Why having a prototype is important

February 28, 2023 23 2

If you have an idea for a new product, what do you need to do to get started? This question not only applies to creating it but also to its creation. There are a number of different processes to go through. First, something that you must not forget because it will be incredibly important is the prototype.

A prototype is an example product that you can use to show how the real thing is going to work. Of course, the final result might not be the same as the prototype, but that’s what often happens. The point is, having a prototype can help you in a number of ways.

Test and refine your prototype

It’s so easy to design a product and think that you’ve got it just right. But in reality, when you go from design to manufacture, you realize the physical product has flaws. This might be a flaw in the design, in the aesthetics, or it could even be that there is another product very similar to yours. Bypassing the prototype step could leave you with many financial problems and a product that no one wants.

When you invest in a ReDeTec desktop extruder and create a prototype of your product, you can see exactly what it is like. Your design will be made real. You can play with it as much as you want, determining what works and what doesn’t. You can also give the prototype to a test audience, who will be able to offer constructive feedback.

This means that you can refine your design to ensure that it works in the real world. Your prototype is the conduit through which this can happen. As a physical tool, it can help you understand your feedback and help others give that feedback, as it’s invaluable.

business prototype — SENNE HOEKMAN/PEXELS PHOTO

Getting funding

The cost of manufacturing a large number of your product is going to be expensive – perhaps prohibitively so. Even if you know you can make a good profit and sell a lot of units, you’re still more than likely going to have to pay for the product’s mass production in advance. This could be the stumbling block that prevents your business from getting off the ground. No matter what a great idea you might have. If you can’t afford to get it made, you can’t sell it.

You could run the risk of selling items that you don’t yet have and using that money to get them made. However, if something were to go wrong with the production or the quality, you wouldn’t just be holding the production bill. You would have to return your customers’ money as well, leaving you in a much worse position than you started.

Often the best thing you can do is get funding for the product. This could come in the form of a loan or an investment. With a loan, you keep all of your business and pay the money back with interest. With an investment, you essentially sell part of your business. When the business has made a profit, you then pay the investment back, plus a percentage on top. This would usually depend on how much of the business the investor bought.

In order to get any of these kinds of funding, you’ll need a prototype. A lender or investor is going to want to know what they are lending money for. They’ll want to be sure that the profits you’re forecasting are accurate. It will be extremely hard for them to do this without a prototype, as they’ll only have your ideas and designs to work from. With a prototype, they can see and feel the product itself.

Working out the costs

A prototype can also be used to help you work out the production costs in the first place. This will ensure your pitch to investors really is accurate, and that it includes not just the materials needed, but the time it takes to make each unit, the shipping costs, and any production issues that might cause problems later on in the run.

If the cost per unit is too high to enable you to make the profit you need at the price you want to sell at, you can use the prototype to make adjustments to the materials used, for example. When you have all the figures together, you’ll be able to go to investors much more confidently and answer their questions, which in turn, will make them a lot more confident in your product.