The Product Startup

This episode is based on the following article: 6 Methods To Generate New Product Ideas and And Kick-Start Your Creativity Many people assume that they aren’t good at coming up with new or creative ideas. They say, “I’m not a creative person” or “I wish I had thought of that!” With the right focus, method, and tools, you can train yourself to think creatively. I’ve used these step-by-step techniques to brainstorm new product ideas and features. If you have a product idea, put these methods...

Today’s show is hosted by Khierstyn Ross of Crowdfunding Uncut, a podcast that dives into the details of successful crowdfunding campaigns. Today we will focus on manufacturing and quality assurance - answering some of the most popular questions that we get asked. In this episode, we learn about What does the prototyping process look like Stripping your product back to the most elegant, simple solution Sourcing a manufacturer locally or abroad Working with third-party quality assurance...

Alice Orozco sells custom, made to order draperies at Pret-a-Portiere. She started her business in 2012 with the aim to make quality (normally very expensive custom made drapes) highly accessible to most and provide an alternative way of buying these curtains. Alice sources fabrics direct from the mills and design some of my fabrics as well. She produces and sells her own designs. Some of her sourced fabrics sell in fabric designer houses for well over $100 per meter wholesale. She's...

Samatha and Elaine are two women from Melbourne running a turmeric superfood blend business. Samatha is a Nutritionist and Food Scientist, while Elaine is a Fashion Stylist with an Advertising background. The duo developed the blend, designed packaging, sourced materials, and have everything produced in Melbourne, Australia. They've had MANY hiccups along the way, it's been a long road, but an interesting one. Would they do it again? Not sure. Has it been worth it? So far, yes. They're...

Tim Christian is a 38-year-old father of 3 boys under 7, airline pilot of 17 yrs and founder of OORR. He lives in Chatswood, a satellite CBD just 10 minutes north of Sydney, Australia. He loves riding his bike and is currently learning how to play guitar. He considers himself a perpetual student of self-improvement. Everything he does tends to be about making this world better for his family, for others, and for future generations. In this episode, we learn about How Tim got started with...

Juliana Garaizar is the Managing Director of the Houston Angel Network, Senior Advisor of the Rising Tide Fund and Portfolia Consumer Fund. In this episode, we learn about Final call for the JUST START 14- Day Challenge Update from Mat Hofma of Mini-Materials (Episode 05) How Juliana got started with the Houston Angel Network The type of background of the typical angel investor in the HAN The application process for startup companies to get funded What investors look for in companies How...

Bill McAlister is President of Top Dog Direct, one of the most successful marketers of “As Seen on TV” products. Bill and his team are constantly on the look-out for the next hit consumer product and they meet with at-home inventors regularly. Bill discusses what direct response television (DRTV) marketers look for in consumer inventions and how an at-home inventor can get a product to market without breaking the bank. In this episode, we learn about The 14-Day JUST START Challenge Bill's...

Christopher Ray started off his career as general counsel for a Denver-based e-commerce company that was engaged in an aggressive mergers & acquisitions program, rolling up six dealerships over an 18-month period. He has since been in private practice helping small companies fix their financials, grow their business, and find outside investment, as well as help investors understand the financials of the businesses they are interested in investing in. Chariss is an experienced and PHR...

Tal and Stephanie started their product design after years of sharing living spaces with siblings and roommates. The Shlocker is a Shower Locker designed for anyone sharing a bathroom (college students, roommates, families). It allows the user to keep their personal care products separate, preventing product mooching and razor mixups. In this episode, we learn about The 2017 Annual Product Startup Survey and Giveaway Solving that unmet need Validating their idea and creating the initial...

Johannes Roselius is a development engineer with 10 years of experience in Product development. He has worked in design engineering, manufacturing, and product management and loves to find simplicity in the most complicated problems. He enjoys all types of adventures, everything from business to sailing across the south Pacific Ocean. An entrepreneur since early childhood, he has run his own consultancy for over 2 years. Rasmus Tretow is an industrial designer and chili growing enthusiast....

