Most funded startups come to us about six months later than they should.

The brief usually sounds something like this...

‘We’ve been building for 12 months. The prototype works. We just need to make it look good before the next raise.’

That framing is usually the first problem.

Design is not the final layer before commercialisation. It is one of the things that makes commercialisation possible.

The three most expensive mistakes we see funded startups make:

1. Engineering before design.

If you build the functional prototype before defining the user experience, you are often designing backwards. UX should help shape the architecture, not get forced into it later.

2. Treating industrial design as cosmetic.

The enclosure is never just styling. It affects ergonomics, usability, manufacturability, perceived value, COG's and often compliance. Those decisions carry a long way downstream.

3. Choosing a generalist when the stakes are high.

Not all product development experience is equal. A team that has solved similar hardware, manufacturing and market problems many times before will usually save you months of rework and a lot of avoidable cost.

The better approach is to bring in a design and development partner before the architecture is locked in.

Done early, good design reduces risk, shortens development time and improves the outcome. Done late, it often becomes an expensive exercise in compromise.

We’ve seen both paths and the difference is significant. One creates momentum. The other creates expensive rework.

Thinking of developing a product? We genuinely love helping clients succeed. Get in touch.