIVOT: became a medical software company for prostate cancer • Attend procedures in OR, understand reimbursement, hire VP Clinical, study successful competitors... * recession * Phase 4: Wind down, asset “sale” 2009 • ~70 shareholders (!) approve sale to my new employer, OFH • Became wind-down CEO 2009 • Patent broker, 150 prospects • Almost-sale in 2010; depressing! • Actual sale in 2011, gave some $ back to investors Gregg Favalora, re: Actuality Systems
  • 17. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Key Lesson • Step outside your “engineer hubris” and give deadly- serious thought and sales experimentation towards answering this question as soon as minimally viable: HOW MANY OF THESE CAN WE SELL AND AT WHAT PRICE • Disregard “build it and they will come.” Only trust $$$.
  • 18. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course • What will you learn tonight? • Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market • Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of Tripods” • The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
  • 19. Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.) Affordable Manufacturability Patents Admin / Legal Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev) Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales Attracting and Retaining Talent Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos What Will Be On My Mind as a Startup CEO?
  • 20. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Avoid My 12-year Fishing Expedition Gregg The Elusive “Market”
  • 22. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Want to Sell More than 100 of your Widget? Source: Crossing the Chasm Product must: provide value be “whole”
  • 23. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Customer Development • Key lesson – buy these books – The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win (Steven Blank) – Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (Geoffrey Moore) – (Free e-book) Bringing a Hardware Product to Market (Elaine Chen) • These are listed in the Online Handout
  • 24. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Cheap Prototypes & Affordable Production Runs • In this audience, you’re the experts. • Avail yourselves of Maker Spaces, pay univ. shops, … • Read Ben Einstein’s “Hardware by the Numbers” (online) – Typical costs for contract manufacturing runs – Seek affordable packaging – You’ll learn the basics of financing, too • New England-based contract manufacturers, box builds – E.g. Cirtronics is fast, careful, quality, friendly Remember there’s an Online Handout with references:
  • 26. Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.) Affordable Manufacturability Patents Admin / Legal Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev) Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales Attracting and Retaining Talent Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
  • 27. “Boring but important” (as The Week magazine likes to call it)
  • 28. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Money, Money, and Legalities • Legal – Network into an affordable, startup-smart attorney – Get a good NDA early, as to help to not-trash some patent rights • Taxes • Accounting • Financing your Startup – (A) Write your BUSINESS PLAN & make a PITCH DECK – (B) Raise the money – (C) Execute towards the goals in (A) – (D) Repeat to A; if you’ve missed the goals, your own stake will take a big hit.
  • 29. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Fundamental Constants of Financing • Unless you’re a recent Stanford dropout with a software startup concept in Palo Alto, the Constants are: • Financing-to-financing period (T): 18 months • First call-to-closed round (t[financing]): 9-12 months • % of founder time chasing $: 75% (in my opinion)
  • 30. Client Confidential The Pitch Deck: see the online handout • Customer Problem • Product Overview • Key Players (team) • Market Opportunity • Competitive Landscape • Go-to-market Strategy • Stage of Development • Critical Risks • Financial Projections • Exit Options • Funding Requirements Source: Christopher Mirabile’s Inc. piece
  • 31. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos A one-slide visualization of “dilution” Source: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/10/14/understanding-how-dilution-affects-you-at-a-startup/
  • 32. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos A one-slide visualization of “dilution” Source: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/10/14/understanding-how-dilution-affects-you-at-a-startup/
  • 33. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Actuality’s financing rounds (1999-2008) Series A ($1/share) (2000) $ 1,500,000 “2001 Note” 807,500 Series B ($0.2826/share) 3,499,996 Series C ($0.35/share) 6,499,998 Note 1 (Mar 2006) 1,445,134 Note 2 611,206 Note 3 (2008) 536,356 $14,900,189 70% Gregg’s Equity at Start-up 0.7% Gregg’s Equity at Last Round
  • 34. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Board of Directors Great core technology! Have you considered this other market? Happy to help you raise money for your next round. I bet the founders don’t suspect the evil lurking within this particular Board Member… MUAHAHAHA
  • 35. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Characters to be Wary Of • GOOD consultants are great; – Get references, and then work with them on well-defined tasks – [Lens design example] • TRICKY consultants are hard to spot. Watch out for: – Racking up a lot of deferred fees with little to show for it – [Business development example] – [“Not actually nice mentor” example]
  • 36. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Regulated market? Think carefully… Some topics required for compliance with 21 CFR 820 (cGMP), for example: general provisions quality system requirements design controls document controls purchasing controls identification and traceability production and process controls inspection, measuring, and test equipment acceptance activities nonconforming product CAPAs labeling and package control handling, storage, distribution, and installation records servicing statistical techniques It demands organization-wide mind for Quality, plus the costs for certifications, etc.
