DC Hardware Startup

We are DC-area technology entrepreneurs and innovators who want to build viable and vibrant business based on hardware, whether electronic, mechanical, or other.

Atoms are the new bits: We believe that the time is ripe for a new wave of entrepreneurship in hardware in the United States and worldwide.

Lean startup / pretotype methodologies: Thanks to inexpensive contract manufacturing, domestic and overseas, 3D printing, programmable hardware, and an Internet to propagate ideas, the principles of "lean startup" methodologies are as applicable to hardware startups as to software startups. Hardware "minimal viable products (MVPs)" can be build in weeks or days, and "pretotypes" can often be formulated in just hours or even minutes.

Identify the right product to build before you mass produce: This classic rule still holds. How can we identify the right hardware product to build without expending too many resources?

Unique challenges for hardware: Hardware startups have their own unique logistic challenges- inventory management, component sourcing, and manufacturing to name a few. We will discuss and learn how to handle these issues as well.

Inventor to entrepreneur: We hardware folks love to tinker and invent. This is pure fun! Can we apply this tinkering mindset to build business, not just gizmos?

If your product moves, flies, makes a sound, has blinking lights, or does something physical, come join us!