Under the driving of mobile Internet and smart devices, people engaged in software entrepreneurs can be described as before, and they have no retrospective, in order to invest millions of dollars or even tens of millions of dollars. In the real life, there is always a group of people who have backed by this trend, they are low-profile pursuit of their hardware dreams. Whether it is the "hardware of hardware" or the father of entrepreneurship, they all want to change this physics world through their own efforts.
When I graduated, he decided to abandon 7 years of expertise and chose to devote it into the robot industry. In order to create a good product, he accepted an expensive order; in order to save money, they moved into the peasant house from the community; for their own dreams, he owed a bip with a butt. But he is not confused, and he has not given up. In this spring, Makeblock is the only Chinese team that scored the top ten of the HAXLR8R hardware incubator, successfully obtained $ 29,000 financing. Now they have the sales of seven or eight thousand dollars every month. At the open source hardware, they belong to the entrepreneurs who have made some achievements. In the process of entrepreneurship, what have you been encountered? What difficulties in front of you? The following is an exclusive interview with the founder of Makeblock.
Make a metal version of Lego, providing another flexible professional robot building platform.
Q: Some people say that entrepreneurship is actually solving a problem, and Makeblock has brought some standardized accessories for the open source hardware industry. Why do you have to be an entrepreneurial entry? Where is the inspiration?
A: I have given up the seven years of profession, I want to devote myself. To make robots are three knowledge of machinery, electronics and software, and I have a lack of electronic knowledge, so I entered an electronic company to be embedded. During the work, I often bought some pieces of drums to go home to assemble, but I found that their design and workmanship is very poor. This prompted me to think about what the needs of robot enthusiasts in the assembly, what kind of problem is facing. Finally, I decided to use "standardized accessories" as their own entrepreneurial entrance.
If you want to be a smart robot, it is necessary to solve the problem of three aspects: machinery, electronics and software. For electronics and software, there is already a good solution, such as Arduino, more other microcontroller development boards, robotic control boards, and more. But in the mechanical aspect, there is no good solution. Although Lego is flexible, it is plastic, and it is also very expensive. My inspiration has also been born: providing another flexible professional robot to build a platform.
Q: Makeblock homepage stated some entrepreneurial experiences related to you, which mentioned the credit card brushing. How much is it owed at the time? Has been confused? What is the good suggestion for entrepreneurs now in a funded dilemma?
A: The initial capital of entrepreneurs is completely borrowed from a friend, plus credit card loans, probably owed up to 40,000 pieces. It is good to regret that there is no, you can do your favorite and have a foreground. The difficulty of the initial stage is certainly unavoidable, I have already made psychological preparation: peace response, because it is believed that there will be gains and returns.
For entrepreneurs who have similar experiences with me, I want to say: "At the beginning of entrepreneurship, the passion has limited time, and the back is to persist, insist on the correct road. Come on!"
Q: During entrepreneurship, you need to find a factory to create products. Under normal circumstances, the large factory is unwilling to accept small orders, and the quality of the small factory is not guaranteed. How do you solve this contradiction. What kind of situation is now?
A: There is no way, start looking for a small factory, although the quality can not be 100% satisfied, but there is no significant impact. Get the support of the first batch of angel users, we slowly accumulate funds to switch plants, improve product quality, and of course, have not forgot to give back to those angel users. Later, we gradually switched the factory and replace the mold. Although our product quality has been recognized by ordinary customers, they also have a distance from our requirements, and will continue to improve after sufficient funds. For quality, the primary factor is its own quality awareness, followed by funds.
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Incubator can solve the problem of funds and product propaganda
Q: In the HAXLR8R hardware incubator, you are the only Chinese team that broke into the top ten and has obtained $ 29,000. Where did you get this event message? What changes have HAXLR8R hardware incubator give you?
A: I didn't take the initiative to apply to add this incubator. At that time, I did this in Shenzhen's firewood in Shenzhen. The initiator of this incubator once reached the firewood, and learned my project, and later he invited me to join.
Haxlr8r For our project, it solves the most difficult funding. Before joining the incubator, we have completed the development of design and supply chain, waiting for the first batch of products to make the capital investment. In addition, this incubator adds our exposure and has a certain help in the humanity. To know that our products are sold abroad. Now that we are also preparing to kickstarter, if it goes to go online, this will be a bigger outbreak point for the company.
Q: Speaking Kickstarter, you have said it is the biggest and best hardware entrepreneurial incubator, why is this?
A: For entrepreneurs, on Kickstarter means:
1 good products directly get the customer's recognition, do not have a good fee to let people don't understand this industry to believe this is a good project
2 Don't have to make the shares get a financing funds that are angels or even a round level
3 Products have not officially available, there is a batch of angel users, you can listen to feedback, improve design
4 an advertising opportunity
Work hard to reduce the threshold of open source hardware and win more customers.
Q: Open source hardware threshold has a little high, which groups are the end user of MakeBlock?
A: Indeed, the threshold of open source hardware is a bit high, and Makeblock is to do to reduce this threshold, so that more people can participate. Our platform will work hard to reduce the technical threshold, so that the products are not limited to enthusiasts and pole, making more people can rely on this platform to achieve ideas or entertainment, this is the larger market.
Q: What kind of hardware ecology do you want to create? What strategy is planning to increase the viscosity of users to their own products?
A: We provide a platform that integrates machinery, electronics, and software, providing simple and easy-to-use and rich modules, making users quickly achieve their own ideas. Users only need to focus on their own ideas, and to achieve the cumbersome details in the idea, let's get it.
When the user purchased the first our products, he entered our ecosystem. Later, he will have a sustained purchase requirement, we will attract users' first purchase behavior at a lower price at the beginning.
Q: How much is your current shipments? How many users have you been?
It is now sold through the dealer, and user data cannot be directly grasped. Previous dealers have been in China, because our products are heavier, the freight has always been high, and the sales volume is about 78,000 US dollars per month. We now talk about foreign distributors. Several major dealers in this industry have taken the initiative to contact us, including Sparkfun, Robotshop, etc., now in negotiations and product verification links.
Q: If someone imitates you, launch a similar product, what do you do?
A: We have a patent, which may have no effect, but we will still take certain legal measures. In addition, what I want to say is that plagiarism is difficult to surpass our level, we will continue to develop new modules and products along the original direction, they just follow us. We have formed a better reputation overseas, and foreign plagiarism is still more dissent.
Q: What is the biggest factor that hinders Makeblock's development? How do you plan to break through?
A: A factor is that our products are still not in place, our solution is not perfect, we have not lowered the threshold low. Another factor is that there is almost no effort to do in marketing.
The main task of our current task is to improve the product to we feel that we can go to large-scale promotion, and then began to have actions in market propaganda. I hope that our products are more than just in line with customers, but also transcend customers' expectations.
Q: Your website is relatively simple, is there a hardware e-commerce platform for a B2C in the future?
A: Some. If our project can go online in Kickstarter, we will launch exclusive B2C hardware e-commerce platform in the future.
Article Source: Lei Feng Net
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