{"id":849,"date":"2009-02-17T19:53:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-17T18:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/?p=849"},"modified":"2009-02-17T19:53:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-17T18:53:00","slug":"how-hard-it-is-to-run-a-hardware-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/how-hard-it-is-to-run-a-hardware-startup\/","title":{"rendered":"How hard it is to run a hardware startup?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Luka Birsa is founder of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visionect.si\">Visionect<\/a> d.o.o, Slovenian hardware startup that&#8217;s working with e-paper and e-ink technologies and here are my notes from his talk with title &#8211; <em>How hard it is to run a hardware startup?<\/em> at Kiberpipa&#8217;s Open Lectures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who or what is Visionect<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-img zemanta-action-dragged\" style=\"margin: 1em; display: block;\">\n<div>\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71184420@N00\/3287649255\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"hardware startup\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3183\/3287649255_1320c73c65_m.jpg\" alt=\"hardware startup\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd zemanta-img-attribution\" style=\"font-size: 0.8em;\">Image by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71184420@N00\/3287649255\">rok xxx<\/a> via Flickr<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Three founder, with 5 employees<\/li>\n<li>Members of TP-LJ and LUI<\/li>\n<li>Founded 18 months ago<\/li>\n<li>They&#8217;re working in hardware and software business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>So what&#8217;s a product<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wireless screen display + application eMenu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>eInk &#8211; e-paper<\/li>\n<li>low power wireless technology (2.4Ghz proprietary)<\/li>\n<li>touch screen (projected capacitive)<\/li>\n<li>low power software concepts (thin client)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Very robust devices with long autonomy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why hardware startup?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-img zemanta-action-dragged\" style=\"margin: 1em; display: block;\">\n<div>\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71184420@N00\/3288462716\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"hwSU\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3528\/3288462716_0b1ec5ddfb_m.jpg\" alt=\"hwSU\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd zemanta-img-attribution\" style=\"font-size: 0.8em;\">Image by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71184420@N00\/3288462716\">rok xxx<\/a> via Flickr<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Hardware is cool because you can show it to your mother<\/li>\n<li>You can add LED&#8217;s to it and things blink then<\/li>\n<li>Hardware is cool because you actually take it into your hands<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Luka + Matej &#8211; consulting to hotels with IT decisions<\/li>\n<li>Rok has an idea &#8211; lets make electronic price tags for stores (ESL)<\/li>\n<li>Sounds like a good idea and they try to do it!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>1st romantic point of view &#8211; doing hardware is simple<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>You Google it, draw the integrate curcuit<\/li>\n<li>You write a software<\/li>\n<li>You buy components, you start producing<\/li>\n<li>You can do this really fast<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>FAIL<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-img zemanta-action-dragged\" style=\"margin: 1em; display: block;\">\n<div>\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 250px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/27164277@N00\/2844926705\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"2008SEP102037\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3236\/2844926705_e8d2df9172_m.jpg\" alt=\"2008SEP102037\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd zemanta-img-attribution\" style=\"font-size: 0.8em;\">Image by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/27164277@N00\/2844926705\">bootload<\/a> via Flickr<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>1.<strong> There&#8217;s too much choice on the market.<\/strong> Too much choice and data sheets are terrible. You can easily get samples but are useless.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing circuit for yourself is not drawn it for CE certification.<\/p>\n<p>2. <strong>You need additional software<\/strong> to do this as well as <strong>prototype boards<\/strong> or <strong>prototypes of your own product.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>3. <strong>It&#8217;s not worth buying <\/strong>under 1000 pieces and <strong>delivery times are around 12-13 weeks<\/strong>. All the distributors are not the sames.<\/p>\n<p>Quality certification <a class=\"zem_slink\" title=\"ISO 9000\" rel=\"wikipedia\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISO_9000\">ISO 9001<\/a> and similar does not equal product quality.<\/p>\n<p>4. The profits are low because of bad partners and problems. <strong>It takes about 3 times as long as projected!<\/strong> And you still don&#8217;t have certification.