Dons Deals

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Thursday, 21 March 2013

Lessons Learned, from a maker entrepreneur who made the Pianocade

Posted on 20:13 by Unknown

I like this story, for the lessons learned. Hopefully, this will save the rest of us, some trouble...

Don

Up, not North - Pianocade post-mortem: lessons learned starting a maker business

Up, not North

Amateur engineering and design dabbling

  • About
  • Contact
  • Projects
    • Automatypewriter
    • Pac Machina
      • Pactuator
    • Pianocade
    • Portal turret plushie
    • Syntheslicer
    • Tinct
  • Feed

Pianocade post-mortem: lessons learned starting a maker business

March 6th, 2013

Six months ago I launched my first commercial project: the Pianocade synthesizer. Several months behind schedule and significantly above budget, I’ve finally managed to ship all the preorders. Needless to say, things did not go as planned.

If you’d asked me a few weeks ago whether I would ever do this again, I’d have laughed (and then maybe cried a little). But as I finished off the last few units, I started thinking about how much I’d learned from the experience. I was surprised to find myself getting excited about giving it another try and seeing if I could make things run more smoothly. I’ve even, heaven help me, started designing a completely new product!

In the meantime, I hope others can also benefit from some lessons I learned while turning my hobby into a business (or at least have a laugh at my expense).

The problem is supply, not demand

Though in hindsight it seems hopelessly naïve, I thought that taking preorders was the perfect business model: it removes the need for any sort of external investment, while simultaneously demonstrating that demand exists for your product at your price point. My faith in preorders reflected a belief that selling things would be the hard part of starting a business, but in my experience that wasn’t the case: selling was easy, it was actually making things that was hard.

Murphy was right

Read More...
http://upnotnorth.net/2013/03/06/pianocade-post-mortem-lessons-learned-starting-a-maker-business/

Lessons Learned, from a maker entrepreneur who made the Pianocade
Words of wisdom from a maker entrepreneur
Pianocade features teaser - YouTube
Up, not North - Pianocade post-mortem: lessons learned starting a maker business
Up, not North - Contact
Up, not North - Projects
Up, not North - Pianocade

