5 ms·
The article is interesting but I think it misses the obvious (to me) conclusion. After being successful in a high-margin business (software), why would an entr
by smoyer 14y ago
The article is interesting but I think it misses the obvious (to me) conclusion. After being successful in a high-margin business (software), why would an entrepreneur attempt to enter a low margin (hardware) business?
IBM, HP (to some extent) and others have actually been exiting the consumer hardware market. That's not a business I'd choose to start. And using Elon Musk as an example isn't really fair ... he's certainly created high-end hardware but only where there's a market void.
- apsec112 14y agoBy hardware I don't just mean electronics, but anything that's physical and requires large amounts of capital. Sorry, clarified with edit.
- rubashov 14y agoRegulation. The kind of people who build a successful software startup don't want to deal with OSHA, the EPA, and local zoning boards. If you're freewheeling and you want to build something physical you have to go to China.
- westbywest 14y agoThe capital outlay required for pretty much any hardware product is enormous (compared to software-based products). Besides needing to sustain development effort to comply with emissions/safety/etc standards dictated by the regulatory environment, you also need to fund months to years of Q/A testing to ensure your physical widget can be reliably mass-produced. And all this has be done before you have anything to sell for revenue. Respinning a hardware prototype is generally slow and expensive (i.e. can't just recompile), with degree of slowness/cost increasing as you tread further down your development path.