Guides

Building a physical product

Plain-English guidance on taking a hardware product from idea to production: what it costs, how to de-risk it, and the engineering decisions that matter. Written for founders, from experience shipping award-winning consumer products, not generic filler.

Pillar guide

How to develop a physical product: a founder's guide from idea to market

The complete path from a product idea to something you can manufacture and sell, the stages, the order to do them in, and how to de-risk each one before you spend.

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How much does it cost to develop a hardware product? 7 min read→ What is a feasibility study, and when does your product idea need one? 6 min read→ Design engineer or design agency: who should build your product? 5 min read→ How to turn an idea into a prototype (and what a prototype is actually for) 8 min read→

Pillar guide

Getting a product manufactured: from finished design to volume production

How a proven design becomes a manufactured product: the routes to manufacture, what design for manufacture really means, and how to keep cost down at volume.

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What is DFM (design for manufacture), and why it decides your unit cost 9 min read→ Making your product in the UK or in China: how to decide 9 min read→

Pillar guide

De-risking product development: how to avoid the costly mistakes

The mistakes that make hardware development expensive, and how to spend in the right order so you catch problems while they are still cheap to fix.

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What is design verification, and why do it before you cut a tool? 8 min read→ When should you hire a design engineer, and does it need to be full-time? 8 min read→