
This 24-year-old made $345,000 in 2 months by beating Kickstarters to market - nbmh
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/a-24-year-old-made-345000-by-beating-kickstarters-to-market.html
======
ruytlm
I am reminded of "How to create a unique/successful minimalist watchbrand":
[https://imgur.com/a/6CNO8](https://imgur.com/a/6CNO8)

There was a great article in a similar vein from an author who sought to track
the provenance of their fake watch (which from memory was on a site dedicated
to tracking the provenance of objects, but I can't find the site), and in the
process uncovered just how many of these brands were reselling cheap watches
sourced from China.

It is a shame to see people so willing to make money by such unscrupulous
means.

~~~
Tsiklon
Is it not the case that many of the 'designer' brands selling expensive
watches are also using the same cheap watch movements too - Michael Kors I
believe is one such name (though I may be wrong)

------
supermatt
ASK HN: I often have these basic product ideas which I would like to bring to
market. Im quite happy to go the lean startup route and then invest $XX,XXX
for production once happy ill have sufficient demand to take a punt. That side
of the business I understand.

What I don't understand is the production side of things. How/where do I go to
get these things produced. How do I choose a provider, etc. In the case of
this fidget cube, would they have sent 3d models or a prototype of what they
require, or is there some middle step Im missing out?

I know I could take someone on to do that for me, but I'd really like to
understand it myself.

Would appreciate any guidance!

~~~
mechwarrior
I'm a product design engineer! So rare that I get to have any input on HN. In
answer to your questions:

1\. How does the factory quote / understand what is required? Typically you
send a 3D CAD file of the product you want to make and a bill of materials to
a selected factory and they send you a quotation. For some products the
factory may be able to quote based on a prototype, but this is less typical
for totally custom / new products.

2\. How do I choose a provider? I recommend any of the following:

a. Leverage any personal connections you may have

b. Search for similar products / the product category on Alibaba

c. Either go to trade shows (the biggest for Chinese factories is Canton fair)
or review the vendors exhibiting at a trade show online

d. Panjiva.com (the best option if it works) Panjiva aggregates public import
records for anyone importing products into the US. Both the importer (think US
brand) and exporter (think Chinese factory) are listed for every shipment. Use
Panjiva to search for a company that is selling a similar product you want to
make in your market (for example, if you want to sell headphones in the US,
you might search "Bose" on Panjiva). If a factory has made a bunch of similar
shipments to reputable brands in the US they are likely a good factory.

Getting a good factory to take you seriously is actually quite challenging for
a fledgling company. Quoting a product takes a good deal of time to do
properly and is expensive for them. They get a surprising number of tire
kickers. To increase chances of success, highlight anything that makes you
more credible when quoting (investment, awards, personal track record, nice
looking website, photos of prototypes, etc.)

------
unreal37
Article from Jan 2017

