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- Dec 5, 2011
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@NataliaO - This looks like a matter of product/founder fit.
We talk a lot about solving problems on the boards to grow your business which is product/market fit, but I don't know how often we talk about product/founder fit.
For instance I can find problems within industries I have very little experience in and would be well beyond my personal capability to build a solution. Meaning I don't have an engineering background. The way around that of course is to hire engineers which costs money.
You identified the problem - Great!
Now - are you the right person to solve the problem?
You admitted you can't prototype it yourself - so you know you have to hire. Shouldn't be too bad if you know who's going to manufacture it - they can typically help you accomplish your goal.
Are you comfortable with the prospect of burning however much money it is going to take to prototype the product?
If so, personally I would do something along the lines of
1. Prototype Product
2. File provisional patent
3. Call companies to demo prototype and get pre-orders for production
4. Manufacture and deliver product
4.5 File full patent
Rinse and repeat sales.
I'm a big believer that $ is the only real validation. Words are worth very little to me - so I wouldn't trust surveys even if you could get them.
I think Kid's validation method is probably okay if you're talking a smaller dollar item (under $500 as a guess). My impression is that you're up against a $3000+ machine as competition so it's probably going to be a demo in person kind of thing if you want quick validation and have in-roads in the industry. But you know your own price point better than we do.
We talk a lot about solving problems on the boards to grow your business which is product/market fit, but I don't know how often we talk about product/founder fit.
For instance I can find problems within industries I have very little experience in and would be well beyond my personal capability to build a solution. Meaning I don't have an engineering background. The way around that of course is to hire engineers which costs money.
You identified the problem - Great!
Now - are you the right person to solve the problem?
You admitted you can't prototype it yourself - so you know you have to hire. Shouldn't be too bad if you know who's going to manufacture it - they can typically help you accomplish your goal.
Are you comfortable with the prospect of burning however much money it is going to take to prototype the product?
If so, personally I would do something along the lines of
1. Prototype Product
2. File provisional patent
3. Call companies to demo prototype and get pre-orders for production
4. Manufacture and deliver product
4.5 File full patent
Rinse and repeat sales.
I'm a big believer that $ is the only real validation. Words are worth very little to me - so I wouldn't trust surveys even if you could get them.
I think Kid's validation method is probably okay if you're talking a smaller dollar item (under $500 as a guess). My impression is that you're up against a $3000+ machine as competition so it's probably going to be a demo in person kind of thing if you want quick validation and have in-roads in the industry. But you know your own price point better than we do.