5 Reasons why You Should Prototype Your Idea before Developing It

Running a business and creating a product is an increasingly popular way to make a living. More and more people love the idea of running their own business and controlling their own destiny.However, developing a product that people will love and buy is often no easy task. In fact, it has been said by some experts that around 95% of all created products in a given year will fail. This is a staggering number and shows just how tough achieving success can be in this space.

One of the best ways to give yourself a chance of success with a product is to get a prototype made. This will allow you to actually feel, touch and hold your product, not just look at it on a screen. There are many benefits and reasons to prototype before fully developing a product, and this article will look at a few of them.

Of course, be sure to also work with a high quality prototyping company (such as 3ERP and Fictiv’s CNC Machining Services) in order to make sure it gets done right. But without any further ado, we’re now going to look at some of the many reasons you should prototype your idea.

Can Help the Public and Investors Understand Your Product

Of course, the main goal behind building any product is to be able to sell it. However, in order to sell any, you need to gain interested customers. While some customers can be drawn to an idea, most want to actually see the finished product. However, fully developing and releasing a product can be quite expensive and involves a lot of different things to consider. Creating a prototype allows you to show off your product quickly and effectively, without breaking the bank.

Also, if you are looking to get investors to help you fund the idea or product, having a prototype is a good idea. It will let the investors see, hold, touch and truly understand your product. Sure you can get an investment simply on concept, having a prototype can help in a huge way. In the early days, it is all about helping people understand your product, and a prototype can do just that.

To Allow You To Fine-Tune Your Idea

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In addition to helping others understand your product, prototyping can also help you understand your own product better. We can only know so much about the functionality and viability of our product by looking at it on a screen. In order to truly understand it, a prototype will need to be created.

Once you have the prototype, you will be able to look at your product like never before. This may highlight some design flaws or potential issues that should be fixed. As a result, it may be necessary to create multiple prototype versions of your product to ensure they are exactly what you wanted.

Helps You Get Feedback on Your Product

Whenever you are considering a product release or creating a product, getting feedback from anyone and everyone is incredibly important. This will tell you if there is a need for the product, who is interested in it and so much more. Without getting feedback, you may be in the dark and could be in for a rude awakening is no one purchases your product.

In addition to helping customers understand your product, prototyping can help potential customers give you feedback. If you test your product with the public, you will get a boatload of good information including what people like, what they hate and what they are confused about.

Can Potentially Help You Get a Patent Easier

When creating a product, you want to be able to sell it and rule that potential market. However, this can be tough when you have people releasing essentially the same product and stealing your thunder. The best way to protect yourself from this is to file for and be approved a patent. A patent will ensure you are the only one legally allowed to create and sell the product.

Having a prototype used to be required to get a patent, but even though it isn’t’ anymore, it is still a good idea. While having a prototype is no guarantee of a patent, of course, it can help your chances. There is no better way to explain or demonstrate your idea than to have a working prototype to show off.

Shows Drive and Initiative to Bosses or Stakeholders

If people are investing in or funding your product, they want to see updates. While some might be okay with you showing updates on a screen, many will want more. Most investors will want periodic updates in the form of working prototypes, so they can ensure their money is being used correctly.

This will help them to continue funding your project and be happy about the progress you have made. Losing investment during the development stage can be terrible, but having a working prototype that shows progress can help investors to stick around. Also, if you have bosses overseeing the development of a product, having prototypes can have the same confidence-building effect on them.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.