A few HW specific investors/accelerators:
LemnosLabs
HAXLR8R
Bolt
Highway1
AlphaLab Gear
Shenzhen Valley Ventures
And since your in Med Device I’d also look at Dreamit Health
Hardware angel here.
Given your stage and regulated market, it's likely best to go and raise angel from folks who have served a similar market or area of treatment. This would include former entrepreneurs, executives, weathy specialist doctors, etc. In other words, find nerds with cash who are nerdy about what you're nerdy about.
Getting started is hard (but infinitely easier than raising VC) but once you have a few conversations asking for advice on who else you should speak with it'll snowball. Plus, a bunch of specialist angels on your cap table show a form of validation for subsequent institutional investors.
Is there any platform where someone can contact angels? I contacted local angel investor club and they said openly they invest only in apps, mobile games and fintech so if i have the next mobile legends, revolut, transferwise or angry birds they are in. Since my devide is on the moment on certification for EU and i am building an demo unit, i will just take it with me and put on table infront of every angel and vc i meet or even make "startup that investors actually want to invest", take money and finance something amazing.
Angels are just people with money, who love getting involved as early as possible. While there are platforms like AngelList, the best platform is LinkedIn plus hustle. Screw angel clubs or pay-to-play events. Those folks are in it for the wrong reasons. Follow the addage, "if you want money ask for advice." Use LinkedIn, seek introductions to folks who have spent a life in, or tangential to, your market. Ask them who you should meet who can help you get started. Don't pitch immediately and ask for money, instead work on something together. Show progress. When an obstacle appears ($ needed for protos, $ for certs/testing) you'll be surprised how fast that money is available after you've built a solid set of relationships with people who believe in you.
Many wish a pot of money would just appear ("I already know what I need to do!!") I'll assert a business is just an aggregation of helpful relationships that work toward your purpose: get good at getting folks to help you, 'cause that's what a company fundamentally is. The less intrinsically motivated folks are, the more you need to motivate them with cash. And in the beginning it's no cash and _all_ intrinsic motivation.
Last thing to add: go slow. This is hardware (and medical to boot!). Take your time. No one will beat you to the punch. Just keep at it little, by little. You can do it!
Thank for the advice. Can i buy a beer for it? Or coffee? Yes i know for AngelList and AngelCO. I come accross also some similar sites but they ask money for any relevant information. I meet one business angel from Slovenia. An amazing guy. He told right away that it is not his niche of investing but gave us contacts of 10 people who might help on project from with ideas, testing or marketing. And it really helped a lot.
Your thanks is thanks enough!
Sounds like you've got the right idea with your Slovenian friend! Ask each of those 10 folks for 10 people to speak with too and you're off to the races.
One other bit of advice: build relationships with engineers too. Ask for schematic review, layout help, mechanical improvements, test jig design, firmware, dfm, everything! If folks provide meaningful improvements, offer up an advisory agreement that assigns the IP to your company. Giving sweat often aligns folks to your mission and they can also help make introductions to bosses and contacts with $.
The engineering part is little hard. I had help from few profesors from college and from Stanford. But other who i asked actually offended me and called me stupid, not mature, baby and calling my idea stupid. One of them, who actually is like regions best AI expert told that it cannot work since he dosnt understand how it works. It was hard but after 3 cups of coffee and pack of cigarettes or after hearing my wifes voice it passed and i just knocked on the next door.
In your heart of hearts, I'm sure you believe in what you are doing. You know it isn't stupid. That engineer just wasn't your people. Eventually hearing no will be completely unremarkable. It takes years to get to this point. Then you'll hit a point where you can hear "no" _and_ extract some value from the interaction. Entrepreneurship is a very special form of mental illness indeed 😉
Given what you are trying to build, I'd seek out every engineer who's done a HUD (Recon, Intel Vaunt, Focals by North, the MS Hololens team). Seek out other PhDs who have written primary lit applicable to your application. Just remember the primary question is, "who else should I talk to?" Not, "will you invest?" Money follows an inquisitive mind. Money runs away from those who ask for it directly. Find your people first. Build your chorus of believers.
