Manufacturing real-life, tangible objects that you could contact is usually rather a lot riskier than growing software program. Once you’ve created 10,000 thingamajigs, it’s far more durable to make adjustments to them than in the software program world, the place you may push an update if you wish to tweak one thing.
In the world of producing, then, the query is: How can I be sure that I’m constructing the right factor for the right viewers?
Last week, once I wrote about Prelaunch.com’s $1.5 million fundraise, I requested firm founder Narek Vardanyan what he thinks are the most important pitfalls in {hardware} improvement.
Measuring the right users
To really perceive what your prospects need, Vardanyan recommends learning what your potential prospects truly do, not what they are saying they’ll do.
In a super world, which means getting them to buy or at the least put down a deposit, on your product. Real shopping for intent is more useful than somebody merely saying, “Yes, I would buy this thing.”
“You need to make decisions based on people’s actual behavior. You need to make sure that the data you’re tracking is coming from the right types of people,” Vardanyan said. “Working with people who are putting down money acts like a filter: You keep only the people who really want to risk their money. In other words, your potential customers.”
10 ideas for de-risking {hardware} merchandise by Haje Jan Kamps initially printed on TechCrunch