Building a hardware startup is tough but doable; focus on sequencing your product launches to build credibility before expanding your offerings.

The best practice for hardware startups is to launch crowdfunding campaigns only after they have developed and tested their product, to avoid creating a negative reputation.

When we raised venture capital in 2003, it was one of the only deals that the firm had done at that time, highlighting the challenges of building hardware.

For hardware projects, consider starting with software solutions to validate ideas before investing in physical products.

When starting a hardware project, find an off-the-shelf product that closely resembles what you want to build to save time and resources during prototyping.

During the disillusionment phase, we struggled to attract investment due to recent failures of other hardware companies, which made investors hesitant.

We launched our product at a startup demo conference, despite initial skepticism from others about our idea, and faced challenges in recruiting a PR firm due to the prevailing negative sentiment. We decided to handle marketing ourselves instead of hiring a marketing person, and we had a memorable audition experience with two computers, one as a backup.

I think we had it backwards by creating a company around a hot technology instead of focusing on a real problem to solve.

We learned that finding investors who specialize in hardware was crucial, as they understood our vision and supported us.