News 03-21-13
Words of wisdom from a maker entrepreneur
Assigning new packages to Eagle PCB components
Printed vacuum pump muffler quiets the lab
Linux Today - Taking Stock of Linux Security and Anti-virtus Needs
Taking Stock of Linux Security and Antivirus Needs | The VAR Guy
Linux Today - OpenStack Grizzly Open Source Cloud Nears RC1
OpenStack Grizzly Open Source Cloud Nears RC1 - InternetNews.
Planck Satellite Shows Image of Infant Universe - NYTimes.com
How To Use Torrents
How to Build a Longboard: 18 steps - wikiHow
Medical Products Recalled Due to Mold – WebMD
After a Prediabetes Diagnosis: How to Prevent Diabetes
Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products > Clinical Specialties Compounding Pharmacy Products: Recall - All Sterile Products Recalled Due To Lack of Sterility Assurance
‘Admission,’ Starring Tina Fey, Directed by Paul Weitz - NYTimes.com
Linux Today - Top 8 Tools To Search Memory Under Linux / Unix - Forensics Analysis
Top 8 Tools For Linux / Unix Memory Forensics Analysis
Linux Today - Speed up your download with Aria2 on Linux
» Linuxaria – Everything about GNU/Linux and Open source Speed up your download with Aria2
Bluetooth headset garage door opener update
Remote control command center includes RF and IR functions
NANDputer is mostly wiring
Microsoft Gives User Data To The U.S. Government Less Often Than Google, But To Foreign Governments Far More - Forbes
Linux Today - Basho open sources Riak CS
Basho open sources Riak CS - The H Open: News and Features
How to Decoupage: 12 steps - wikiHow
Energy Drinks Linked to Changes in Heart Rhythm – WebMD
NANDputer running its first program - YouTube
Updated: Open Your Garage Using Your Phone (Secure, Simple) - YouTube
How to make a Long Board - YouTube
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • ZigBee - a specification for a suite of high level communication protocols used to create personal area networks built from small low-power digital radios
    ZigBee From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search ZigBee ...
  • Open Sorce Hardware - The Wandboard is a low cost board based on the i.MX6 multicore ARM Cortex-A9 family of processors. In consists of a core module based on the EDM standard and a simple to extend baseboard
    Here's an Open Source Wandboard - Freescale i.MX6 ARM Cortex-A9 Opensource Community Development Board. The Wandboard is a low ...
  • 1967 Chevy Camaro Complete Rebuild - Videos, HowStuffWorks Videos "NAPA Videos"
    Video Playlist - West Coast Customs Shop, Completely Tears Down a 1967 Chevy Camaro and then does a Complete Rebuild...
  • Installing and Updating GRUB 2 in Fedora Linux
    This Page has allot of info on Installing, Updating and Trouble Shooting Grub 2 in Fedora Linux. There are some good How To's for...
  • Dynaco Stereo 400 Power Amplifier - Dead Channel Fix - Dynaco Repairs For PC-28 Amplifier Boards
    My Dynaco Stereo 400 Amp... The Page Below these e-mails with Kevin Boales. Looks like the one that I found. Back in ...
  • Open source PLC's - PLC (programmable logic controller)
    Here's some Great Looking Open source PLC Projects. The OSPLC Small & Large Bricks are open-source PLC (programmable logic ...
  • NetProMax PC with Motherboard P5PE-VM ASUSTeK
    Here are some links to info on the NetProMax PC with Motherboard P5PE-VM ASUSTeK ... Don ASUSTe...
  • Running a PXE Boot Server in Parted Magic
    Here's some good info on Running PXE Boot Server in Parted Magic... Don PXE – Parted Magic PXE PXE: the "classic" way ...
  • Americas Health Care - Obama Care - Key Features of the Affordable Care Act - Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act
    Finally! Some real info, as in... This is the date that the Affordable Care Act, goes into effect. Open enrollment in the Heal...
  • Building a Brushless Motor Controller using an ATmega Chip - by Davide Gironi
    Here's a very in depth Article on Building a Brushless Motor Controller using an ATmega Chip - by Davide Gironi... Do...

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (354)
    • ►  December (12)
    • ►  November (33)
    • ►  October (23)
    • ►  September (46)
    • ►  August (52)
    • ►  July (36)
    • ►  June (45)
    • ►  May (17)
    • ►  April (38)
    • ▼  March (19)
      • Watch Something Ventured Video - The American Docu...
      • Whonix / Documentation / Home
      • Cameras - Extending Battery Life - Ultimate rechar...
      • How to Mount a Floppy Disk in Fedora 13-14
      • Lessons Learned, from a maker entrepreneur who mad...
      • DIY Portable Media Center Extender - hack247
      • Korora 18 - Beta (Flo) Fedora Remix
      • Best Free Online Applications and Services - by Jo...
      • Did You Check the Switch???
      • Educational Linux Distro provides Tech Bundle for ...
      • Capacitors - Testing Caps Building an ESR Meter
      • No-Touch Music Player - FeedYourHead LighTouch
      • Dad Hacks Donkey Kong so Daughter Can Play as Paul...
      • I Burned up my Audio Output Circuit in my Dell 600...
      • Software Defined Networking (SDN) - What is it?
      • MAKE - Mercury Switch Doorbell
      • All Blogs - My Unexpected Crestron Experience
      • Launchy and Everything - Windows Desktop Launcher ...
      • Debian GNU Linux Running on a Samsung Galaxy Note ...
    • ►  February (22)
    • ►  January (11)
  • ►  2012 (145)
    • ►  December (27)
    • ►  November (31)
    • ►  October (14)
    • ►  September (15)
    • ►  August (48)
    • ►  July (10)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile