AUSTRALIA’S FIRST INCUBATOR FOR RESOURCE-INTENSIVE HARDWARE STARTUPS OPENS SOON

Australia’s first hardware incubator launches in Brisbane, next week, with the entrepreneur at its helm promising resource-intensive startups efficient and affordable access to equipment that will streamline the development and commercialisation of ground-breaking products.

Arc Hardware Incubator is being delivered by Vektor Innovation whose CEO, Victor Vicario, told Dynamic Business that early-stage hardware ventures can get derailed at the outset due to expenses incurred during the prototyping stage.

“When a hardware innovator is prototyping a physical product, they tend to require machinery that, off the bat, can cost tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. “Plus, the machines an innovator will require generally have a specialised function, meaning they’ll get limited use out of them relative to the cost.

“Unlike a software startup, which can do all their product development from a laptop, hardware startups don’t have the luxury of a single piece of equipment that allows them to develop their prototype. On top of that, there’s a bit of a Catch 22 scenario where hardware innovators require capital to develop their prototype… but investors want to see a prototype before they give them money.” Read more

James Harkness - Dynamic Business - Feb 15 2018