The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Data Acquisition in Real Life(Execution)

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
If anyone wants to see the invention part its :
Data Acquisition in Real Life

Met with a friend and his coder friends to set up the website, they want to charge me $900 for it.I have a gut feeling to not do it, which probably means i will not.

Will begin looking for proper sensors to alter.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
I went with my gut feeling and looked for a cheaper option.Low and behold a friend knew a friend who was passionate about getting experience.I offered him 500$ upfront but he literally refused it and said pay me what you think its worth when done.

Always listen to your gut guys! In this case it potentially saved me 400$.

Still looking for sensor to modify.
 

George Appiah

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
194%
Aug 16, 2018
278
540
44
Accra, Ghana
You're such an awesome dude! This is my very first time of seeing someone envision a hardware product and actually follow through to research, invent and make it real.

Always listen to your gut guys! In this case it potentially saved me 400$.

"Potentially" is the watchword here.

Is this just a corporate/brochureware site or something more?

Anyways, let's hope you get an awesome work done with all (or most) of your boxes checked!

By the way, have you thought through your overall go-to-market strategy... beyond just building (what I'm assuming is a) a corporate website? Or is it "build it, and they will come?"
 

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
You're such an awesome dude! This is my very first time of seeing someone envision a hardware product and actually follow through to research, invent and make it real.



"Potentially" is the watchword here.

Is this just a corporate/brochureware site or something more?

Anyways, let's hope you get an awesome work done with all (or most) of your boxes checked!

By the way, have you thought through your overall go-to-market strategy... beyond just building (what I'm assuming is a) a corporate website? Or is it "build it, and they will come?"
My main skew factor is the website, it will detail the capacity at any instant as well as the daily counts.I have been researching a bit more and found out the capacity people based businesses would need such a product.

Not a brochure website, its a pivotal part of my system.A website would allow every single person in a business to have both long term access to the amount of people entering a building short term and long term.

Nightclubs, concerts etc.My portable system will allow them enjoy cheap and realiable data.

My website guy also is a marketing designer looking for experience.He said he can help me with branding, i do not know much about marketing my dude.I can learn and perseverance always helps.

As for saving 400$ , a previous guy offered 900$ work.My gut said do not do that...
UPDATE:
Met with the son of the Electrical Engineer on sunday and did get some info but didnt have chance to do much.Yesterday was a dull day :( got distracted by a girl and exams.Will try to boost this through! Also i have a partner who is a student in mechanical engineering!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
Okay, I have been experimenting with high-end break beam sensors but found them inadequate due to inacuracy. I have contacted a manufacturer, they supply people counters to another business based in France. However, the accuracy they have achieved is incredibly interesting and worthwhile.

I am currently talking to a supplier/manufacturer right now, I am planning to get them to manufacture a custom built system which can send information straight to a server. I believe they have one in stock if I can acquire this and package it with my business logo etc I have mastered the hardware section.

From there I can focus rigorously on the software portion and begin launching the product. Would need to set up a company before that.

Money setbacks:

500 ish for software

1000 for first batch of equipment

700 for company set up

I should add i have a partner in this, however he isnt feeling on board.Might have to drop him and move on.

Lets do this!
 

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
Ok, I have just talked to the manufacturers and he has stated he would do a case by case system.600 for one product is what he quoted so I would have to sell it for 700 + 50$ data membership, granting me a cool 135$ profit.

He also distributes advanced systems built by a French company, I could essentially sell this off to government systems and large retail stores.Jesus , this is going to be fun! everything seems to be falling into place and i am already nearing the sales point.

Just advice for any similiar go getters, never buy BUILK for electronic systems.Buy only case by case, lets say you buy 1000 of this.Its horribly hard to get 1000 customers! but case by case means you just have to keep grinding for that one customer.Once you get him or her you make the profit and bounce.

Here is my plan:
Scour the area -> find customer -> set up awesome system -> Grant value to happy customer through analytics -> Repeat

Plan at the end of December:

1000$ in net profit for myself per month

How?

50$ subscription for each product , we need 20 customers. 20*50=1000, thus we get 1000 per month! Now when we hit 200 or 2000 for latter years.... thats fastlane
;)
 

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
Just had an "aha" moment, if i can acquire the first product i can send overseas and undercut them by a high margin.Thus increasing my margins..


Will see how the first part goes.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
Ok had to focus on my exams, but now that they are out of the way i can essentially go "all in" with my plan.

Suppliers:
The manufacturer wanted to charge me $600 to design my system so i did it myself.After searching all my morning i had got in contact with 3 different suppliers of sensors. One thing i have found is that these electrical engineers love to grant me information, just over a chat with no "buy in"I got priceless information on my project.

It seemed that I was underestimating the price of these sensors, they are around 100ish each.The engineers told me about problems of "counting" >1 people, a much more advanced system is needed to enhance countability. He advised using light curtains which range in a few thousand. Save to say that was hardly palatable. I will focus on my current design and check suitability.

