
Why Do So Many Hardware Startups Fail? - JabrZer0
https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/hardware-startups-failure-success/
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anovikov
Why not just say it simpler: because hardware is hard? It is just plain harder
than software. In part because it IS software plus whole lot other stuff. And
it is harder to sell too. A lot more mistakes to make.

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JabrZer0
I agree completely, but I still think it's interesting to explore the data
behind WHY hardware is hard. As a hardware founder who went the Kickstarter
path (along with 56% of hardware companies), a lot of what the article says
about early funding resonates - crowdfunding isn't enough, unless you're
wildly successful (and even then, not always). It may seem obvious to you, but
it's something most aspiring hardware founders I talk to don't understand (and
I didn't really grasp either).

The crowdfunding platforms bill themselves as just that - funding platforms.
Once you raise on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, you're supposed to be able to take
off like a rocket. The only problem with the story they sell you is that most
startups don't take off, even after a successful campaign. You could say maybe
they didn't raise enough money (and in most cases, I think you'd be right),
but that still doesn't solve their problem - they raised what they could. If
they couldn't raise enough money through crowdfunding, is crowdfunding really
a viable option for hardware? And if not, why do over half of hardware
startups choose to go that route?

On the other hand, maybe the horrible survivor rate for hardware startups is
partially due to crowdfunding. After all, it allows companies to raise funds
without being vetted in the same ways that a VC-backed company might be. Maybe
it allows a lower quality of product/company/founding team through the gates,
and as a result, we see a lower success rate for hardware.

The bottom line is I have no idea, but it's interesting to get a peek at the
mechanisms behind "hardware is hard", rather than just falling back on the
mantra and ending the discussion there.

