Innovating an electronic product.

[MB2]

Hi all,


Innovating and inventing has two different definition though both go in the same road.Inventing is creating something new whereas innovating is, reinventing the wheel. Epitoms are

• GoPro founded by Nick Woodman
• Spanx founded by Sara Blakely (not electronic)
• Pebble founded by Eric Migicovsky.

It seems most lads here glued themselves to the internet route and very few are interested in this particular route.Gearing up to this route is extremely hard because of the huge wall waiting there to be climbed up.However, this field is an actually a field where you can hit home run if you are equipped with correct "Need" gloves and have fully "control" on your bat.Correct me if I am wrong.Speaking for myself I have very basic knowledge in electronics and programming.

Has anyone stepped in to this field? If so what should I know.I know this no easy peasy japanesy game.

Is there anyone who can lower down their wisdom dam to give me some wisdom?

 

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

[loop101]

 

[MB2]

what??

Go for plastics??

 

[loop101]

what??

Go for plastics??

Sorry, I was just being silly. That is a line from a movie where an older man tries to give a younger man the best business advice that he can.

 

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

[OldFaithful]

Yes @MB2 it does seem that most members here are into eCommerce, but there are those of us pursuing physical products. I'm still in the startup phase, so I can't offer much wisdom, but there are still valuable things to learn from the forum. If you are going into physical products via invention, innovation or iteration, please post.

I'll admit that my physical product project has a much longer startup phase than the eCommerce projects I've seen here. It's also taken more startup capital $$$. Perhaps that is a good "barrier to entry"!

 

[Marc B.]

The "innovate/invent" route is my bread and butter. It's a gas if you love tinkering and putting your hands on physical products, especially those you made yourself.

High initial cost, creativity, CAD, and finding great manufacturers are barriers to entry. I'm forgetting more, but those stand out.

You can choose how many hats you want to wear. Design, fabrication, fulfilling orders, social media marketing, customer service, web design, etc. It's not impossible to do it all yourself in the early stages, but you'll want to delegate tasks when you're spread thin. It's a business model like anything else. Think ahead, play to your strengths, have others do the rest.

IMO, eCommerce is the way to put product in consumers' hands. The writing is on the wall, showing the downfall of most brick-and-mortar stores. With eCommerce and social media, you reach a huge audience. If you're already selling anything on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or your own store, the skills you learned are still relevant. You're just selling your own product instead of someone else's.

 

[MB2]

I'll admit that my physical product project has a much longer startup phase than the eCommerce projects I've seen here. It's also taken more startup capital $$$. Perhaps that is a good "barrier to entry"!

High initial cost, creativity, CAD, and finding great manufacturers are barriers to entry. I'm forgetting more, but those stand out.

Yeah couldn't agree more.

If you're already selling anything on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or your own store, the skills you learned are still relevant. You're just selling your own product instead of someone else's

No skill we learn falls to garbage bin.I haven't done any successful ecommerce sales,however, I had tried to step on it way before I read TMF and joining the forum,but fallen down from it.

if you love tinkering and putting your hands on physical products, especially those you made yourself.

Yes I really do.Five or seven years ago,I had done tinkering and soldering stuffs, just as a hobby.After that I haven't even seen them because I throwed away that hobby away from my life,who knew it is useful!.

So now it is time to grab them up again and start the journey

 

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

[OldFaithful]

So now it is time to grab them up again and start the journey

Do you have a need/product in mind? What have you done to start? Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[MB2]

Do you have a need/product in mind? What have you done to start? Inquiring minds want to know...

Nah..still I don't have a specific need to attack.These days I am working on tuning my fastlane antenas's frequency and learning what I need in this journey.

 

[thehighlander]

Hi all,


Innovating and inventing has two different definition though both go in the same road.Inventing is creating something new whereas innovating is, reinventing the wheel. Epitoms are

• GoPro founded by Nick Woodman
• Spanx founded by Sara Blakely (not electronic)
• Pebble founded by Eric Migicovsky.