For more advanced systems , my manufacturer has opened a line between me and an advanced sensor producer who specialise in million dollar research level equipment.I will get exact price in the following weeks, essentially i reckon that would be worth around ~5-10k and i will play as a middleman.

So yes i am trying to get equipment, then I will begin hard designing the layout and send to my manufacturer.

Software:
My software man is having trouble with back end so instead of wasting more money ill help him with it and use it as an excuse to pay him 300ish instead of 400ish for the website.That said his branding services are awesome.

Customers:
While designing i still am limited by market knowledge, so i will begin cold calling to see what markets are more "suitable" for me

First off are nightclubs!

Plan-

Write out possible night clubs

Call 5 night clubs with a script:

Hey <> is this <name> nightclubs reception?
<Answer>
Hi, I wanted to know if your nightclub has to abide by
capacity regulation in Australia.
<answe>
Yea, if monitoring the amount of people entering the building is a problem for you guys.
<answer>
We are developing a product to monitor the amount of people entering the nightclub for a given time as well as overtime.Is that something Australian Night clubs are interested in.

Current sell price:

Need to sell system for 400 with 50$ subscription to break even.
 

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
COLD CALLING:
Ok, I want to also focus on little stores so ill make my statements more generic.
Hey is this <name>
<Answer>
Hey this <name> from <name>, i know your terribly busy but could i have a few minutes of your time?
<answer>
Hi, I wanted to know if your business has ever used people counting technology in your store?
<answer>
We are developing a product to monitor the number of people entering small businesses for a given time. Have as well as overtime. Is that something Australian small businesses would be interested in?
<answer>
and quite frankly how much would you guys pay for a system like that?

BEGIN!

30 calls
NightClubs:
Nightclubs , most either didnt answer the phone or said call back on mondays.For the guy who did answer his nightclub already has a similiar system i am trying to sell.So the good news is that nightclubs is a good market!

Cafes:

Most asked me to call back later today , will keep updated!
 

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
HARDWARE

Okay the manufacturer went cold after i began asking him more and more questions.After talking to an engineering association they laughed at me when i told them the cost of prototyping a fully injection molded system would be for 50$ , he said when he went to search it as around $500-$2000.

I also met with high tech electrical engineers who were my lecturers in a unit.They advised me on circuitry design, jesus people werent kidding when there was process! Everything needs money at every corner and every program is deficient in programming my damn circuitry designs.... that sounds like a need.
;)

Anyway, i will draw out a circuit and send it to my lecturer who will check it out for free and continue to advise me.After that i will scour the earth for a reduction in price.

SOFTWARE
My branding marketer/ software engineer are working really hard to get this up and we seem to be progressing nicely.

:cool:
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
annnnnddd we are back!

SOFTWARE

Ok so I have now got the website progressing smoothly, my programmer is working hard on the design.i made a login system and will help with the rest of the back end later on. That should be done by December 1st.Just to show you a bit of our system here is a cheeky picture:

Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 5.36.35 pm.png
The colors are off but that is because the back end isn't fully functioning. It will be probably a different color and different setup.Also, the axis are not representative.
Hardware
I have been tirelessly working to get my system to "look" right but it seems i will go with a simple curved box design plus sensors. I have finalized the price to be at 201$ per system if I bought retail wise. I have a fully functioning circuit diagram for my device but the next part is a killer, it is the actual placement of the equipment inside my Wifi Transmission Module. I am hoping my manufacturer will help but if he doesn't I might just use my school 3D printer etc.

Here is a system layout I sketched on AutoCAD:
Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 5.42.37 pm.png
The internals of the devices are designed by me.Just want to point out i was naive as hell about this.Its only when i did stuff that i found that alot of stuff i thought was easy was hard and a lot of stuff i thought was hard was easy.

I also got alot of advice through helping people!


Customers:
After doing some cold calls i found many problems.For any would be cold callers, if you are researching the market go as a researcher not a sales man.Much easier to ask questions as all guards are done.Most had these problems:

1.Too Expensive

2. is a hassle to install

3.using digital counting

4.overhead, benefits vs cost

5.clickers replace quickly

Some were replacing the system by cameras anyway for 10s of thousands of dollars for a highly advanced system.

So... yay! there is a market!
 

ManlyMansNegator

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
130%
Sep 29, 2018
222
289
Australia
Update:
Manufacturing:
The manufacturer has finally begun the manufacturing of a prototype, the system looks like:
case assembly - Bottom.jpg
They haven't specified a date , however i really want this done before Christmas time so i can begin marketing it.I feel a slight anxiousness to this.Questions like "what if its a fail" or "This would be a waste of time if it failed".I am trying to get rid of these thoughts but they surface like pimples on an Aussie Summer.

SoftWare:

Software is pretty much complete, i just need to personally incorporate data into the graphs and my system should be up & running.My software guy has left for japan, i paid him around $300.

Website:Capture.PNG System.PNG View.PNG
We worked well ! and our design looks awesome.
The great thing is that i can incorporate future sensor tech into this.





Customers:

No new customers, still in desert and im thirsty.

Addition:
I have been abit lazy recently , did not much in the last 2 days.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top