197: Go From Hardware Startup to Scale Up

10/12/23 • 23 min

Roland Siebelink, with a background in scaling companies from 10 to over 1000 employees, started his journey in the 90s with internet hardware. With over 30 years of experience, he's aided numerous hardware startups and tech firms in transitioning from startup to scale-up. As the CEO of Midstage Institute for almost 8 years, he specializes in helping startups grow. Today, Roland will share insights for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers on the timing of transitioning from startup to scale-up, navigating high-growth transformations, and ensuring success in scale-up hardware companies.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode:

Transitioning from a startup to a hardware scale-up
The growth journey of a new product development company
Identifying the right time to stop acting like a startup
Shifting focus from exploration to exploitation when traction is visible
The potency of a small proof of market for new hardware brands
Prioritizing growth and exploitation in scale-ups, not just exploration
Recognizing that gaining traction as an inventor is just the beginning of the scaling process
Emphasizing the building of a business, not just a product
Consider involving someone with a scaling mindset for technical or inventor-focused roles
Transition from being the smartest person in the room to hiring even smarter people
Acknowledging the non-binary transition from startup to full-scale corporation with a middle stage
Implementing processes as a means to scale efficiently
Utilizing the 80/20 principle to achieve optimal results
Maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit during mid-stage growth
Leveraging the competitive advantage of being a lean startup with a strong vision
Avoid launching a second business prematurely
Identifying opportunities within a small niche in a larger market
Initial focus on visionaries and early adopters within the market segment.

Roland Siebelink Links:

Midstage Institute

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

https://www.ProductStartup.com/

Mako Design Links:

https://www.makodesign.com/

Kevin Mako Links:

Instagram | LinkedIn | Quora | Facebook | Twitter

Producer: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients,...

Here are the key takeaways from the episode:

Transitioning from a startup to a hardware scale-up
The growth journey of a new product development company
Identifying the right time to stop acting like a startup
Shifting focus from exploration to exploitation when traction is visible
The potency of a small proof of market for new hardware brands
Prioritizing growth and exploitation in scale-ups, not just exploration
Recognizing that gaining traction as an inventor is just the beginning of the scaling process
Emphasizing the building of a business, not just a product
Consider involving someone with a scaling mindset for technical or inventor-focused roles
Transition from being the smartest person in the room to hiring even smarter people
Acknowledging the non-binary transition from startup to full-scale corporation with a middle stage
Implementing processes as a means to scale efficiently
Utilizing the 80/20 principle to achieve optimal results
Maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit during mid-stage growth
Leveraging the competitive advantage of being a lean startup with a strong vision
Avoid launching a second business prematurely
Identifying opportunities within a small niche in a larger market
Initial focus on visionaries and early adopters within the market segment.

Roland Siebelink Links:

Midstage Institute

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

https://www.ProductStartup.com/

Mako Design Links:

https://www.makodesign.com/

Kevin Mako Links:

Instagram | LinkedIn | Quora | Facebook | Twitter

Previous Episode

196: Common Gaps Being Ready for Manufacturing

Laura is the President of FORGE, a non-for-profit organization that helps specifically hardware startups in scaling from prototyping to manufacturing growth. They have worked with over 700 physical product startups to ensure that those companies are a commercial success by ensuring new product manufacturing is done right. Today, Laura is going to share valuable knowledge for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers on how to ensure your product is designed properly and correctly for manufacturing, how to ensure your documentation is complete, and how to best approach contract manufacturers to transition your developed product into a successful first manufacturing run.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode:

The importance of building a simplified design for manufacturing
Design for manufacturing is required to ensure the product is ready for production, and does not need any more design to complete to what is needed for market or for reliability or for certifications.
What to do when you haven’t tested enough the design
There is a false assumption that manufacturers are going to fix your design problems.
Use design firms to do design for manufacturing specifically
The effects of a lack of manufacturing documentation
Reaching out to partners too soon

Laura Teicher Links:

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

https://www.ProductStartup.com/

Mako Design Links:

https://www.makodesign.com/

Kevin Mako Links:

Instagram | LinkedIn | Quora | Facebook | Twitter

Partner: PTC’s best-in-class software solutions Onshape: The only cloud-native product development platform that delivers full-featured computer-aided design (CAD), integrated product data management (PDM) and enterprise analytics in a single system, and Creo: 3D CAD solution that provides designers with the most innovative tools to build better products faster, such as generative design, additive manufacturing, real-time simulation, IIoT, and augmented reality.

Next Episode

198: Hardware Success on Walmart Marketplace

Will Haire serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Bellavix, a marketing agency dedicated to the strategic growth of emerging hardware brands on Amazon and Walmart.com. With a background in military technology and supply chain management, Will has honed his expertise over a decade in the digital marketing realm. In this presentation, Will will impart invaluable insights tailored for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers. He will elucidate the nuances of the Walmart.com Marketplace, guide you through the product listing process, and illuminate best practices for effectively launching and expanding your hardware product in this competitive space.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode:

Walmart online differs from Walmart Retail Stores.
Not all products on the website are available in physical stores.
Online sales can demonstrate a product's value effectively.
Many Walmart online products catch the attention of retail store buyers.
Walmart is aggressively expanding into the e-commerce sector.
Walmart possesses a vast infrastructure.
There's a substantial opportunity for brands to join Walmart, especially as it's still in its early stages.
Getting a new product on Walmart.com is now surprisingly straightforward.
Previously, it was challenging to access the platform, but it's now more friendly to emerging product brands.
It takes less than a week to list your product on the Walmart marketplace.
Avoid simply mirroring listings from other marketplaces; tailor your approach to Walmart's platform.
How Walmart presents and promotes your product is crucial.
Different online marketplaces have varying sales metrics for the same consumer products.
Maintain control over your product brand on Walmart.
Walmart Fulfillment Services is akin to Amazon Prime Fulfillment.
Transfer reviews from Shopify, if available, to your Walmart listing.
Advertising is essential for brand scaling, especially after garnering positive reviews.
Carefully design and engineer titles, keywords, descriptions, and bullets to match buyer intent.
Experiment with software to find the most effective keywords for traffic and conversions.
Utilize Pay Per Click ads and the DSP Programmatic Platform in both on and off-platform advertising on Walmart.com.