It seems most lads here glued themselves to the internet route and very few are interested in this particular route.Gearing up to this route is extremely hard because of the huge wall waiting there to be climbed up.However, this field is an actually a field where you can hit home run if you are equipped with correct "Need" gloves and have fully "control" on your bat.Correct me if I am wrong.Speaking for myself I have very basic knowledge in electronics and programming.

Has anyone stepped in to this field? If so what should I know.I know this no easy peasy japanesy game.

Is there anyone who can lower down their wisdom dam to give me some wisdom?

I've got professional experience with electronics. I'm not sure what answer you're hoping for but it's no joke to create a competitive electronic product.

The good news is that, depending on your project, you can get some free software to do the PCB design (Eagle) and then create a prototype. Digi-Key has a great parts catalog.

If you're looking for some electronics projects to try and learn from, look at Circuit Cellar magazine.

 

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

[Jonathan C]

I'm reminded of a story I recently read about a startup producing a new type of electronic equipment that can turn surfaces into interfaces. This is probably one good example of what you want to do. You can probably learn something from this story.

This device claims to turn any surface into a smart interface

 

[MB2]

@thehighlander:
Thanks for the reply and really appreciate it.

Yeah, I know creating an electronic product requires tons of work and commitment which I am willing to pay for.I am not aiming on to a grandiose type product that have never invented but a product that solves a problem.To do so, these days I am learning required electronics,technology stuffs like programming and other important things while having keen eye on "problems".

I've got professional experience with electronics.

Have you created any product that has used electronics to make it better.

As I mentioned before I do have basic knowledge in them, so it is about improving that knoweledge.Again thank you for posting.

I'm reminded of a story I recently read about a startup producing a new type of electronic equipment that can turn surfaces into interfaces. This is probably one good example of what you want to do. You can probably learn something from this story.

Thanks for sharing it.

 

[thehighlander]

Yes, I have created products that use electronics. My area is integrated circuits.

Buy The Art of Electronics because it explains a lot and you don't need advanced math to understand it.

 

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

[Jonathan C]

The invention route might seem daunting to some, but I think its possible for an individual to make a breakthrough invention even today. Consider the example of Orville and Wilbur Wright. Back in the early 1900's, the two of them alone managed to create an airplane. Many notable scientists thought that the airplane was an impossibility and yet two simple (yet remarkable) men created one. Sometimes even Orville and Wilbur faced doubts. Nonetheless, the two of them kept going and managed to make a breakthrough invention that has changed the world.

Sometimes I think it is easy to gloss over this example because the airplane seems like such a simple invention to us these days. I mean, duh, just throw some wings on a vehicle to generate lift and viola. Of course two men were able to create this. Yet, at the time, Orville and Wilbur were facing the exact same shroud of darkness that many would-be inventors face today when trying to make a breakthrough.

Just because you aren't part of some big R&D wing in a corporation working in lab with multi-million-dollar equipment doesn't mean you can't possibly learn, research, tinker, and ultimately create a breakthrough. The only thing holding you back is you. The sky is the limit. Dream big.

 

[MB2]

The invention route might seem daunting to some, but I think its possible for an individual to make a breakthrough invention even today. Consider the example of Orville and Wilbur Wright. Back in the early 1900's, the two of them alone managed to create an airplane. Many notable scientists thought that the airplane was an impossibility and yet two simple (yet remarkable) men created one. Sometimes even Orville and Wilbur faced doubts. Nonetheless, the two of them kept going and managed to make a breakthrough invention that has changed the world.

Sometimes I think it is easy to gloss over this example because the airplane seems like such a simple invention to us these days. I mean, duh, just throw some wings on a vehicle to generate lift and viola. Of course two men were able to create this. Yet, at the time, Orville and Wilbur were facing the exact same shroud of darkness that many would-be inventors face today when trying to make a breakthrough.

Just because you aren't part of some big R&D wing in a corporation working in lab with multi-million-dollar equipment doesn't mean you can't possibly learn, research, tinker, and ultimately create a breakthrough. The only thing holding you back is you. The sky is the limit. Dream big.

Absolutely, I appreciate your input