[dvt]

I did a hardware startup earlier this year (http://gameref.io) and tried to fund it via Kickstarter. I need to write a post-mortem one of these days, but even after significant media coverage (including PC Gamer, Vice, Polygon, etc.):

- http://www.pcgamer.com/introducing-gameref-the-anti-cheat-ha...

- http://www.redbull.com/en/esports/stories/1331720277392/game...

- http://www.pcgamesn.com/gameref-is-a-prototype-anti-cheat-sy...

- http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/23/8090221/onling-gaming-cheat...

- http://motherboard.vice.com/read/can-this-little-device-fix-...

.. it failed to get funded. Failure is part of the game and I wasn't too phased by it, but it still sucks. Unlike a software start-up where I can build and launch a working alpha/beta, you NEED some money to pour into a hardware start-up right at the start. It's not easy and, as the article mentions, the margins aren't as great as software. The sentiment of hardware being tougher than software is ubiquitous from what I can tell.

Props to the people that make it though.

See the KS page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1094040691/game-ref-the...

[nostrademons]

Curious what the endgame looks like for hardware startups that fail? One of the things that appeals to me about software startups is that if they don't work out, I've learned a lot of valuable technical skills that there's a market for. I can easily do some consulting or get a job with a fast-growing company to replenish the bank account, and then try again if I have another idea.

Is there the same transferability with hardware startups? Do other companies love to hire failed hardware entrepreneurs the way they usually like to hire failed software entrepreneurs, or do you just write off the money and time spent on the startup as a dream forgotten?

[dvt]

> do you just write off the money and time spent on the startup as a dream forgotten?

This isn't my first rodeo, but I usually just write off failed start-ups in general as dreams forgotten (and boy do I have a lot of forgotten dreams). I obviously gained a lot of technical knowledge: how USB works, packet formats, some hardware engineering, driver programming, etc. But unless I ever get a job writing low-level code for hardware devices, I doubt I'll ever use that knowledge again.

Who knows, maybe for another hardware start-up?

[BMFX]

It will have its chance, at the moment its hard to force customers to purchase a product just to compete.

I believe hardware anti-cheats will be more efficient but until we have companies (cevo, esl, mlg etc) that are willing to front the cost of the devices for the customers, it'll be a short lived thing.

I'd imagine, some form of a rental system would work market fit wise, sort of like a DVR from your cable company.

Until then, software seems to be the easiest solution sadly.

[subliminalzen]

How much were you trying to get funded? And who was your target audience? Congrats on getting as far as you did though. I'm sure you learned a lot. As the Buddhist saying goes: nothing is ever wasted.

[dvt]

Thank you for your kind words! You probably don't realize it, but they actually mean a lot to me :)

My goal was $200k. Some people criticized it for being too high, but I think it was actually a pretty conservative estimate. Oh well, c'est la vie.