There’s nothing like a failed product to break an inventor’s heart. After pouring weeks, months, even years into product development—not to mention all that mental and emotional energy—seeing a product fail to become what you imagined can be an incredibly challenging hurdle to overcome.
But it is absolutely possible to overcome those hurdles. We’ve all heard countless stories of highly successful people who failed spectacularly before hitting on their successful idea. In fact, you might even say that failure is just one of the steps on the way to achieving success.
Bill Gates’ first product, a device for processing traffic data, didn’t work; GoPro founder Nick Woodman’s first business was one of the casualties of the dotcom bust. Both of them, of course, went on to create products that are known and loved throughout the entire world. (If you’re still smarting from the pain of a product failure, recognize you’re in good company with this slideshow from Daily Finance on the top 25 worst product flops of all time).
Now, becoming the next Bill Gates is pretty improbable, but that doesn’t mean you should throw in the inventing towel. For some products, a set of fresh eyes can be extremely helpful.
But often, it’s hard to find someone with the expertise—or, let’s face it, interest—to help you rethink your product development.
That’s why Pivot International offers the same product design and development services to inventors hoping to rework unsuccessful products as we do to inventors working on brand new products. We often sit down with people who’ve gone through the product development process, but are having issues they can’t resolve on their own.
Problems with Design or Development
Maybe you’re working on a product with touchscreen technology, but you’re having trouble with the software, or the user interface. In this case, experienced software developers can help you pinpoint where the problem is and find a way to fix it.
Or perhaps you have a wearable technology product, like the ActiGraph Link, that could use a redesign to be more attractive to consumers.
And mechanical devices, with their own particular challenges, can also often benefit from a second look with experienced mechanical engineers.
It’s true that you may still decide to throw out the product, even after going through a redesign or reworking process. That’s OK—there’s always something that can be learned from going through an unsuccessful product development process.
Problems with Prototyping or Manufacturing
What about issues that emerge later in a product lifecycle—prototype design, for example, or finding a manufacturing company? In these cases, maybe all you need are experts who can guide you through these processes.
Prototyping might be one of the most important steps in getting a product successfully to market (you can read more about why in our post “5 Ways Creating a Prototype Boosts Your Product’s Success”). Skipping the prototype stage means that you might miss small, but important, problems with design or functionality that can make all the difference between a successful product and a forgettable one.
With the availability of Computer Aided Design, or CAD, it’s possible to create a three dimensional, scale representation of your product in a highly cost-effective manner. Physical prototyping is another option and may be better for inventors who are able to afford the slightly longer timeline and higher cost. You can read about both types of prototyping in our free eBook.
Finally, there’s manufacturing and supply chain management—these are complex processes to manage, and it’s easy for problems to emerge if you don’t have expertise in these areas.
There are lots of options when it comes to manufacturing, from keeping everything domestic to outsourcing some or all of the process. There are advantages to both—outsourcing manufacturing often means lower costs, although there are times when you want to keep your manufacturing process closer to home. Pivot’s manufacturing team can not only help you decide which route you want to take, but also manage every aspect of the process. We also offer contract manufacturing services.
Whether your product just isn’t working correctly, or you’re having troubles later in the product’s lifecycle, Pivot has the expertise to help you resolve the problems keeping you from getting your product to market. Ready to get to work? Contact Pivot International today!
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