Product Startup Podcast Episode 001: Why Now Is a Powerful Time for DIY Product Development

00:00:00 Filip Valica: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the product startup podcast, a podcast that helps bring your product idea to life by chatting with successful inventors, product designers, and other industry professionals. This podcast is run by

00:00:11 Filip Valica: Mako Design + Invent, and hosted by Filip Valica. Our goal here is to get to the bottom of what makes a product successful, from initial idea to putting your product on the shelf. We're taking you step by step to build a functional product and scale your product business. Now onto the show. this

00:00:26 Filip Valica: is the product startup podcast episode one welcome to the product startup podcast helping you turn ideas into successful products step by step with your host Filip Valica

00:00:41 Filip Valica: hi everyone welcome to the product startup podcast my name is Filip Valica and i'm the founder of the product startup.com

00:00:48 Filip Valica: the product startup isn't a design invention or product development company instead i show you how to keep control of your ideas and develop them yourself at your

00:00:57 Filip Valica: I use the same techniques that corporations and small businesses use, and I want to talk about how we can maximize our budget using insights based on my successes and failures as an engineer,

00:01:08 Filip Valica: as well as we'll talk with experts and other small business owners and highlight how they've gone through the product development process. I want to help you take the next step, whether you already have a product or you're just at the idea stage.

00:01:20 Filip Valica: In today's episode, I want to cover my background and why I love DIY and why right now is the best time for DIY product development. So let's get started.

00:01:30 Filip Valica: Where I am now, and my love for building and creating things, has a lot to do worth where I come from. When I was five, I pulled a toy dump truck from the dumpster, and it was one of these pulled behind plastic toys that kids can build themselves. It had these large oversized bolts holding everything together.

00:01:45 Filip Valica: Someone threw it away because it was missing the screw that held on a wheel, and I kept it and scrouched around until I found a metal screw that seemed to fit. I forced the metal bolt into the wheel, and it worked. I fixed the truck, and at that moment, I felt that.

00:01:57 Filip Valica: this huge freedom. I thought that it was possible to turn nothing into something to build, to create. And since then, I wanted to learn more. I got electronic kits and Legos as a kid, and throughout my childhood, I just took things apart. So it was just me and my mom growing up,

00:02:12 Filip Valica: and neither one of us knew how to fix anything around the house. And so we just bought books on DIY projects and home repair, and I ended up fixing things around the house with her. I actually still have that Reader's Digest Guide to Home Repair somewhere. So I continued building,

00:02:26 Filip Valica: and creating things, and I ended up going to the school for mechanical engineering. After school, I worked with a few different sized companies, corporations, and small mom and pop businesses that built their own products. I did the analysis and design and got to assemble the prototypes and test them.

00:02:42 Filip Valica: I got a chance to work with the manufacturers, and I talked to customers about their issues. And what I realized was that regardless of the size of the company, the products took a similar path to market.

00:02:54 Filip Valica: So even though I know how companies develop products professionally, I still love DIY because not only does it help save us money, but I love to feel empowered. I love creating

00:03:05 Filip Valica: things and I'm proud that at the end of the day I've been able to build something. I love taking a problem and learning about it and presenting the solution to the world. Later in my career, I was able to work with teams of engineers to build new custom products that haven't been

00:03:18 Filip Valica: built before. And if you've ever worked on a team like that, I think you can appreciate that It was kind of this high, where you were working on projects that no one else was working on. Most recently last year, I became a father, and I realized the importance of passing on this legacy,

00:03:33 Filip Valica: the importance of instilling this self-reliance and power and freedom that comes from doing things yourself and being creative. I definitely think it's a lot of hard work, but at the end, you get this huge wow moment,

00:03:44 Filip Valica: and I'm really passionate about that feeling of accomplishment, and I want everyone to get that. and this ties in well with my goals for the site. I'm really passionate about you finding this wow moment too.

00:03:56 Filip Valica: And I know that sounds really cheesy, but I'm here to help you get there, whatever that means for you. I was able to learn a lot of the skills that I have now from doing things the hard way and from mentors. People are capable of amazing things if they apply themselves.

