I think the EE part is pretty much covered on the net. As a software engineer I was able to create a prototype of hardware product I wanted to build with minima

I think the EE part is pretty much covered on the net. As a software engineer I was able to create a prototype of hardware product I wanted to build with minimal EE knowledge- by searching how to implement specific subsystems in hardware- e.g. laser diode driver, light detector using LED, switching power regulator design, etc. I'm pretty sure such prototypes by people without EE background will fail in edge cases, but hey, it proves a point of whether try to build an actual product/company from it, or just throw in closet and forget about it.