Funding Prototypes

As an interaction designer, I see tons of opportunities for great new products and solutions every day. Some of these solutions are easy to prototype. Eventually I will create a startup with the goal of social impact as well as business profit. Until then, I'd like to freelance invention.

I have a few products designed that I would like to prototype and test. After observing the product being used in the real world, I will more accurately determine if the product is viable and an appropriate solution. At that point I will find venture capital to fund mass production.

While I'm still creating and testing prototypes, I need funding.

• How would you fund prototypes for new inventions?
• Kickstarter crowd-funding seems plausible, but I won't have anything to offer my support "backers." All I will have is a prototype to run a test with. Generally people want a finished product in exchange for successfully funding the project.

Although the question was about funding, I believe you need to first find a solid partner, which will increase your chances of success and funding as well.

So, find a technical partner, who can help you get a functional prototype that can actually be used as a MVP and ensure that the solution is scalable. Have your launch be the testing, and be ready to instantly iterate and address feedback from your users.

What does mass production mean if we are talking about software? Are you talking about scalability? Or are we talking about tangible products?

Do you mean physical prototypes? I would recommend building out your prototype in any 3D software, and then using Shapeways - http://www.shapeways.com/ - or any other 3D printing service to print prototypes and ship them to yourself, and iterate from there.

How much money do you need?

The reality is that no-one will give you money for prototypes. Not investors, because investors want return on investment so they invest in businesses, not prototypes. Not Kickstarter backers because, as you noted, they also expect finished products.

So what do you need to do? Follow the steps of Thomas Edison and thousands of other inventors: use your own money. I wrote software on the side while holding a job. The job was paying my bills while I prototyped my own software on my own time.

It has never been cheaper to build things, so you're already in a much better position than Edison.

If your idea is software, then prototyping takes literally zero resources, just your time.

If your idea is mechanical, there are cheap ways to prototype. Cheap 3d printers, tech shops (e.g. http://www.techshop.ws ) that have lots of expensive manufacturing/prototyping equipment that let you use it for a low, monthly fee.

Since you have many ideas, start with the cheapest to prototype and build your reputation as an inventor on that.