00:04:10 Filip Valica: I want to help you achieve your goals when it comes to bringing products to the market. And I think that's a great segue on why I think now is the best time to start DIY product development.

00:04:21 Filip Valica: So I think one of the reasons that DIY product development is possible is because of the growth of a few technologies and trends. One of those is access to consumer data. Everyone's happy to post their personal information online now on Facebook and other social networks.

00:04:36 Filip Valica: So for the right price and even for free, anyone can get this information. And you can use that to develop a model for the purchasing habits of your target market. What do they like? What do they buy? That type of thing.

00:04:47 Filip Valica: In the past, only credit card companies and banks and huge marketing companies. companies had these opportunities, but now we all have access to this data. So whether you like it or not, the data is out there, and we can all use that to help shape our products. It's also just as

00:05:01 Filip Valica: easy to use the social media tools so we can design our products to match with trending. We've had the ability to run online surveys and build websites designed to test our ideas for a while

00:05:11 Filip Valica: now, forums and Facebook groups where we can meet other people that have the same passions as we do. All of these have grown in popularity. And while all this was possible, in the early days of the internet, I don't think it's been as prolific or as easy

00:05:25 Filip Valica: for someone with any web design or online marketing experience to build a business online. Another reason that this is a great time for DIY product development is that we all have this newfound access to rapid prototyping gear. So the last decade, there have been advances in cutting edge

00:05:39 Filip Valica: technology used in manufacturing prototyping. Technologies like 3D printing, laser cutting, C&C machining.

00:05:46 Filip Valica: And again, while all these have been around for decades, they haven't been as accessible or affordable for the home or small business owner. When I started college back in 99, we did a tour of the engineering prototyping lab.

00:05:58 Filip Valica: And inside the lab, there was a selective laser centering machine. So inside the machine, there was a plate covered in plastic dust. And a laser would draw the cross section of a part that you had modeled, and the table would move down another fraction of an inch.

00:06:13 Filip Valica: And the machine would lay out more plastic dust and then would redraw a new cross section of the part on top of that.

00:06:21 Filip Valica: And at the end of the operation, you had this full part. And to me, it was amazing that there was this machine that could create something that had no structure that wasn't there before. So the tour guide showed us a flip-flop with a working buckle and everything.

00:06:34 Filip Valica: And you didn't even have to put it together. It was all printed at once. But the machine was $200,000. So again, all this technology was available 15 years ago,

00:06:44 Filip Valica: but it certainly hasn't been available at the price range where it's at now. Now we have 3D printers that we can run at home or in the office that are just as capable. I even have one in my workshop.

00:06:55 Filip Valica: And I think the same thing can be said on the electronics side. PLCs and programmable logic controllers have been around for decades. And only recently have tools like the Arduino and Raspberry Pi become popular with hobby groups

00:07:08 Filip Valica: and made it so accessible for everyone to use.

00:07:11 Filip Valica: So now what was really complicated, programming is really easy. and the people without electronics backgrounds like myself could even make prototypes and build projects for less than the cost of a tank of gas.

00:07:24 Filip Valica: Another reason that it's a great time for DIY product development is the growth and simplification of computer design tools. The maker movement and 3D printing push the development of 3D development tools to help anybody create 3D models.

00:07:37 Filip Valica: So tools like SketchUp or TinkerCAD. And now anyone can create models whether they're a hobbyist or professional.

00:07:43 Filip Valica: And I think this is largely due to developers behind these tools spending much more time designing their software to make it a lot easier to use and more powerful. So basically, anybody can create these 3D models to build their prototype and get it ready for manufacture.

00:07:59 Filip Valica: Access to funding has helped spur product development immensely. Now anyone can raise money for almost any product through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and other crowd funding sites. It's basically the modern version of a bake sale or door-to-door sales, except for almost.

