Reading Wired’s article today on the failure of Doppler Labs triggered some thoughts on hardware startups.
In this article, David Pierce does correctly identify a truth — hardware companies suck. He sheds light on the long list of well-funded, yet failed hardware companies. Everything from Juicero to Jawbone to Pebble— brutal track record.
I would first specify and then argue something I don't see enough in coverage and discussions on hardware companies. I see specifically consumer hardware as a minefield due to a few interrelated reasons. One, there is a monopoly on consumer attention by big brands like Apple. Two, I see a general unwillingness/lethargy to integrate new Bluetooth/IoT devices into well-established, standalone products like the iPhone. In my opinion, changing consumer behavior in how they interact with their devices and themselves is always a steep mountain to climb.
I do not believe that the problems of consumer hardware, i.e. well-established consumer behavior patterns, should not be generalized to all possible applications of hardware technology. Remember, it’s not the technology itself that is causing companies in the consumer space to tank. Ultimately, what this Wired article shows is that mass-market consumers are extremely apathetic and the only hope Doppler Labs had was with a niche market focused on the hearing impaired.
Maybe instead of focusing on the hot and sexy consumer market for hardware, success should be sought in more industrial applications… I think the value of hardware in industrial applications is much larger than in the consumer market. More thoughts upcoming.