A recent article in Mass High Tech turned me onto Hammerhead Sleds. These $350 sleds are the next generation of sledding fun. Based out of Vermont, the founder received $300,000 from angle investment from Boynton Angels (and perhaps other sources) to design the sled and build the manufacturing tools to start selling. From the Mass High Tech article, the company has sold approximately 4,000 units and is looking for additional investment to nationalize their sales.
The first thing I would like to highlight is that they share some of their product development process on their website. On the page they show their sketches, Industrial design, computer aided design, scale models, feasibility prototypes and a final prototype. Through a few pictures you can see where they came from and how they came to their ultimate design. Worrel was the design firm that was used and the sled won a Silver IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Award) in 2005.
Lessons:
The early design concepts from Worrel were used help solicit their round of angel investment.
Even if you get to market with a product, you will probably need funding to expand operations.
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