June 9, 2015 at 08:17A look at startups from the back. Part 2
In the second part of the article (the first one is here ) I will talk about a few startups.
In this part, as I said last time, there will be successful stories.
Let's go further.
Startup 6. A frame that makes a touchscreen out of any screen. The
current status is bent. A
special frame is taken (there are several sizes, with different diagonals), placed on top of a monitor, tablet or any other device with a screen. The screen turns into a touchscreen.
It all started well. We set the price for the guys, I additionally gave them absolutely free advice on how to change cast aluminum parts so that the equipment and the price of the part were cheaper. For drawn aluminum parts, he told how to change the design so that the parts became stronger and not warped. I still remember with satisfaction how it worked then. And the guys are gone.
After 6 months they came to us again. It turns out that they found some local Chinese company that promised to do everything for them for a third of our price. They rushed there headlong. But after 6 months it became clear that the mega-frame is somehow not very well mastered. There is no frame, but there are still beautiful charts with a forecast of annual sales and revenue. It was necessary to do something.
The guys came to us and asked to set the price again. We went to meet and put up an updated commercial offer. And the guys are gone.
A little later it turned out that they had run out of loot and they went broke. Here is a story.
Brief conclusion:
1. No need to bring money into unfamiliar, dumb places. And, of course, risk management, yes.
Startup 7. Flashlight with dynamo.
Current status has taken off.
I would say that this is a start-up “contrary”. "Contrary" to the fact that there are a dime a dozen on the lantern market with manual recharging. The big bosses were also skeptical of the idea, but they took up the project.
It all started simply. Once upon a time there were 3 students. Electronic engineer, industrial designer and manager. They didn’t live, they studied. And now it's time to graduate. For graduation it was necessary to do a thesis.
In general, I personally wish the guys further success, because it was done on their part more or less literate design, electronics and overall project management.
Frankly, it was not without jambs. One of them is the prototype was made of ABS by way of fur. processing. When casting, ABS + PC was used. During testing, it turned out that the handle in the place where it was attached to the dynamo, broke after 190 thousand revolutions. This was strange because the mechanical properties of ABS + PC are much better than pure ABS. Modified equipment, reinforced the cross section. The handle began to break after 250 thousand revolutions.
The problem was solved by replacing ABS + PC with PA66 + 15GF + 25MF. The handle withstood 2 million revolutions.
A little later, when modeling of injection molding became available to me, I started the simulation and it turned out that there were several junction lines in the section where the handle broke. Perhaps this was the reason. On the other hand, the entire part was flooded in 0.9 seconds, the temperature difference across the entire part was only 2.5 degrees.
Another problem is that the bosses in which the gearbox was attached were deformed after casting - the stiffeners were too short, plus the cooling of the mold was not ideal. They won just by choosing the casting parameters.
Brief conclusion:
1. The idea seems to be hackneyed, but nonetheless, was successful.
Startup 8. Advertising system in buses
The current status has taken off. The
bus is approaching a bus stop, and any information is displayed on the screen, such as which restaurants, shops, museums or other useful and interesting places are nearby. Do you want to be shown on TV in a bus? Borrow money.
We made a small metal case for the control board. Due to the fact that a board was made at first and only then they asked to make a case, it turned out that some front connectors do not fit into the case as you do not shove them. The developers had to change the board. So it goes.
The guys were electronic engineers and it seems that they did not know the basic rule of the development of the final device - interaction with mechanics from the very beginning. In my practice, sometimes I gave electronics engineers the dimensions and shape of the board and only then they shoved the components onto it. In addition, it happened that I asked places where to place large parts (relays, transformers, etc.), because with some arrangement, they did not fit into the case corny.
In general, they started relatively quickly. I don’t remember any other special problems.
By the way, as it turned out later in a personal meeting, one of the founders of the startup worked for 10 years as the head of the department of electronic engineers at one of our clients. Therefore, he clearly (well, almost) knew what to do.
Short conclusion:
1. If there is a client, prepayment, when you clearly know what you are doing, then the work works soon, and the result is achieved faster.
Startup 9. Keychain alarm
Current status is bent.
There is a keychain that clings to a suitcase or other baggage, and in the case of forced attachment of legs, the keychain begins to wheeze loudly.
That's all I know :)
Why I was bent, I do not know. The startup was covered with moss and mold before I joined the company. Then I only decided what to do with the materials that remained. Here we have had an interaction with this startup.
Short conclusion:
1. There is no conclusion for this startup.
PS Next time there will be a story about one startup with an analysis of its errors. As the saying goes, the smart learns from the mistakes of others. I hope someone draws something useful for himself.
