How does a hobbiest go about getting a product designed?

[Bud]

I guess you could substitute "bank" with VC, friends, family

Think twice re friends and family. This is a great way to ruin relationships if you fail, unless they are prepared to say good-bye to their money from start.

[bittumbler]

Also not just think of the product itself, but also how it will be sold to the customer.
The bigger a company your (industrial) customer is, the harder will it be to sell to them (worst is government).
Big companies want to buy only from "certified" or "approved" vendors/suppliers. Decisions will be made by committees and take forever. Could this be a reason nobody else in the market created your product?

[Karlo_Moharic]

Jesus Christ , you never heard of Kickstarter dude. Just make a prototype and do what everybody does this days , start Kickstarter campaing.

[EEVblog]

Jesus Christ , you never heard of Kickstarter dude. Just make a prototype and do what everybody does this days , start Kickstarter campaing.

 
How would Kickstarter work for a niche industrial product?

[Karlo_Moharic]

Who gives a rats ass about  what market the product is intended for , let's be honest most products on Kickstarter are rather specialised products (that in all honesty and in most cases only a moron would supprot, yet people still get finaced for all kinds of stupid shit...batteriser.)It doesn't even matter for what type of enviroment  said products are designed for. As long as you find an excuse for people to give you their money , you can pretty much sell them anything. For all they care,  tell them that your product saves baby whales and polar bears. I'm not saying that OP should go that far but , he can most probably find some excuse for why should people give him their money.It's not about product but rather about marketing. If you are straped for chash this is a great way to get some money , with good marketing you don't even have to build a prototype , but instead just show few 3d models.

Now spare me a lecture about how this is not fair or correct or whatever , because the fact is this is how you sell a product these days.

[Brumby]

Now spare me a lecture about how this is not fair or correct or whatever , because the fact is this is how you sell a product these days.

Morality aside -
 1. How do you expect to raise funds for a product that is NOT going to be of interest to the masses?
and
 2. How do you expect to raise funds for a product where the details, function and features - and even the industry - are an "industrial secret"?

[Brumby]

My apologies.  Upon re-reading your post, I realised the answer.

Fraud.

[Brumby]

If I were going to try for a sideways approach - I would do something like this:

I would be honest and say I was trying to fund the development of an industrial product and the fund raising campaign will offer some other product which has some sort of uniqueness/value.  This would be offered at a price point that would cover it's cost and provide some funds towards the development.

As an example I thought of a coffee mug.  I know that's not a great idea in terms of the breakage risk and shipping cost, but it is just an example...  On that mug (or whatever the item is) I would put a symbol/graphic/whatever that the final product will be associated with.  Maybe it could become a trademark.  I might also put some text like "Top Secret Project" on one side and "Don't ask me what it is or I'll have to kill you." on the other.  (If you use this, please send me one as payment.)


Just a thought.

[ebastler]

Yet another way to think about possible approaches:

If you lack the funds and infrastructure to get the product designed (doing it yourself, or via a professional design house or other contractor) -- doesn't that imply that you also lack the funds and infrastructure to get your product produced and marketed? Hence, the idea of subcontrating the design and then selling this as "your" product will probably not work. Especially so if the target market is professional/industrial, where customers will be reluctant to buy from a garage-style supplier.

This would essentially leave you with the option of taking your design to an existing company which already has products in this market. Present them with the idea, preferably show them a prototype or proof-of-concept implementation; and suggest that they design, build and market the product, and pay you a royalty.

As mentioned by others here, this approach can work. Big caveat: Don't overestimate the value of the idea you have, and what a company might want to pay for it. You have just an idea, and rely on someone else's funds, expertise and infrastructure to develop, produce and market a product. You don't even have a patent on your idea, which would protect that company from copycats if the product should become a success.

Combine that with the niche character of the application you have in mind, and be prepared to get some pocket money out of this, plus a nice ego boost from seeing your idea as a real product. Which is still quite worthwhile -- I don't mean to be negative, just want to avoid disappointments (for you and others who may be following this thread and are in a similar situation).

[Karlo_Moharic]

You can use that approach, but believe as someone who occasionally works in manufacturing industry as technician (currently I'm a student but when I'm in need of some cash , I usually find some crappy job assembeling some shit or something like that) , I can tell you from first hand experience that it's not about how good your product is , bur rather how good are you at bullshiting people.

