Waiting to launch until everything looks flawless is a silent killer in hardware startups. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗻𝗼𝘄. As an early-stage hardware founder, your MVP isn’t just about proving the tech works — it’s about proving 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀. The fastest way to do that? Customer testing as early as possible. Here’s what that means in practice: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱, 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁. Perfecting your prototype in isolation is a trap. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄. Off-the-shelf parts, 3D prints, dev boards — whatever gets the job done. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Your future design should: - Use easily sourced, replaceable components. - Avoid exotic, hard-to-find parts unless you own their manufacturing. - Be optimized for low-cost, scalable production. It’s totally fine if your first prototypes are 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 — you’re buying 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (especially around product-market fit). 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽 for hardware: 𝗚𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿. Modularity means flexible pricing, easier assembly, shorter lead times — and faster iteration. Often, it’s the 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 that lets you beat slower competitors. In high-tech hardware, speed of learning is the real moat. 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱. At what stage are you right now? Share how did you reach to this stage, what obstacle did you have to overcome.

🚀 Welcome to the Hardware High-Tech Start-Ups community – a new community for hardware high-tech & deep-tech founders! Starting a hardware venture is no easy feat. Unlike pure software plays, hardware founders face unique challenges: long prototyping cycles, supply chain complexity, funding gaps, scaling manufacturing… and the list goes on. That’s exactly why I created this group: to bring together early-stage founders (and “about-to-be” founders) who don’t want to figure it all out alone. Here’s what you’ll find here: 🔹 A safe space to ask questions, share experiences, and learn from each other. 🔹 Practical tools and templates — the foundational set will always stay free for the community. 🔹 Insights on building, funding, and scaling hardware high-tech/deep-tech startups. 🔹 Real stories: the wins, the struggles, and the hacks that work in practice. The starter membership will always be free — my goal is to grow a strong, supportive network. With time I’ll be adding extra resources like courses and private sessions for those who want to go deeper at a fee, but the foundation of this group will always remain open and collaborative. 👉 Whether you’re sketching your first prototype, already raising capital, or just curious about where to start — you belong here. Your turn: - Introduce yourself in the comments! - What’s your startup idea or area of interest? - What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now? Let’s build this community together. 💡 — Anna Founder, APEX Startup Tailors