In his BostInno article "How Ben Einstein and Bolt are making Boston the center of hardware tech," writer Dylan Martin says that Boston-based VC firm for early-stage hardware startups Bolt has invested in 26 companies and raised around $40 million. Bolt provides:
Hardware startups are getting more and more profitable
Bolt managing partner and co-founder Ben Einstein predicts that the latest hardware companies, such as FitBit and GoPro, can be more profitable than software companies. The success of these companies may encourage more investment in hardware startups. Last year alone, the amount of funding into their hardware startups "increased from under $500 million to nearly $3.5 billion."
- Seed funding
- Engineering and product design support through a staff of engineers, designers, marketers, and operations staff
- Office space, conference rooms, and a prototyping lab with 3D printers, a laser cutter, a CNC machine, and an environmental test chamber.
Hardware startups are getting more and more profitable
Bolt managing partner and co-founder Ben Einstein predicts that the latest hardware companies, such as FitBit and GoPro, can be more profitable than software companies. The success of these companies may encourage more investment in hardware startups. Last year alone, the amount of funding into their hardware startups "increased from under $500 million to nearly $3.5 billion."
"The average investor doesn't understand that hardware startups are a thing and can be profitable."
- Ben Einstein, Bolt managing partner and co-founder
Why the increase?
- Companies use contract manufacturers instead of building their own plants.
- Smartphones have caused components costs to decrease over the years.
- The physicality of products also makes investing money easier.
- Hardware startups build in recurring revenue models. such as coffee pods, monthly fees, or ebooks.