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Service · Product Development

Your product, taken from first idea to full production.

A fully managed product development journey. One experienced design engineer owning the path from a first idea to a product that's ready to manufacture, and bringing in a trusted network of specialists whenever the product needs them. Delivered in scoped, gated phases, to build confidence in the product while keeping project momentum.

Book a free intro call → See the process
Who it's for

For founders who want it taken end to end

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"I have a product to build and I want one person I trust to own the whole thing."

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"I'm doing this for the first time and I need structure, not just an engineer for hire."

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"I need someone who's taken products to market before to lead me through the development process."

Most of my clients are building a physical product for the first time. The most important factor in success is following a rigorous, robust design process, so the work is done professionally and the risk of costly mistakes and re-work is reduced. I take you through the same gold-standard process applied to award-winning products, to give the best chance of success.

The journey

Four phases, one continuous thread

Each of these four phases is also available as a stand-alone service. Together they're a rough spine to the product development offering, done in a more organic way, with feedback loops and knowledge handover, which makes it the most efficient way to take a product from an idea to the shop shelves. The roadmap fits into four stages.

01

Discovery, feasibility and design

From discovery workshops to innovation and novel technology proof. This phase takes your product from an idea to a proof of concept. By the end of it, the technology should be proven, the requirements set and an industrial design direction offered. It draws on the Feasibility Study.

02

Design development

Taking the technology and the industrial design intent and working through prototypes of higher and higher fidelity to build confidence, until you reach a looks-like, works-like prototype. Design verification and design for manufacture are baked into this process.

03

Verification and engineering prototypes

Verifying that the design holds up in real-world scenarios and moving from prototypes to soft-tooled parts. Moving from machined parts to formed parts changes things, tolerances may not be the same, so testing higher-fidelity prototypes made by real tools against the requirements matters. By the end of this stage the production design should be complete and the performance and safety verified.

04

Tooling and manufacture

Moving into tooling and working with your chosen supplier for efficient manufacture, not just in the initial investment but in the BOM and long-term running costs. Tweaking the design to their capabilities, then through tooling, pilot production and the first production run. By the end your product should be ready to ship.

One lead, a whole team

A team, without having to build one

Most first-time founders struggle with hiring and managing different freelance talent. They need a team, and assembling one is a full-time job in itself. Working with me, you get one point of contact who brings in the right specialists as the product needs them, firmware and electronics engineers, industrial designers, manufacturing partners, drawn from a network I trust. I lead the technical side and keep everyone pulling in one direction, so you're never left managing a cast of freelancers or translating between them. You get the reach of a whole development team with the simplicity of a single relationship.

One point of contact, start to finish Specialists brought in as needed: firmware, electronics, ID Led and coordinated, so you don't have to manage it
How I work

Structured and collaborative

1

Working with you to understand the problem

No-one understands the idea more than you. That's why I work closely with you in development, starting with a full discovery workshop to understand the problem you're solving, the requirements and your goals for the project.

Discovery workshop
2

Scoped, gated phases

Each stage is scoped, priced and approved before it starts, so we agree the cost and the deliverables up front. I always include plenty of review points to make sure the design is always going in the direction you want.

Approve each phase
3

The whole picture

I like to zoom out and keep a full-picture view of the product's various aspects. Having taken multi-disciplinary products to manufacture, across mechanical, firmware, thermal and manufacturing development, I understand how each aspect affects the others, so decisions early on don't hamper another discipline later down the line.

One system
4

Plain-English throughout

I love teaching people about product development, and I keep my reports in layman's terms so anyone can understand them. It's important that you always understand where your product is and why.

No jargon walls
Why me

I've been through the whole process

From the work

At Ooni I took consumer products from first concept through to volume manufacture, holding mechanical, firmware and thermal roles at once and staying with them to the shelf. That end-to-end experience is often what a first-time founder is missing: someone who has seen how an early decision plays out at the factory, and designs for it from the start. It's also why I can lead a multi-disciplinary team well, I've done each of those jobs myself and know how they impact each other.

Behind Red Dot & iF Design Award-winning products Concept to volume manufacture, held end to end Patented technologies shipped to market
Questions

Common questions

How much does a full product development project cost?
It depends entirely on the product and how far you take it, so I never quote a single number. I'll always be happy to chat about your specific product to give you an indicative range, though. Usually I start with a small scoped phase, to work out whether we're a good fit for each other and to allow a more detailed breakdown.
Do I have to commit to the whole journey up front?
No, and I'd advise against it. The whole model is scoped, gated phases: you commit one step at a time, each with a clear price and deliverable. You can stop, pause or take the work elsewhere at any gate.
Where does a project actually start?
With discovery. I won't sell execution on an undefined idea, it's how projects waste money. A Feasibility Study or a paid discovery phase de-risks the idea and prices what follows, so we build confidence.
Can you do just part of it?
Yes. Plenty of clients bring me in for a single stage, a feasibility study, an MVP, verification before tooling, or manufacturing preparation. The full journey is for when you want one person owning the whole path.
How are you different from a design agency?
Most design agencies are built around industrial design, how a product looks and feels, and add engineering or "design for manufacture" around the edges. I work the other way round: I'm a design engineer who has taken products through tooling and volume manufacture, and I always make sure the product will work, not just look good. For specialist or heavy styling I bring in a trusted industrial designer. So the engineering that decides whether a product actually works and can be built is the core of what you get, not a bolt-on. I'll also tell you honestly when something is outside what I do, rather than stretching to keep the work.
Do you do the industrial design too?
I'm a design engineer, so I lead on making the product work and be manufacturable, and I handle functional and basic industrial design. When a product needs heavy or specialist aesthetic styling I bring in a trusted ID partner, so you still get one joined-up process.
What about manufacturing and overseas suppliers?
That's the end of the journey I prepare you for, and can run. I've taken products into medium-to-high-volume manufacture and can coordinate suppliers and tooling in the UK and China. See Manufacturing Preparation for detail.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, gladly, from the first conversation and before you share anything sensitive.
Start here

Ready to start your product development journey?

Book a free intro call and tell me about your product and where you are with it. We'll discuss a sensible first step.

Book a free intro call → Starts with a scoped discovery