How to start a hardware business

Jun 05, 2025

This is fascinating...

While most hardware startups rush to pack their products with features, Ring took the opposite approach.

They built a $1B+ company by solving one simple problem really well. (And others keep missing this lesson...)

Looking at successful vs failed hardware startups reveals what might be the most crucial pattern in achieving product-market fit.

They don't start with "How can we add more features?".

Instead, they lead with "What's the one core problem we're solving?"

Check out these numbers that tell the whole story:

• Ring: 1.4M units sold in 2020, 40% market share

• Seven Dreamers' Laundroid: $16,500 price tag, 0% market share

The difference?

Solving a real problem vs chasing complexity.

What's wild is how many hardware startups still get this wrong.

They were so focused on being "innovative" that they missed a basic question: Would anyone actually pay for this?

The pattern is crystal clear:

Ring: Simple video doorbell, clear security value

Laundroid: Over-engineered robot, unclear value

But here's the real kicker:

In hardware, you can't just "move fast and break things." Every mistake costs real money in tooling, inventory, and manufacturing.

That's why the best hardware startups follow this playbook:

1. Validate with 100+ customer interviews

2. Build minimum viable prototypes

3. Test pricing with real buyers

4. Partner with manufacturers early

5. Scale only after proving demand

And remember, in times of upcoming AI and automation, it's even more crucial to get product-market fit right.

Think of manufacturing scale as leverage. You don't want to mass-produce the wrong product. You want to scale only what customers actually want.

So stay curious and build deliberately (if in hardware).

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