[armored]

Don't listen to some EE expert tell you the product can't be developed for less than a million. These guys are used to working at big shops that routinely throw that kind of money into the garbage. This product could have shipped, if only they had run the numbers first.

With a cheaper chip, better project management and using a shop like Proto Labs for tooling they could have made it happen. Resourcefulness, not resources. $99 is pretty aggressive, but it could be done with a slim margin.

Run the numbers first, THEN spend the money.

[jkestner]

Resourcefulness, agreed! I have made consumer products for less, with resourcefulness, careful planning and sweat. Key is to do a bunch of the work yourself. If you don't have those skills and can't learn them, get cofounders who do. Or use the skills you do have as constraints when developing new product ideas. Don't try to do too many new things at once — you're compounding risk.