  • 37. Product Customer Development (Prod. Def’n.) Affordable Manufacturability Patents Admin / Legal Financing / Legal / Accounting / Taxes Board of Directors: Bosses, Allies Quality Systems, Design Ctrl. (med dev) Psychology Outbound Marketing, Sales Attracting and Retaining Talent Seeing & dealing w/ stress, bozos
  • 38. Client Confidential Sales for Engineers • One-paragraph, iPhone- friendly email intro. Take as much time on the subject line as on the very brief contents. • Explicitly respect people’s time • In demos, “you” not “I”: – NO: “With our feature-rich software, I can click here…” – YES: “You can learn about your customers with ClientSort 2.0…” • Use less techno-jargon. • The two best words are “for example.” • Smile, use first names, talk about happy things • Email their PR people • Email one of their VCs • Try to Shopify it – sell prototypes (FCC / UL though) • Don’t use gimmicks, e.g. don’t use Re: unless it really is • READ SOME ACTUAL BOOKS ON SELLING
  • 39. 0 0 00 0 0 stretch break you’re doing great, almost done The Bourne Identity
  • 40. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Lightning-fast HW Startup Survey Course • What will you learn tonight? • Case Study: Actuality Systems searching for a market • Nine critical factors: “Traversing Gregg’s Tripod of Tripods” • The 10-step path for aspiring entrepreneurs
  • 41.
  • 42. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Launchpad: Steps 1-5 1. Enter the waters, pick cofounders. [ cite: Greenhorn ] 2. Quickly find MVP, try for POs. [ cite: Blank, Chen ] 3. Get a good NDA, find startup-friendly att’y 4. Prototype [ cite: HW by the Numbers; HW-friendly makerspaces ] 5. Enter competitions & startup accelerators [ cite ]
  • 43. Client Confidential ASIDE: Bplan Competitions, Accelerators • MassChallenge • MIT $100k • MITX Awards • Babson • Dartmouth (Tuck) • HBS Alumni • Hellenic Business Network • WPI Venture Forum • Yale Entrepreneurial Society • MassChallenge • TechStars • Bolt • Blade • LearnLaunch x • Greentown Labs • Rock Health • Healthbox • […] Business Plan competitions Accelerators, Funds
  • 44. Client Confidential http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Two big well-regarded competitions • MassChallenge • Global (really!) • APPLY BY APR 1 (2015) • 4 months • Office space • Mentorship • Network • $2 million cash awards • $10 million in-kind • “…128 winners…” • No equity taken • Three contests / rounds: • Pitch • Accelerate • Launch (Mar 13 2015) • $350k cash + prizes • In-kind prizes
  • 45. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Launchpad: Steps 6-10 6. Try like heck to sell it & market it. 7. Get a mentor; get your ducks in a row about financing. 8. Open a 100-row investor-tracking sheet, try to get 18 months of money for your 12-month milestone 9. Accept or select Board Members with great care 10.Launch, publicize, & ramp!
  • 47. http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos Good luck! Email me any time! Gregg Favalora VisionScope Technologies, LLC favalora@gmail.com http://bit.ly/hwstartupsbos