What: Hardware Founder Panel Discussion (Webinar)

HKIOTA is supporting Silicon Valley Builder, one of the most vibrant “maker” communities in Silicon Valley, to roll out a series of innovation events in April and May. Kinsen Lee, Vice President of HKIOTA, will also be one of the judges in the Hardware Startup Competition.

Details and sign-up links:
Apr-8 10am HKT (4/7 Wed 7pm Pacific Time) Founder Panel: Pain, Present, and Challenges
Register in advance: https://bit.ly/apr7founders

Other supporting organizations include IEEE and Silicon Valley China Wireless. Our collaboration with Silicon Valley Builder is one of our steps that expand members’ participation in the international innovation communities.

Why the Webinar?

The pandemic has pushed some Silicon Valley start-ups back into the garage. An engineer at Cerebras Systems, a start-up in Los Altos that is building the world’s largest computer chip turned his living room into a hardware lab.

Hardware is still a brutal business for many startups. A study from CB Insights analyzed 400 failed hardware startups, and found that the top two reasons they fail are 1) lack of consumer demand and 2) a high burn rate.

A duct-taped Raspberry Pi prototype is not enough as a minimum viable product (MVP). You need to develop a prototype that appears almost production ready, is stable enough to garner reliable feedback, and demonstrates the core value of your product. You need to get this into the hands of your customer and start iterating your product before you burn through your capital. Let’s hear directly from hardware founders who have been able to overcome the early risks.