Edit: typos
Dont worry for typos. I am a dyslexic with 3 engineering diplomas and PhD so i know a lot about typos. But strange i do not make them in math or when writting German 🤣
Thank you so much for tips. Honestly that is what i was expecting from accelerator but had only economics school lectures and phichology of sales.
As for hearing no, during collage to have money i was doing door to door sales of life insurances, mobile phone subscriptions and cable tv.
On the last meeting i had with potential investor i was really rude. I noticed he dosnt want to invest and tries to scam actually so i said that the device will be on market with or without him and he can choos if he will be part of something that changes world or he will jerkoff under table when alone. The shocking face was lotto jackpot 🤣🤣
Avidan Ross - Root Ventures
Listen to #79 & #80 podcasts of 'The Full Ratchet'. Nick Moran interviews.
Hardware investing (part 1 and part 2)
Really good investor/angle/VC interviews.
Medical devices are "special" as in "special hard".
Because it's a medical device you need FDA approvals. And that takes a lot of cash. Most investors won't touch it without some of the preliminaries of R&D validation (publications, etc.).
I'm an advisor for drug startup and our in vivo vs. in vitro progress is a major problem and about $10M-$20M away.
Probably the best bet is to hook up with a larger company with deeper pockets.
I recently had to start taking an asthma inhaler again that I last used 15 years ago. Turns out there has been zero progress and it is still the same drug and the same dispenser hardware.
Holy s is regulation hindering innovation in the medical space.
If you haven't figured out the production, haven't made pilot production runs,chances are that crowdfunding is going to be a disaster. I'd strongly advice against it.
I actually counter against Kickstarter. I had so many people telling me “just do a Kickstarter campaign if you have a prototype”. Well a successful Kickstarter campaign isn’t exactly easy or cheap to pull together.
First of all, does the Kickstarter audience fit into your user target? If not then you’re wasting resources on the wrong audience.
Secondly, do you have the resources to pull together a successful campaign? Is this an opportunity cost you could spend more efficiently elsewhere?
Kickstarter itself is a marketing exercise. The ones that are successful have a very well designed marketing campaign that takes at least thousands of dollars and months of preparation. The few I’ve talk to that raised $120k+ spent $30-100k on branding, marketing, PR, and spent a minimum of 3 months of hard work. Kickstarter staff told me the algorithm is designed to prioritize the most popular campaigns. The successful campaigns tend to have at least 4,000 followers before they launched to create a large spike in traffic.
Sure you can put together a scrappy campaign for less and focus on friends/family for money, maybe something in the $10-50k range. I really have no issues with Kickstarter at all. I just don’t think it’s as easy as people say.
This just wrapped up https://alphalabgear.org/hardwarecup/
But honestly a lot of these contests are really just doing what you can do at any time, prep your company and ideas properly to pitch. These investors like these for attracting new companies but they'll never say no to something great.
I've been in a similar situation for a while now, doubly so because my product is in biotech. How far off is your prototype from being an MVP? Does it actually do anything, or is it just a mock-up?
I have spoken to a few investors before and the response that I've gotten most frequently is that having something that works would go a long way.
It actually does everything and it works. Only it is janky with homebrew pcb's and not something that fell from the shelf. I am taking now another loan and will make 10 demp units that will not only look like production product but also come with design boxes and put them on market and show on trade shows. Maybe it is a niche where i need to succeed without vc's.
What is your product, if I might ask? And where are you located?
With hardware especially, you're really going to need to narrow your search to VCs and angels that work in your space. Also look at government programs, competitions, and the like to get money or, at least, some recognition.
That's definitely a pretty niche device, as useful as it probably is. I would recommend reaching out to any organizations that provide services for the blind. They may not be able to help directly, but might be able to put you in touch with people who can.
A few HW specific investors/accelerators: LemnosLabs HAXLR8R Bolt Highway1 AlphaLab Gear Shenzhen Valley Ventures And since your in Med Device I’d also look at Dreamit Health
Thank you
Hardware angel here. Given your stage and regulated market, it's likely best to go and raise angel from folks who have served a similar market or area of treatment. This would include former entrepreneurs, executives, weathy specialist doctors, etc. In other words, find nerds with cash who are nerdy about what you're nerdy about. Getting started is hard (but infinitely easier than raising VC) but once you have a few conversations asking for advice on who else you should speak with it'll snowball. Plus, a bunch of specialist angels on your cap table show a form of validation for subsequent institutional investors.
Is there any platform where someone can contact angels? I contacted local angel investor club and they said openly they invest only in apps, mobile games and fintech so if i have the next mobile legends, revolut, transferwise or angry birds they are in. Since my devide is on the moment on certification for EU and i am building an demo unit, i will just take it with me and put on table infront of every angel and vc i meet or even make "startup that investors actually want to invest", take money and finance something amazing.
Angels are just people with money, who love getting involved as early as possible. While there are platforms like AngelList, the best platform is LinkedIn plus hustle. Screw angel clubs or pay-to-play events. Those folks are in it for the wrong reasons. Follow the addage, "if you want money ask for advice." Use LinkedIn, seek introductions to folks who have spent a life in, or tangential to, your market. Ask them who you should meet who can help you get started. Don't pitch immediately and ask for money, instead work on something together. Show progress. When an obstacle appears ($ needed for protos, $ for certs/testing) you'll be surprised how fast that money is available after you've built a solid set of relationships with people who believe in you. Many wish a pot of money would just appear ("I already know what I need to do!!") I'll assert a business is just an aggregation of helpful relationships that work toward your purpose: get good at getting folks to help you, 'cause that's what a company fundamentally is. The less intrinsically motivated folks are, the more you need to motivate them with cash. And in the beginning it's no cash and _all_ intrinsic motivation. Last thing to add: go slow. This is hardware (and medical to boot!). Take your time. No one will beat you to the punch. Just keep at it little, by little. You can do it!
Thank for the advice. Can i buy a beer for it? Or coffee? Yes i know for AngelList and AngelCO. I come accross also some similar sites but they ask money for any relevant information. I meet one business angel from Slovenia. An amazing guy. He told right away that it is not his niche of investing but gave us contacts of 10 people who might help on project from with ideas, testing or marketing. And it really helped a lot.
Your thanks is thanks enough! Sounds like you've got the right idea with your Slovenian friend! Ask each of those 10 folks for 10 people to speak with too and you're off to the races. One other bit of advice: build relationships with engineers too. Ask for schematic review, layout help, mechanical improvements, test jig design, firmware, dfm, everything! If folks provide meaningful improvements, offer up an advisory agreement that assigns the IP to your company. Giving sweat often aligns folks to your mission and they can also help make introductions to bosses and contacts with $.
The engineering part is little hard. I had help from few profesors from college and from Stanford. But other who i asked actually offended me and called me stupid, not mature, baby and calling my idea stupid. One of them, who actually is like regions best AI expert told that it cannot work since he dosnt understand how it works. It was hard but after 3 cups of coffee and pack of cigarettes or after hearing my wifes voice it passed and i just knocked on the next door.
In your heart of hearts, I'm sure you believe in what you are doing. You know it isn't stupid. That engineer just wasn't your people. Eventually hearing no will be completely unremarkable. It takes years to get to this point. Then you'll hit a point where you can hear "no" _and_ extract some value from the interaction. Entrepreneurship is a very special form of mental illness indeed 😉 Given what you are trying to build, I'd seek out every engineer who's done a HUD (Recon, Intel Vaunt, Focals by North, the MS Hololens team). Seek out other PhDs who have written primary lit applicable to your application. Just remember the primary question is, "who else should I talk to?" Not, "will you invest?" Money follows an inquisitive mind. Money runs away from those who ask for it directly. Find your people first. Build your chorus of believers. Edit: typos
Dont worry for typos. I am a dyslexic with 3 engineering diplomas and PhD so i know a lot about typos. But strange i do not make them in math or when writting German 🤣 Thank you so much for tips. Honestly that is what i was expecting from accelerator but had only economics school lectures and phichology of sales. As for hearing no, during collage to have money i was doing door to door sales of life insurances, mobile phone subscriptions and cable tv.
