Raising too much money can be Dangerous: A Why Design Guide to Fundraising and Investment

The Money Side of Hardware brings together founders who talk plainly about what fundraising, or not fundraising, actually costs a physical product business. From a bike brand that raised over a hundred million pounds and still went bust, to a designer who licensed away the IP to his own invention, this compilation covers rounds raised and rounds missed, grants with age limits attached, acquisition, debt, and what it takes to stay in control of what you built. Resources and Links Newlane : https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E1 EN:ABLE Sustainability: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E2 Guitar Center: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E3 FutureWave: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E4 Diplik: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E5 Brompton Bicycles: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E6 Rapid Fluidics: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E7 Westinghouse: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E8 Motive Design: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E9 MAS Design Products Ltd. : https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S... 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon - https://whydesign.club/ 👥 Join the Why Design community - https://teamkodu.com/whydesign/ 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram:   / why.design_   📸 Follow @_whydesign on TikTok -   / _whydesign   📸 Follow @kodurecruitment on Instagram -   / kodurecruitment   🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn -   / mrchriswhyte   Timestamps 0:00, Segment 1: Why hardware costs more and takes longer (Dom Cotton, Newlane) 0:20, Joachim, FutureWave, on hardware funding in Belgium 0:36, Remi, Diplik/Bitpong, on underestimating time and cost 0:50, Segment 2: The money you raise vs the money you need (Dom Cotton, Newlane) 0:58, Dom Cotton, Newlane, on the cheap-innovation moment 1:46, Will Butler-Adams OBE, Brompton, on VanMoof and raising too much 2:40, Will Butler-Adams OBE, Brompton, on scaling before you're ready 3:02, Segment 3: Grants, licensing and the non-dilutive route (Remi, Diplik/Bitpong) 3:34, Remi, Diplik/Bitpong, on ageing out of grant eligibility 4:12, Mark Sanders, MAS Design, on a post-Covid grant 4:40, Mark Sanders, MAS Design, on licensing away the Strider IP 5:01, Segment 4: Acquisition and ownership as alternatives to a round (Rich Thrush, Guitar Center) 5:45, Rich Thrush, Guitar Center, on resources and choices 6:07, Tylan Tschopp, Westinghouse, on private ownership and decisiveness 6:39, Mark Sanders, MAS Design, on ownership of an idea 6:59, Joachim, FutureWave, on staying focused on the core 7:24, Segment 5: Staying debt-free and keeping control (Paul Metaxatos, Motive Design) 7:59, Paul Metaxatos, Motive Design, on staying humble and hungry 8:19, Will Butler-Adams OBE, Brompton, on staff and investor ownership 9:03, Will Butler-Adams OBE, Brompton, on purpose with profit 9:38, Segment 6: Funded is not finished This episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.