In 2009 Elyse took a niche idea for fully customizable jackets, inside and out and turned it into a multi-million dollar business. Exodus Wear now produces a range of custom apparel sold Australia wide to schools and sporting and community groups with plans for international expansion in the near future. In this episode, we learn about How Elyse started the business - and made a mistake on her first order Why Exodus Wear does not use an online customization tool - and instead prefers to...

Chris Mitchell is a seasoned marketer with considerable digital and e-commerce marketing experience, especially in building online applications and marketplaces. He founded or co-founded several internet startups and also served as director of user experience for MFG.com between 2005 and 2007, where he designed all aspects of the MFG.com website and related user and back-office applications. Chris talks about soliciting quotes from manufacturers and results of the mfg.com survey entitled -...

Stacy Marking of Lemongrass Trading Co makes all-natural and 'green' products (mainly insecticides and fragrances). She took on the research, testing, design, making, bottling and labeling herself. In this episode, we learn about How Stacy started the company and her inspiration for the products Why she entered an industry with established competition Creating the early prototypes Import / export constraints and regulatory approvals Research with the University of Bristol, paid for by an...

Jay DeMerit is a former professional soccer player for the US Men's National team with a background in product design. After retirement from the sport, Jay started Portmanteau Stereo Co. designing one-of-kind stereos made from vintage suitcases and reclaimed wood from the forests of British Columbia. In this episode, we learn about Jay's inspiration for creating RockIt and how he found the raw material for his speakers How he tuned the sound of his speakers without direct experience in...

Diane Gardner’s expertise lies in the area of tax planning. Her goal is to make sure successful entrepreneurs across the United States are paying the least amount of income tax they can legally pay. As a tax coach, she offers a FREE tax analysis for those interested in finding out if they are overpaying their income taxes. Her goal is to save taxes one business at a time through the use of pro-active tax planning. In this episode, we learn about The most common deduction people miss on...

Tim Pannell has developed an award-winning machine called the Reefinator, which he manufacture and sells to Farmers and Contractors across Australia. The Reefinator converts shallow, rocky soil into deep productive soils at an economical cost. In this episode, we learn about That Tim started thinking about the Reefinator almost 20 years ago, but he only recently started to work on it recently How the Reefinator works to crush rock The process that Tim followed to build the initial...

Farah Qureshi designs and makes jewelry in precious materials using ethical silver and gold in the UK. The inspiration behind her designs comes from many different sources, such as botanical imagery. In this episode, we learn about Where Farah draws inspiration for her art The benefits of winning design grants and awards Farah's core motivation for creating her business What type of work Farah outsources, and what does in-house How Farah comes up with new designs for her products and...

Ruth Stone founded BoxHead Craft, the world’s only manufacturer of blank box heads for kids to design and decorate. Kids happily abandon the console to craft and enjoy imaginative play. In this episode, we learn about Where Ruth got the inspiration for her first product Ruth's first production run of 100 units to test the market Why Ruth was comfortable creating a product in "someone elses' sandbox" Manufacturing a custom box from scratch The path to market: Selling Amazon, eBay, and Etsy...

Gavin Christman is the co-founder of Green&Blue, a product design company based in the South West England. Green&Blue create a beautiful range of innovative, award-winning products for wildlife and nature. In this episode, we learn about Gavin's experience working for Dyson as an industrial designer and how it helped him setup Green&Blue The thought process he took away - understanding a problem and creating a simple yet elegant solution Looking at the problem through the eyes of customers...

Paul began Potratz, a brand experience, engagement, and digital agency, in Schenectady, NY in 2003. Since then, Potratz has grown to have 37 employees and clients across the U.S., Canada, and Denmark. His recent project, The Growth Mindset, is a mentor, marketing, and leadership association for modern day entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. In this episode, we learn about The fist thing that you must do when creating a branding and advertising strategy "How will your product or...