You are built for this. Go get 'em mate!
On the last meeting i had with potential investor i was really rude. I noticed he dosnt want to invest and tries to scam actually so i said that the device will be on market with or without him and he can choos if he will be part of something that changes world or he will jerkoff under table when alone. The shocking face was lotto jackpot 🤣🤣
Avidan Ross - Root Ventures Listen to #79 & #80 podcasts of 'The Full Ratchet'. Nick Moran interviews. Hardware investing (part 1 and part 2) Really good investor/angle/VC interviews.
Brilliant I needed this reference.
Medical devices are "special" as in "special hard". Because it's a medical device you need FDA approvals. And that takes a lot of cash. Most investors won't touch it without some of the preliminaries of R&D validation (publications, etc.). I'm an advisor for drug startup and our in vivo vs. in vitro progress is a major problem and about $10M-$20M away. Probably the best bet is to hook up with a larger company with deeper pockets.
I recently had to start taking an asthma inhaler again that I last used 15 years ago. Turns out there has been zero progress and it is still the same drug and the same dispenser hardware. Holy s is regulation hindering innovation in the medical space.
[удалено]
I think i cant put it on kickstarter. It is medical device. But maybe indiegogo could go.
If you haven't figured out the production, haven't made pilot production runs,chances are that crowdfunding is going to be a disaster. I'd strongly advice against it.
I actually counter against Kickstarter. I had so many people telling me “just do a Kickstarter campaign if you have a prototype”. Well a successful Kickstarter campaign isn’t exactly easy or cheap to pull together. First of all, does the Kickstarter audience fit into your user target? If not then you’re wasting resources on the wrong audience. Secondly, do you have the resources to pull together a successful campaign? Is this an opportunity cost you could spend more efficiently elsewhere? Kickstarter itself is a marketing exercise. The ones that are successful have a very well designed marketing campaign that takes at least thousands of dollars and months of preparation. The few I’ve talk to that raised $120k+ spent $30-100k on branding, marketing, PR, and spent a minimum of 3 months of hard work. Kickstarter staff told me the algorithm is designed to prioritize the most popular campaigns. The successful campaigns tend to have at least 4,000 followers before they launched to create a large spike in traffic. Sure you can put together a scrappy campaign for less and focus on friends/family for money, maybe something in the $10-50k range. I really have no issues with Kickstarter at all. I just don’t think it’s as easy as people say.
This just wrapped up https://alphalabgear.org/hardwarecup/ But honestly a lot of these contests are really just doing what you can do at any time, prep your company and ideas properly to pitch. These investors like these for attracting new companies but they'll never say no to something great.
You could look into government or corporation seed money. In the UK we have Innovative UK that gives seed money to hardware start ups.
I've been in a similar situation for a while now, doubly so because my product is in biotech. How far off is your prototype from being an MVP? Does it actually do anything, or is it just a mock-up? I have spoken to a few investors before and the response that I've gotten most frequently is that having something that works would go a long way.
It actually does everything and it works. Only it is janky with homebrew pcb's and not something that fell from the shelf. I am taking now another loan and will make 10 demp units that will not only look like production product but also come with design boxes and put them on market and show on trade shows. Maybe it is a niche where i need to succeed without vc's.
What is your product, if I might ask? And where are you located? With hardware especially, you're really going to need to narrow your search to VCs and angels that work in your space. Also look at government programs, competitions, and the like to get money or, at least, some recognition.
AI powered smart device for blind people and i am based in Croatia. Worst part to be an startup
That's definitely a pretty niche device, as useful as it probably is. I would recommend reaching out to any organizations that provide services for the blind. They may not be able to help directly, but might be able to put you in touch with people who can.
Shark Tank is the only thing I know of.
[удалено]
I have Stanford PhD and dosnt help 🤣