OK, so here are my barriers (from painful experience) a) Need to run a very multidisciplinary culture - electronics, product design,brand, marketing, software,

OK, so here are my barriers (from painful experience) a) Need to run a very multidisciplinary culture - electronics, product design,brand, marketing, software, firmware, sourcing, manufacturing, dfm, test, compliance, distribution,returns, cust service etc. b) Need to synchronise the rhythms of delivery of these different disciplines (no agile process for hard-tooling molds) c) Need a defensible business model eg some software/ service/ brand component so you don't just get copied d) You need capital for your supply chain and partners. Volume matters, sometimes you can't even get to the table without volume purchasing. NB you need capital for your first 2 products. e) The competition is really good (Apple,Sony etc.) The margins are small. The business model is much worse than software or services. Many hardware companies make their money on related services (phones, consoles, printers) so customers don't realise what a 'fair' price is for a hardware item.