Thanks to the decreasing cost of prototyping, it's more feasible for professional makers and first-time entrepreneurs to launch a hardware startup. But exactly how do you go about it? This book provides the roadmap and best practices you need for turning a product idea into a full-fledged business. Written by three experts from the field, The Hardware Startup takes you from idea validation to launch, complete with practical strategies for funding, market research, branding, prototyping, manufacturing, and distribution. Two dozen case studies of real-world startups illustrate possible successes and failures at every stage of the process. Validate your idea by learning the needs of potential users Develop branding, marketing, and sales strategies early on Form relationships with the right investment partners Prototype early and often to ensure you're on the right path Understand processes and pitfalls of manufacturing at scale Jumpstart your business with the help of an accelerator Learn strategies for pricing, marketing, and distribution Be aware of the legal issues your new company may face

For over a decade, Andrew "bunnie" Huang, one of the world's most esteemed hackers, has shaped the fields of hacking and hardware, from his cult-classic book Hacking the Xbox to the open-source laptop Novena and his mentorship of various hardware startups and developers. In The Hardware Hacker, Huang shares his experiences in manufacturing and open hardware, creating an illuminating and compelling career retrospective. Huang’s journey starts with his first visit to the staggering electronics markets in Shenzhen, with booths overflowing with capacitors, memory chips, voltmeters, and possibility. He shares how he navigated the overwhelming world of Chinese factories to bring chumby, Novena, and Chibitronics to life, covering everything from creating a Bill of Materials to choosing the factory to best fit his needs. Through this collection of personal essays and interviews on topics ranging from the legality of reverse engineering to a comparison of intellectual property practices between China and the United States, bunnie weaves engineering, law, and society into the tapestry of open hardware. With highly detailed passages on the ins and outs of manufacturing and a comprehensive take on the issues associated with open source hardware, The Hardware Hacker is an invaluable resource for aspiring hackers and makers.

Born in a small coal mining town in 1931, Frederic Marsh Civish, Jr. lived through things most people nowadays would consider history. For example, he is older than the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Hoover Dam. On Pearl Harbor Day, he was duck hunting with a 12-gage shotgun. In the 21st century, he was a substitute teacher, author of the historical novel The Sunnyside War about the 1922 United Mineworkers Strike. He also wrote “a truly workable diet book” titled Losing Weight for Life: Eating What you Like on the RMR Diet. He is still extremely active and involved in numerous social and charitable activities. Growing up in Utah, “I felt the state and everybody in it could be described with two words: I called the state ‘sticks and people hicks.’ After joining the Navy during the Korean War and living in several California cities, in 1962, for various reasons, I decided to move back to the sticks and become one of them ‘thar’ hicks. I lived in Salt Lake until 2012, when I got tired of the traffic and the smog, and moved north to Ogden, Utah, where my current home is about a quarter of a mile from huge mountains reminiscent of those where I was born and raised.”