In this part, as I said last time, there will be successful stories.
Let's go further.
Startup 6. A frame that makes a touchscreen out of any screen. The
current status is bent. A
special frame is taken (there are several sizes, with different diagonals), placed on top of a monitor, tablet or any other device with a screen. The screen turns into a touchscreen.
It all started well. We set the price for the guys, I additionally gave them absolutely free advice on how to change cast aluminum parts so that the equipment and the price of the part were cheaper. For drawn aluminum parts, he told how to change the design so that the parts became stronger and not warped. I still remember with satisfaction how it worked then. And the guys are gone.
After 6 months they came to us again. It turns out that they found some local Chinese company that promised to do everything for them for a third of our price. They rushed there headlong. But after 6 months it became clear that the mega-frame is somehow not very well mastered. There is no frame, but there are still beautiful charts with a forecast of annual sales and revenue. It was necessary to do something.
The guys came to us and asked to set the price again. We went to meet and put up an updated commercial offer. And the guys are gone.
A little later it turned out that they had run out of loot and they went broke. Here is a story.
Brief conclusion:
1. No need to bring money into unfamiliar, dumb places. And, of course, risk management, yes.
Startup 7. Flashlight with dynamo.
Current status has taken off.
I would say that this is a start-up “contrary”. "Contrary" to the fact that there are a dime a dozen on the lantern market with manual recharging. The big bosses were also skeptical of the idea, but they took up the project.
It all started simply. Once upon a time there were 3 students. Electronic engineer, industrial designer and manager. They didn’t live, they studied. And now it's time to graduate. For graduation it was necessary to do a thesis.
In general, I personally wish the guys further success, because it was done on their part more or less literate design, electronics and overall project management.
Frankly, it was not without jambs. One of them is the prototype was made of ABS by way of fur. processing. When casting, ABS + PC was used. During testing, it turned out that the handle in the place where it was attached to the dynamo, broke after 190 thousand revolutions. This was strange because the mechanical properties of ABS + PC are much better than pure ABS. Modified equipment, reinforced the cross section. The handle began to break after 250 thousand revolutions.
The problem was solved by replacing ABS + PC with PA66 + 15GF + 25MF. The handle withstood 2 million revolutions.
A little later, when modeling of injection molding became available to me, I started the simulation and it turned out that there were several junction lines in the section where the handle broke. Perhaps this was the reason. On the other hand, the entire part was flooded in 0.9 seconds, the temperature difference across the entire part was only 2.5 degrees.
Another problem is that the bosses in which the gearbox was attached were deformed after casting - the stiffeners were too short, plus the cooling of the mold was not ideal. They won just by choosing the casting parameters.
Brief conclusion:
1. The idea seems to be hackneyed, but nonetheless, was successful.
Startup 8. Advertising system in buses
The current status has taken off. The
bus is approaching a bus stop, and any information is displayed on the screen, such as which restaurants, shops, museums or other useful and interesting places are nearby. Do you want to be shown on TV in a bus? Borrow money.
We made a small metal case for the control board. Due to the fact that a board was made at first and only then they asked to make a case, it turned out that some front connectors do not fit into the case as you do not shove them. The developers had to change the board. So it goes.
The guys were electronic engineers and it seems that they did not know the basic rule of the development of the final device - interaction with mechanics from the very beginning. In my practice, sometimes I gave electronics engineers the dimensions and shape of the board and only then they shoved the components onto it. In addition, it happened that I asked places where to place large parts (relays, transformers, etc.), because with some arrangement, they did not fit into the case corny.
In general, they started relatively quickly. I don’t remember any other special problems.
By the way, as it turned out later in a personal meeting, one of the founders of the startup worked for 10 years as the head of the department of electronic engineers at one of our clients. Therefore, he clearly (well, almost) knew what to do.
Short conclusion:
1. If there is a client, prepayment, when you clearly know what you are doing, then the work works soon, and the result is achieved faster.
Startup 9. Keychain alarm
Current status is bent.
There is a keychain that clings to a suitcase or other baggage, and in the case of forced attachment of legs, the keychain begins to wheeze loudly.
That's all I know :)
Why I was bent, I do not know. The startup was covered with moss and mold before I joined the company. Then I only decided what to do with the materials that remained. Here we have had an interaction with this startup.
Short conclusion:
1. There is no conclusion for this startup.
PS Next time there will be a story about one startup with an analysis of its errors. As the saying goes, the smart learns from the mistakes of others. I hope someone draws something useful for himself.