#TechDiscussion #HardTech #StartupLife
Who here is in Hard Tech? 🚀
I’ve noticed that most startups these days are focused on software or labor, but not many are diving into the hard tech space. It truly takes a unique type of entrepreneur to take on the challenges of hard tech!
If you’re working on a hard tech startup or have an idea brewing, I’d love to hear all about it. Share with us what you’re working on, how it’s going, and what inspired you to pursue this idea!
Here are a few possible solutions to thrive in the hard tech space:
– Collaborating with engineers and scientists to develop innovative technologies
– Securing funding from investors who understand the complexities of hard tech
– Leveraging industry partnerships to access resources and expertise
Let’s spark a discussion and learn from each other’s experiences in the hard tech world! 💡 #Innovation #Entrepreneurship
Hard tech wannapreneur here. My last startup was algorithms and assays to identify and engineer novel biochemistries in microbes. We kind of had to put brakes on it because of the lacking funding in the space and me realizing that we wouldn’t be able to make the revenue targets with the software solution at hand.
Now, I have a deep tech R&D startup that’s slowly pushing out projects and trying to generate revenue.
Some of the projects we are working on right now:
– I’ve basically am building out algorithms to autogenerate the entire cloud software stack so that we can build out solutions for different b2b SaaS domains including biotech (because I know what people need now).
– Some pretty fun natural language systems in healthcare, pharma and legal domains.
– A drug delivery platform tech that we are trying to get the IP for and develop further
– Eventually we will spin up the old project once we have a better execution bandwidth
“It takes a special breed of entrepreneur”… I can tell you’re in hard tech
Self-serve vision exam terminals, kind of like Clear at the airport. Took us three years of R&D and SBIR grants to get off the ground and now $10M in VC funding. It’s not rocket ship-hard, but it’s pretty hard.
I spent about 10 years making interactive LED gymnastics equipment for circus performers, acrobats, dancers, etc.
Very fun industry to be in, but scaling production for efficiency was brutal. Each order was custom sized for the performer’s height, arm length, weight preferences, etc. And the products are regularly put through torture testing because they’re literally being thrown around at insane speeds repeatedly in every performance…
Hardware is hard.
I’ve also worked as a consultant for 10+ years developing hardware for many other startups. The biggest problem I see is founders not validating their ideas and failing to clarify design intent before building a product.
Prototyping is key here. So many want to just skip that and just “build their vision”, convincing themselves that the first prototype will be good enough to go to market with… That way lies madness.
Hardware and physical products can be very successful, but it’s scary how many dive into it with unrealistic expectations.
👋🏽 Right here. Got here because I’m a nerd and have been imagining this product since I was a kid. Surprisingly enough no one else has built it yet so I decided to give it a shot. Can’t give much insight in product but I’ve always been all in on tech since I was little!
I’ve dabbled in blockchain-based hard tech projects and loved the challenge of scaling innovative solutions. What about you, what’s your project about?
Cofounder of a warehouse automation robotics company. We are making a robot capable of 5+ applications with the same hardware. 5M seed round, another 5+ in SAFE, and just signing our first customers post-pilot program. Hardware is hard, but rewarding.