"Choose a manufacturer as you would choose a partner, with the same level of care and attention to detail. The right manufacturer can build your product and become an invaluable asset to your business." When it comes to bringing a new product to market, one of the most important decisions you will make is choosing the right manufacturer. The manufacturer you select will play a crucial role in the success of your product, so it's important to take the time to find the right one. At Design 1st, we assist […]

Having worked with thousands of inventors, hardware startups, and large corporations over the course of 30 years, you can say at Design 1st that we’ve seen it all. We love to see our customers succeed but we have also witnessed many disappointments due to manufacturing missteps. The reasons differ from company to company, but certain themes always come up. Below is a list of common reasons we see new hardware products fail. Creating a design that cannot be manufactured Making the wrong type of prototype Failing to control the Product […]

The main benefit is you don’t spend a whole lot of time blindly researching on your own. Going at it alone, you can make many costly mistakes – with an expert, you find plausible solutions quickly. There are many suppliers in the world. Your product will have 90% easy to find components and the other 10% will be very challenging. We help by giving you access to our existing relationships and network. There are also several tiers of contract manufacturers to select from. Individuals and startups will find it difficult […]

There are huge cost advantages to manufacturing in China If you’re designing a new product that requires electronics (what doesn’t nowadays), finding a Chinese factory that already makes similar products is well worth your time. It can be a fast way to execute lean and bootstrapped manufacturing. All this sounds good, right? Yes, but for it really work you will need an experienced manufacturing setup partner like Design 1st. Otherwise, you may be at risk to these common pitfalls: