***2017 Goal: Looking for Like Minded Embedded Engineers/Roboticists to Collaborate on Products
AndreL
Posts: 1,004
Hey everyone, I am generally too busy to hang out on forums or even check them anymore. But, I know there are a lot of good quality "A" players here as Jobs would say 
I am looking for some collaborators to work on projects and products both small and large. It's very hard to get anywhere without a small team, and although I make a good living at doing things by myself, there is simply too much to do these days even for small projects. That said, what I am looking for is like minded embedded/robotic engineers that have a passion for gaming, retro, single board computers, IOT, wearables, A.I., robotics, smart toys, and taking this information and building products out of it. I don't like to tinker, hobby, etc. I do this for a living and professionally, so I like to start and finish things, manufacture and ship them -- see what happens. Basically, big "kids" with the open mindedness of youth, but the experience and wisdom of age...
I moved to Austin from Silicon Valley a while ago, and there are 1000's of engineers here, but seems that everyone loves the idea of starting a products, but none can finish, get bored, or don't have the resources to do it.
Alas, I am looking for a few people to collaborate on with my products, their products, kickstarter products, etc., and to start with very small projects and work our way up.
It takes an enormous amount of discipline to come up with an idea, execute it, design, prototype, manufacture it, and sell it. I am looking for people that have done this, so we are on the same page, or willing to really be open minded to how its done. But, most important looking for people that really have the TIME to work on things consistently. I keep meeting "2 week wonders", people get all excited then in 1-2 weeks its my wife this, my job that, my back, my house, whatever -- we all have lives, but it takes months and months to get something done (that's why I like small products to start), so product dev is a marathon.
That said, I have developed dozens of products myself from the electrical design, software, firmware, mechanical, packaging, manufacturing, biz dev and sales, so I know the whole pipeline, I just am sick of doing it all myself!
So, if you're really serious about working on some products this year, and want to collaborate, send me a PM and we can talk. I am currently in the final lap of developing a Credit Card Game Console (like the Arduboy on Crack) and a Smart Watch (10X more powerful and feature rich than the Peeble). But, these things takes years, and while I am finishing, I want to do some quick n dirty products in my areas of interest; robotics, retro computing, IOT, wearables, and related tech. Bottom line, 1-2 month products, simple stuff to try on kickstarter, and get a feel for the dynamic of the platform. Not 1-2 year products, I am already doing that.
Alas, you should be pretty senior, have a lab, resources, so we are both bringing a lot to the table. And you should be seasoned enough to realize, EVERY product becomes HELL 5 mins after you start, it becomes WORK, and NOT fun -- nothing is fun that is on a schedule, so you should be thru your phase of switching gears and never finishing anything. I have many friends in EE/embedded that puts around and NEVER ship a product, they start 100's of them, but never ship one. So, I am looking for people that can SHIP! And want to work with someone that's got their back, and will work on it until its done.
We try, 1,2,3,5 things, sooner or later something will stick and sell well.
Anyway, hopefully, I hear from some of you that are ready to really focus and get some products done this year, but can't find the right collaborators.
Andre' LaMothe
ceo@nurve.net
I am looking for some collaborators to work on projects and products both small and large. It's very hard to get anywhere without a small team, and although I make a good living at doing things by myself, there is simply too much to do these days even for small projects. That said, what I am looking for is like minded embedded/robotic engineers that have a passion for gaming, retro, single board computers, IOT, wearables, A.I., robotics, smart toys, and taking this information and building products out of it. I don't like to tinker, hobby, etc. I do this for a living and professionally, so I like to start and finish things, manufacture and ship them -- see what happens. Basically, big "kids" with the open mindedness of youth, but the experience and wisdom of age...I moved to Austin from Silicon Valley a while ago, and there are 1000's of engineers here, but seems that everyone loves the idea of starting a products, but none can finish, get bored, or don't have the resources to do it.
Alas, I am looking for a few people to collaborate on with my products, their products, kickstarter products, etc., and to start with very small projects and work our way up.
It takes an enormous amount of discipline to come up with an idea, execute it, design, prototype, manufacture it, and sell it. I am looking for people that have done this, so we are on the same page, or willing to really be open minded to how its done. But, most important looking for people that really have the TIME to work on things consistently. I keep meeting "2 week wonders", people get all excited then in 1-2 weeks its my wife this, my job that, my back, my house, whatever -- we all have lives, but it takes months and months to get something done (that's why I like small products to start), so product dev is a marathon.
That said, I have developed dozens of products myself from the electrical design, software, firmware, mechanical, packaging, manufacturing, biz dev and sales, so I know the whole pipeline, I just am sick of doing it all myself!
So, if you're really serious about working on some products this year, and want to collaborate, send me a PM and we can talk. I am currently in the final lap of developing a Credit Card Game Console (like the Arduboy on Crack) and a Smart Watch (10X more powerful and feature rich than the Peeble). But, these things takes years, and while I am finishing, I want to do some quick n dirty products in my areas of interest; robotics, retro computing, IOT, wearables, and related tech. Bottom line, 1-2 month products, simple stuff to try on kickstarter, and get a feel for the dynamic of the platform. Not 1-2 year products, I am already doing that.
Alas, you should be pretty senior, have a lab, resources, so we are both bringing a lot to the table. And you should be seasoned enough to realize, EVERY product becomes HELL 5 mins after you start, it becomes WORK, and NOT fun -- nothing is fun that is on a schedule, so you should be thru your phase of switching gears and never finishing anything. I have many friends in EE/embedded that puts around and NEVER ship a product, they start 100's of them, but never ship one. So, I am looking for people that can SHIP! And want to work with someone that's got their back, and will work on it until its done.
We try, 1,2,3,5 things, sooner or later something will stick and sell well.
Anyway, hopefully, I hear from some of you that are ready to really focus and get some products done this year, but can't find the right collaborators.
Andre' LaMothe
ceo@nurve.net
Comments
As fun as a project is when it first starts the real fun and satisfaction for me is seeing the finished product, chromed and polished to the nth degree, out there, in operation, and better still in widespread use. Even though I'm tough on myself I'm however a lousy employee but would love to hear more about what you are up to plus I'm not bad for some "cut through the fluff" ideas and feedback.
Cheers,
Peter
AndreL, all that is missing is the right leader to herd these cats in the right direction. High time somebody here made a million. There's certainly a fair amount of risk, luck and timing to any success story but if you surround yourself with talented, motivated people, you certainly tip the odds in your favor.
+1
For example, parallax sells a lot of little gadgets, any one of them isn't going to make anyone rich, but all of them together create a good revenue, but personally I don't want to have 100's of SKUs. I would rather make a handful of really cool products and stay focused, simply because I don't want to be the next sparkfun.
Anyway, like I said, I am looking to see if there are any serious closers that can start, execute and finish small products, see how it goes, and then do larger things down the line. But, no hobby stuff, this isn't for fun
It's cool you took the time to post here and open an opportunity to work with you. Not to sound too fan boyish, but I still have your book "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Guru" which was my first experience into game dev where I was headed back then, although life did take me in another direction. But, later in life I got the Embedded Dev bug and stumbled on the Hydra dev kit at Fry's. After finding it was created by the "Guru" himself, I had to have it. I have gone through a number of other embedded boards and devices since, but the Hydra was the one that got me hooked.
I've been more of a tinkerer, hobbyist, starter of projects, all of which you are not looking for. However, one goal I have this year is to complete the projects I start and become a closer as you mention. My interests are in Retro games, IoT, Wireless connectivity (BLE, Sub 1Gig, etc) and Wearables. Perhaps once I have more completed project posted, I could be considered to be part of your team.
Good luck with your search.
Cheers
Glad you liked the book
@Erco,
Have you personally had any luck licensing a product idea or developing a prototype for a toy company and been compensated? If so, any details would be interesting. I have talked with a number of companies over the years, Mattel recently to develop some really cool AI toys for them, but their contracts were ridiculous, I couldn't believe that just to engage with them they basically wanted a non-compete for eternity, in other words, before even talking to them, I had to promise never to do anything related to embedded, games, AI, toys, etc........................... FOREVER -- I was like this is nuts, what idiot would sign this?
Anyway, I might re-engage them again and see if I can get them to be more reasonable, but I doubt it.
Interesting. Is this why mass market toys seem so stupid now a days?
I do hope you find some kindred spirits.
toynews-online.biz/news/read/mattel-unveils-its-own-amazon-alexa-an-ai-monitor-that-grows-with-a-child/047938
Kiddie Shark Tank.
toynews-online.biz/news/read/us-the-toy-box-show-challenges-inventors-to-pitch-new-mattel-toy-line/047955
https://3dprint.com/151324/thingmaker-3d-printer-delayed/
http://mashable.com/2016/12/25/barbie-dreamhouse-tech-error/
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/mattel-release-aristotle-smart-monitor-kids/story?id=44538897