Feasibility vs pilot
The distinction between proving the technology works and proving a buyer will pay to use it in their environment.
Hardware playbook
An acceleration playbook for your hardware venture, not generic business advice.
Your goal, roadmap and coaching adapt to how a deep tech business really makes money: technical milestones, bill of materials, manufacturing risk and long lead times.
How your AI coach reads the business
Your venture, modelled the way it actually runs.
When you tell your AI coach you run a hardware or deep tech company, it reads your numbers through a capital-intensive lens, not a software one.
Bill of materials (BOM)
The total cost of all components, assembly and testing required to produce a single unit at scale.
Manufacturing lead times
The time between ordering components and having a finished product ready for the customer.
Technical milestones
Specific performance targets that unlock the next stage of funding or commercial adoption.
YOUR ACCELERATION PLAYBOOK, BY GOAL
Pick the goal you are working on.
See how it plays out here.
Goals you choose, not steps in order. Your AI coach tailors the roadmap to your own numbers. Figures below are rules of thumb, not targets you must hit.
Validate a buyer-relevant prototype or pilot.
What counts as proof
A technical demonstration that solves a specific commercial problem, with a buyer willing to fund a trial.
What your AI coach flags
- Building a perfect product before showing it to a buyer
- Ignoring the cost of installation and support in the pilot
- Confusing technical interest with commercial intent
Example roadmap moves
- Define the one technical performance metric that matters most to a buyer
- Build a functional prototype that demonstrates this specific value
- Secure a paid pilot or a letter of intent with a clear commercial trigger
- Draft the initial bill of materials for a small production run
How an operator helps
Where practices get stuck.
Operators who have run service businesses spot these early, and work through them with you.
The research rabbit hole
Perfecting the technology in the lab without checking if the market needs that level of performance.
The scale-up squeeze
Finding that a product easy to build by hand is impossible or too expensive to build in a factory.
Uncounted support costs
Ignoring the travel and labor costs required to keep early hardware running at customer sites.
The component cliff
Designing a product around a specific chip or part that suddenly becomes unavailable or triples in price.
What your operator works through with you
BOM review
What they look at
Your full bill of materials, including assembly and testing time.
What they push back on
Parts that are too expensive or hard to source at higher volumes.
You leave with
A cost-reduction plan for the next version.
Milestone check
What they look at
The technical targets required for your next funding round.
What they push back on
Doing interesting work that doesn't actually unlock the next capital injection.
You leave with
A prioritized list of technical tasks for the next quarter.
Supply chain audit
What they look at
Your key suppliers and their lead times.
What they push back on
Critical dependencies that could halt your business for months.
You leave with
A list of backup suppliers for the three most risky parts.
Customer feedback
What they look at
Data from your pilots and early field units.
What they push back on
Engineering assumptions that don't match how the buyer actually uses the tool.
You leave with
A list of three product changes to improve reliability or ease of use.
1:1 expert helpGet matched.
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Pricing strategy · 30 min
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Summary & takeaways
Call summarySession · 30 minutes
Idea validation & customer discovery
Key takeaways
Buyers solve this today with spreadsheets and extra hours.
Three of four would pay to cut onboarding to one day.
The pilot offer needs a defined start date, not a demo.
Action points
Draft the paid pilot offer
Interview two more buyers
Saved to your company brain and Roadmap.
Calls happen live in the platform
Meet live. Leave with the decision.
No links out. The recording and summary save themselves.
Live, one to one 00:00
Greg · Product
You speaking
“Is this segment worth building for?”
30 minutes Summary saved to your AI coach
When to call an operator
Three moments a call
pays for itself.
01
A manufacturing quote is much higher than expected
Re-evaluate the design or find a new partner before committing to a run.
02
A technical milestone is missed
Decide whether to pivot the approach or seek an extension from investors.
03
A customer wants a custom version
Calculate the long-term support cost before diverging from your standard product.
Questions, answered
Before you
take the next step.
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