00:08:14 Filip Valica: instead of knocking on doors to get pre-orders, you don't have to leave your living room. And while it offers less personal risk to get a product started, you still end up with a global reach and the ability to finance a new product. Also, I think crowdsource financing like

00:08:28 Filip Valica: peer-to-peer loans have helped contribute to this. For a while now, part-time investors with, let's say, less than $50,000 had a hard time finding businesses that would work with them.

00:08:38 Filip Valica: Now, peer-to-peer landing has stepped up to fill the void banks left behind. Another trend that helps make DIY product development possible is simplified e-commerce. Early on, if you wanted to buy

00:08:50 Filip Valica: or sell products, you went to Craigless or eBay, and that was the best way of selling things to people that you didn't know.

00:08:57 Filip Valica: Shopify and Etsy came along and helped anyone create their own online store. And since then, it's been really easy for almost anybody to create their own site online and sell something to anyone in the world. This e-commerce boom has also been helped along through

00:09:10 Filip Valica: the growth of payment gateways. So back in the 90s, you needed merchant accounts and a gateway from a credit card company. Once PayPal became popular, all you needed was an email address

00:09:21 Filip Valica: and a credit card. Then Square added this ability for anyone with a smartphone and one of those card readers that they gave to everyone to take credit card payments in person. So even this removed the need for having an email address.

00:09:34 Filip Valica: Now we have Stripe and websites can take payments at better rates than PayPal. So again, there's this huge growth on the e-commerce side with simplified tools and better ways to accept payments, all geared towards lowering the barrier entry and letting anyone sell products online.

00:09:50 Filip Valica: There's also a huge growth of online brokers like Thomas Global, MFG.com, or Alibaba. They've all connected people who needed things made to the manufacturers who make them.

00:10:01 Filip Valica: And in the past, you had to fund your own factories or hire agents or salespeople. Now, work flows directly from the people that need it to the people that can get it done. Also, in the past, you'd spend hours searching local job boards, classifieds, or Craigslist

00:10:16 Filip Valica: to help find graphic designers and other people that can help deliver your product. Now you can just go to freelancer sites online and find skilled virtual staff. So all of these sites specialize in posting freelancing portfolios.

00:10:29 Filip Valica: They've got rating systems so you can search through thousands of applicants and see reviews from past projects. All of these tools and trends continue improving and evolving every day.

00:10:39 Filip Valica: They make it easier for companies and entrepreneurs to create products and take our ideas to market.

00:10:46 Filip Valica: We've all seen people's success stories on Shark Tank or Kickstarter and now it's your turn. And on my site and on this podcast, you'll get expert advice. We'll cover success stories from other people that have taken their products to market and I'll show you how you can take your next step.

00:11:01 Filip Valica: So stay tuned for episode two where I speak with David Frankel. He's the founder of the perky collar. It's a collar support system for dress shirts.

00:11:10 Filip Valica: David sells the perky collar on his own site, on Amazon, and in retail stores. On the show, he talks about his experience with getting a patent, prototyping, and going to manufacture. He's got a lot of energy, and I'm confident that you're going to learn something from the show.

00:11:24 Filip Valica: Also, if you like where the show's going or if you want to see something specific on the show, please leave me a review on iTunes by going to the product startup.com slash review.

00:11:34 Filip Valica: I really appreciate your support and I read all the comments and questions and try to incorporate them in future episodes. Reviews also help me get guests on the show. See you next time.

00:11:44 Filip Valica: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Product Startup Podcast with your host, Philip Beliza. For more great content and to stay up to date, visit theproductstartup.com. Your guide to getting there.

00:12:01 Filip Valica: Thanks for tuning into this episode of the Product Startup podcast, the show that teaches you what it really takes to bring your product. to market and turn it into a big success. This podcast series is brought to you by Mako

00:12:13 Filip Valica: Design and Invent, the first firm in North America to provide global caliber end-to-end physical consumer product development to startups, inventors, and small product businesses. If you're looking for product development help on your invention, head over to Mako

00:12:26 Filip Valica: design.com. That's M-A-K-O-Dign.com for a free consultation from one of Mako-Design for design studios from coast to coast. Thanks for listening and see you next time.

00:12:39 Filip Valica: Thank you.