To give you example , not so long ago I was working in train manufacturing plant and let me tell you something. From dashboards that for no good reasons cost 70 000 euros (that is just for the dashboard , with no equipment) , to high end heating fans that break down constantly , or heating floor panels (that were apperantly made by Hulk) there is whole lot of more than crappy "industrial" grade equipment out there. I also rememember this one case where I was working in some factory and we needed a whole lot of drill bits (if I'm not mistaken , I think that as we were mounting a part we also needed to drill holes in mounting plate or something like that) and for what ever reason somebody working in purchasing department decided that the best company for the job was some pretty unknown company located in Switzerland (for the record if you want a good toolling and you are located in Europe , you go to Germans period). As a result well let's just say that they could have probably  got better drill bits if they where buying them off of ebay. Keep in mind that I'm talking about "industrial" grade equipment with all the paperwork and bells and whistles that came out to be just another piece of crap

If OP has an idea for well made and designed piece of industrial equipment even better , but again keep in mind that it's not about product  but rather about how good of a salesman you are. You can have the best idea in the world and the best design and so on , but if you don't know how to sell that you won't make any money. At the same time if you know how to "read" people , you can easily sell them salted mouse balls on a stick and they will buy it off of you with a smile.

With that on mind it would help if OP would at least tell us what type of industry are we talking about?
(don't worry nobody is trying to steal your idea , it's just that it would be easier for us to give you actual advice)

[mrpackethead]

Look what turned up in my facebook this morning.. It was dave!

[mrpackethead]

Maybe the " niche application " is just too niche.
If a true industial application it probably would have been developed before, if worthwhile

So everything worth inventing as already been invented.. What a lot of BS.

[mrpackethead]

Something that i think could be in *every* designers tool box is Fusion 360. Its an awesome bit of software and Dave quite possibly worth you doing a blab or video about.    Its got so clever these days..

[Mosaic]

I run freelance prototyping....NDA backed and IP sharing is possible if I feel the product is viable to me. I have done B2B products before. protofabtt@gmail.com. Just turned an idea into a product beta in 12 weeks for a client in Sydney...50% IP shared.

I can work thru freelancer.com as well for escrow control.
Electronic design.
Firmware design
Proteus ISIS sim, LTSpice
PCB design and prototyping (doublesided)
Product testing
Product video
Product docs.

[sabia]

I would strongly suggest trying some freelance sites, such as freelancer.com, upwork or even fiverr.com. It depends a bit what you're looking for, of course, but I myself have had great success on these.

From the posts so far it seems that very few people on here are aware of just how many freelancers are out there, who are just starting for themselves, or doing consultancy work after hours (with their employer's blessings!) You can find excellent freelancers who will work their arses off for you if they understand that you are in the startup phase like themselves. (Not to be taken advantage of, of course )

I can quickly list some of my past experiences:

I had an enclosure designed from start to finish by an excellent mechanical designer in the UK, ready to be injection moulded. Paid £750.
On another occasion I had an expert iOS programmer make me a compete app from mock-up to launched app for £1200.
I had someone route a rather compact PCB for £360 - an expert EAGLE user who only charges $15/hour (I also used EAGLE at the time, but didn't have the time to route it myself).
I had someone make a website as a close copy of another website that I liked the look of, but customised for my business. Paid $250.

Mind you, I have also had some less than successful projects with other freelancers, who despite great feedback from past clients were completely clueless....so vetting is important! Either interview properly, or run a small $50-100 project to start off with to see if the designer is any good before committing to a larger project. Also be wary of large companies that move work from one to another. Be sure you interview the same person who will actually do the work! (Should go without saying, but...)

I have found that freelancer.com is great for PCB layout work, mechanical work and programming. fiverr.com is great for super small design work like a logo, business cards, slide templates, etc. When I need an expert embedded programmer I use upwork.

Good luck! 

P.S Edited to add that on Freelancer (and possibly upwork) it is SUPER EASY to add an NDA to the agreement, and make the bidding round hidden, etc. It costs a little extra, but especially the NDA is very important.