Kevin Mako is a leading expert on hardware startups.  He is the Founder of <a href='https://www.makodesign.com/'>MAKO Design + Invent</a>, the pioneer firm for providing world-class end-to-end physical consumer product development tailored to inventors, product startups, and small manufacturers.  Est 1999, Mako Design is a 30-person team with offices in Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto, has developed over 1,000 products for clients and has earned over 25 design and business awards including Red Dot, Inc5000, Entrepreneur360, Indigo Gold, Creative Pool Gold, Best Places to Work, Lux Magazine Best Design Firm in North America, and many others.  Kevin lectures at the Masters of Engineering program at Ryerson University, sits on a number of entrepreneurship and education boards and holds the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award designation. He is the host of <a href='https://www.makodesign.com/podcast/'>The Product Startup Podcast</a>, the hardware development industry’s leading podcast.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Kevin Mako is a leading expert on hardware startups.  He is the Founder of &lt;a href='https://www.makodesign.com/'&gt;MAKO Design + Invent&lt;/a&gt;, the pioneer firm for providing world-class end-to-end physical consumer product development tailored to inventors, product startups, and small manufacturers.  Est 1999, Mako Design is a 30-person team with offices in Austin, Miami, San Francisco, &amp; Toronto, has developed over 1,000 products for clients and has earned over 25 design and business awards including Red Dot, Inc5000, Entrepreneur360, Indigo Gold, Creative Pool Gold, Best Places to Work, Lux Magazine Best Design Firm in North America, and many others.  Kevin lectures at the Masters of Engineering program at Ryerson University, sits on a number of entrepreneurship and education boards and holds the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award designation. He is the host of &lt;a href='https://www.makodesign.com/podcast/'&gt;The Product Startup Podcast&lt;/a&gt;, the hardware development industry’s leading podcast.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Kevin Mako is a leading expert on hardware startups.  He is the Founder of MAKO Design + Invent, the pioneer firm for providing world-class end-to-end physical consumer product development tailored to inventors, product startups, and small manufactur...

Kevin Mako is a leading expert on hardware startups.  He is the Founder of MAKO Design + Invent, the pioneer firm for providing world-class end-to-end physical consumer product development tailored to inventors, product startups, and small manufacturers.  Est 1999, Mako Design is a 30-person team with offices in Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto, has developed over 1,000 products for clients and has earned over 25 design and business awards including Red Dot, Inc5000, Entrepreneur360, Indigo Gold, Creative Pool Gold, Best Places to Work, Lux Magazine Best Design Firm in North America, and many others.  Kevin lectures at the Masters of Engineering program at Ryerson University, sits on a number of entrepreneurship and education boards and holds the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award designation. He is the host of The Product Startup Podcast, the hardware development industry’s leading podcast.

22: How to develop a hardware product - even if you have no engineering experience.

The financial formulas for scaling a consumer product business are really only applicable if your goal is to build a scalable venture. If you're just looking to run a lifestyle business you can disregard this article -  but if you want to build a scalable consumer product business,  these are the numbers that you need to understand.
 Use the financial formulas to compare the efficiency of each channel in your consumer product business and increase or decrease your resource allocation to the most efficient channel or customer segments.

<description>&lt;p&gt;The financial formulas for scaling a consumer product business are really only applicable if your goal is to build a scalable venture. If you're just looking to run a lifestyle business you can disregard this article -  but if you want to build a scalable consumer product business,  these are the numbers that you need to understand.&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;Use the financial formulas to compare the efficiency of each channel in your consumer product business and increase or decrease your resource allocation to the most efficient channel or customer segments.&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
</description>

The financial formulas for scaling a consumer product business are really only applicable if your goal is to build a scalable venture. If you're just looking to run a lifestyle business you can disregard this article -  but if you want to build a sca...

The financial formulas for scaling a consumer product business are really only applicable if your goal is to build a scalable venture. If you're just looking to run a lifestyle business you can disregard this article -  but if you want to build a scalable consumer product business,  these are the numbers that you need to understand. Use the financial formulas to compare the efficiency of each channel in your consumer product business and increase or decrease your resource allocation to the most efficient channel or customer segments.  

