My First Hardware Startup: Rimo (3)
[ This series of articles is about my startup company, Rimo, from the conception of the idea, recruiting a team, producing prototypes, to fundraising. ]
Without offering salaries and any form of compensation, the most challenging part was to find people who believed in the product and were willing to invest their time. While I could handle circuit design and had some experience in software, it was impossible for me to do hardware design. So naturally I had to ask for help from my friends. Initially, I approached my closest friends, but they were also doctoral students and they couldn’t commit long-term. I had to expand my search, and eventually I found Derrick, an old acquaintance from my master’s program. Derrick had extensive experience in CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software for creating 3D models, making him a valuable asset. He was full of ideas and shared my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship. As time passed, we realized we needed more hands on deck. We recruited another friend skilled in hardware design and an industrial designer, forming a team of four.
Our typical design process is like this: After completing the circuit design, I handed it over to the hardware team for casing design. The initial casing often looked unattractive, with odd switch placements or bulky chassis due to oversized circuit boards. Discussions led to circuit revisions, and I would rework my design before passing it back to them. This iterative cycle continued until we ensured compatibility between the circuit and the casing. Then, we would hand it over to our industrial designer. Upon seeing our designs, he often shook his head, deeming them unappealing. He would then trim here and there to make Rimo more aesthetically pleasing. However, these design changes sometimes introduced hardware issues—like weak arms unable to hold a phone or insufficient space for wiring. We debated whether to sacrifice aesthetics for functionality or find alternative hardware and circuitry solutions. After many iterations, we arrived at a final version ready for prototype production in China.
Our partner factory, “Oride Technology,” offered significantly lower prices than Taiwan or the United States. Remarkably, they didn’t require large orders and were willing to produce just one Rimo unit for testing. The process moved swiftly: we wired the funds, and within two weeks, the samples arrived. The factory maintained regular communication, inquiring about our progress and test results. I often wondered if the exodus of companies from China to south east asia left their machinery idle, making them eager to collaborate with smaller ventures. Or, perhaps they acted like angel investors, partnering with numerous startups, hoping one would succeed and lead to substantial orders in the near future.
Once we received the prototype, assembly and testing began. Some aspects required practical testing, such as assessing the light sensor cover’s transparency or measuring motor resistance and speed when the phone was placed on Rimo. If results fell short, we repeated the inner design cycle—hardware and circuit modifications. Besides the aforementioned process, there is also circuit board manufacturing or electronic component procurement. From design inception to the final prototype, the entire iteration took us around three years. Why did it take so long? Firstly, everyone had day jobs, limiting our Rimo work to weekends and evenings. Secondly, coordinating meetings among team members scattered across different locations (myself in Sacramento, others in the Bay Area and LA) proved challenging. Email became our primary mode of communication, resulting in a slow decision-making process.
