Event Recap: The Virtual Startup Summit 2021

What a great show it was! Hosted by Digital Expert Online, the purpose of the two-day Virtual Startup Summit 2021 was to help entrepreneurs learn different strategies to raise funds for their businesses in various industries.

In Kevin’s keynote, How to Become a Hardware Startup Millionaire with Your Invention Idea, he walked thoroughly through several topics to help new and experienced inventors alike learn how to build a successful product startup using brief case studies from one of the best product development companies, MAKO Design.

In case you missed it, here’s a brief recap below!

The Current Status of The Hardware Industry

Over the next few decades, we’ll see more and more IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Our product development company has already noticed smart refrigerators that communicate with us, so what’s next? More and more, we’ll see everyday household items interacting with software.

Thanks to product development tools like Solidworks and 3D printing, it’s much easier to bring an intangible hardware idea all the way through to production. Specifically, additive manufacturing is incredibly helpful for inventors.

These are short, quick production runs to get your product to market with the objective of getting feedback from real people. This process gives inventors the flexibility to make incremental improvements based on customer notes.

Understanding the True End Goal

Production is your end goal, and it’s where you should start your research. Our leading product development company often reminds clients that before you can license your product or push for a brand partnership, you need to prove that your product has traction.

You need to accumulate sales, reviews, and other evidence that lowers the risk to potential investors and buyers. There doesn’t need to be a lot of sales and reviews, by the way. You just need proof that your idea is valid in the market and that your customers like your product.

The Most Important Tip

Crystal clear focus on the features. While our product development company loves the excitement and passion that you have for your product, don’t be a feature creep. This means that you shouldn’t try to fit everything you want into a single project. Because, in reality, it’s almost impossible to pull off.

The more features that you have, the more difficult it is to develop. “You’ve got 7-billion-plus people on this planet. You just need to find a small handful of people who love your core idea,” states Kevin as he brings up the example of our client, Tri-Plunger, with a grin.

“It’s a triangle-shaped plunger, and that’s it, it had nothing else.” It works because more toilets have a triangle-shaped opening. It’s a plunger that simply fits this new standard for toilets much better than other predecessors.

For the full recordings, you can check out Digital Expert Online’s website here. Catch you at the next event!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!