21: The Financial Formulas For Scaling a Consumer Product Business

So you’ve got your amazing product idea, and maybe you even have a prototype. But now you’re considering larger scale manufacturing and you’re speaking with factories that are halfway around the world where English is not the native language. You’re also talking about spending tens of thousands – or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on your production run, and it’s starting to dawn on you how much could potentially go wrong – and how much those mistakes could cost you! 
 One of the most important factors in the factory/designer relationship is how you communicate your product requirements. And that’s where TECH PACKS come in.
 Belinda Jacobs is a technical fashion designer from London (now based in California). She had her first job in fashion at the age of 15, stapling swatch cards together! Belinda has been designing & creating tech packs for more than a decade for household brands and independent designers alike

<description>&lt;p&gt;So you’ve got your amazing product idea, and maybe you even have a prototype. But now you’re considering larger scale manufacturing and you’re speaking with factories that are halfway around the world where English is not the native language. You’re also talking about spending tens of thousands – or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on your production run, and it’s starting to dawn on you how much could potentially go wrong – and how much those mistakes could cost you! &lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;One of the most important factors in the factory/designer relationship is how you communicate your product requirements. And that’s where TECH PACKS come in.&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;Belinda Jacobs is a technical fashion designer from London (now based in California). She had her first job in fashion at the age of 15, stapling swatch cards together! Belinda has been designing &amp; creating tech packs for more than a decade for household brands and independent designers alike&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

So you’ve got your amazing product idea, and maybe you even have a prototype. But now you’re considering larger scale manufacturing and you’re speaking with factories that are halfway around the world where English is not the native language. You’re ...

So you’ve got your amazing product idea, and maybe you even have a prototype. But now you’re considering larger scale manufacturing and you’re speaking with factories that are halfway around the world where English is not the native language. You’re also talking about spending tens of thousands – or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on your production run, and it’s starting to dawn on you how much could potentially go wrong – and how much those mistakes could cost you!  One of the most important factors in the factory/designer relationship is how you communicate your product requirements. And that’s where TECH PACKS come in. Belinda Jacobs is a technical fashion designer from London (now based in California). She had her first job in fashion at the age of 15, stapling swatch cards together! Belinda has been designing & creating tech packs for more than a decade for household brands and independent designers alike

20: What is a Tech Pack and why do you need one? With technical fashion designer Belinda Jacobs.

Thinking of auditioning your business to appear on a show like Shark Tank or Dragons Den? In this episode, I cover SoYoung's experience from the audition to taping to the deal itself.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Thinking of auditioning your business to appear on a show like Shark Tank or Dragons Den? In this episode, I cover SoYoung's experience from the audition to taping to the deal itself. &lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Thinking of auditioning your business to appear on a show like Shark Tank or Dragons Den? In this episode, I cover SoYoung's experience from the audition to taping to the deal itself. 

19: Behind the Scenes: What It’s Like to Appear on Shark Tank / Dragons Den

Hiring decisions are some of the most crucial decisions you will make as a small business owner. A great employee can take your business to new heights and open up new opportunities for growth, while a poor hire can set you back months and thousands of dollars, causing undue stress and frustrations.
 In this how-to podcast, I’ll lay out a step-by-step hiring process for small business that will help give structure to your decision making and increase your odds of bringing on a great employee.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Hiring decisions are some of the most crucial decisions you will make as a small business owner. A great employee can take your business to new heights and open up new opportunities for growth, while a poor hire can set you back months and thousands of dollars, causing undue stress and frustrations.&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;In this how-to podcast, I’ll lay out a step-by-step hiring process for small business that will help give structure to your decision making and increase your odds of bringing on a great employee.&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Hiring decisions are some of the most crucial decisions you will make as a small business owner. A great employee can take your business to new heights and open up new opportunities for growth, while a poor hire can set you back months and thousands ...

Hiring decisions are some of the most crucial decisions you will make as a small business owner. A great employee can take your business to new heights and open up new opportunities for growth, while a poor hire can set you back months and thousands of dollars, causing undue stress and frustrations. In this how-to podcast, I’ll lay out a step-by-step hiring process for small business that will help give structure to your decision making and increase your odds of bringing on a great employee.    

18: A 9-Step Hiring Process for Small Business

Each week we interview successful entrepreneurs and industry experts while reflecting on our own experience building e-commerce brands. Topics include selling consumer products wholesale, SEO, e-commerce, marketing, and business management. Whether you’re just getting started in developing a consumer product-based brand, or are looking to build an existing brand, you’ll find a ton of useful, actionable information both in the podcast and at indiebrandbuilder.com.

Indie Brand Builder: how to build a successful business online

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