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2nd romantic point of view &#8211; Slovenia does not equal world<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Lets do ESL<\/li>\n<li>E Leclerc doesn&#8217;t have them, others do<\/li>\n<li>It seems like a viable niche<\/li>\n<li>Lets make cool technology and sell it &#8211; projected price was 30 eur for 1000 pieces using <a class=\"zem_slink\" title=\"ZigBee\" rel=\"wikipedia\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ZigBee\">Zigbee<\/a> and bistable displays<\/li>\n<li>The world is ours<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>FAIL:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-img zemanta-action-dragged\" style=\"margin: 1em; display: block;\">\n<div>\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71184420@N00\/3288461566\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"hardwareSU\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3372\/3288461566_51dd196748_m.jpg\" alt=\"hardwareSU\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd zemanta-img-attribution\" style=\"font-size: 0.8em;\">Image by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71184420@N00\/3288461566\">rok xxx<\/a> via Flickr<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>1. Slovenia != Europe != World<\/p>\n<p>2. ESL is already a big market with establish market players<\/p>\n<p>3. Actual production cost &gt; 30E.<\/p>\n<p>4. The actual cost is 7 euros per piece<\/p>\n<p><strong>3rd romantic point of view &#8211; all that you need is a good business idea\/plan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Good idea with a good team<\/p>\n<p>2. Good business plan<\/p>\n<p>3. 2 months of looking for seed money + 2 months to do things = money<\/p>\n<p><strong>FAIL:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-img zemanta-action-dragged\" style=\"margin: 1em; display: block;\">\n<div>\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/98215930@N00\/14870075\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gameboy Micro Babe\" src=\"http:\/\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/10\/14870075_af884717b2_m.jpg\" alt=\"Gameboy Micro Babe\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd zemanta-img-attribution\" style=\"font-size: 0.8em;\">Image by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/98215930@N00\/14870075\">TrojanDan<\/a> via Flickr<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>1. Good idea doesn&#8217;t mean Hi-Tech; <strong>Hi-Tech + Slovenia = Problems (FAIL)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>2<strong>. Good business plan &#8211; easier said than done:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Software startup &#8211; Hardware startup<\/p>\n<p>Expenses: Less\u00a0 \u00a0 More<\/p>\n<p>Time to market: Less\u00a0 \u00a0 More<\/p>\n<p>Dependency on others: Less\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Crash course of investors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The never say no<\/li>\n<li>When they say maybe, it means &#8220;no&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>One months is three months<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Is there anything <strong>positive<\/strong> about it?<\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-img zemanta-action-dragged\" style=\"margin: 1em; display: block;\">\n<div>\n<dl class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71139289@N00\/3287762082\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Sicura di se\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3124\/3287762082_84c3cdf35c_m.jpg\" alt=\"Sicura di se\" \/><\/a><\/dt>\n<dd class=\"wp-caption-dd zemanta-img-attribution\" style=\"font-size: 0.8em;\">Image by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/71139289@N00\/3287762082\/\">Teone!<\/a> via Flickr<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>There&#8217;s already a slew of software startups, so it&#8217;s hard to make your investors enthusiastic about your startup. Hardware is as such a plus \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<li>Nobody does hardware anymore. Easier to bootstrap and more in sourcing offers. New partners, new experiences = better chances for future offer.<\/li>\n<li>It takes long to invest = good thing in HW startup. More time you have, easier to bootstrap, better business plan etc.<\/li>\n<li>Long time to enter the market means the same for your competition. Little playes will have hard time cloning your products and big ones are slow to change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tips for hardware startups<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When planning, have lots of buffer space<\/li>\n<li>Talk to other people. You can&#8217;t find everything on Internet.<\/li>\n<li>If you can use off shelf solutions &#8211; use it! Never make things yourself! You can&#8217;t imagine how hard it is to actually make your own hardware.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Where&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visionect.si\">Visionect<\/a> at the end of this path today?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Connected with one of the biggest OEM producers in the world<\/li>\n<li>Lots of experience with producing hardware<\/li>\n<li>Working prototype of eMenu and BPS system.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"zemanta-pixie\" style=\"margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;\"><a class=\"zemanta-pixie-a\" title=\"Zemified by Zemanta\" href=\"http:\/\/reblog.zemanta.com\/zemified\/5d3dec20-fbc9-4e97-a07a-21affd620bc1\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"zemanta-pixie-img\" style=\"border: medium none; float: right;\" src=\"http:\/\/img.zemanta.com\/reblog_e.png?x-id=5d3dec20-fbc9-4e97-a07a-21affd620bc1\" alt=\"Reblog this post [with Zemanta]\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luka Birsa is founder of Visionect d.o.o, Slovenian hardware startup that&#8217;s working with e-paper and e-ink technologies and here are my notes from his talk with title &#8211; How hard it is to run a hardware startup? at Kiberpipa&#8217;s Open Lectures. Who or what is Visionect Image by rok xxx via Flickr Three founder, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[688,689,687,269,686],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conferences","tag-business-plan","tag-experience","tag-hardware","tag-slovenia","tag-zigbee"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":857,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions\/857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}