Did you incorporate an LLC? No, I tried but I couldn't

Where I live, all it requires is filling in forms and paying a fee to the state. I'm sure laws vary. What was your hurdle?

Did you do your market research? Yes

Did your research identify some market segment - customer group - that needs your product? Did you identify the competitive products and find attributes of your product that make it "better" in the eyes of those customers? Did your research give you guidance on your target pricing?

My main point is that market research is not something you can ever say you "did". It's always ongoing and there are always more questions to answer. The more you know about the market landscape, the more you can adapt and carve out the opportunities. Having great technology looking for a buyer is rarely effective.

 

Where I live, all it requires is filling in forms and paying a fee to the state. I'm sure laws vary. What was your hurdle?

Well I filled the forms and paid the fee but they rejected it and said my signatures are different in the papers... So I did it again and they rejected again. The only way was paying more, bribie and etc. And this was what I couldn't do.

Did your research identify some market segment - customer group - that needs your product? Did you identify the competitive products and find attributes of your product that make it "better" in the eyes of those customers? Did your research give you guidance on your target pricing?

My main point is that market research is not something you can ever say you "did". It's always ongoing and there are always more questions to answer. The more you know about the market landscape, the more you can adapt and carve out the opportunities. Having great technology looking for a buyer is rarely effective.

I got a few customers who were from different countries, but they only wanted to buy one module for their own projects. I think the best way is selling this product on Amazon or websites like that, but I can't use these ways, because of "Stupid US-Sanctions". (Even aac didn't publish my other articles because of that, while they paid the price...)

So I'd rather to collaborate with someone or a company. I've sent emails to more than 20 different companies but none of them replied.

You're right about the market research, but I'm not good at marketing. I'm only a design engineer, programmer (and a teacher). Not a good marketer.

 

No, my module uses WiFi.

WiFi ESP32

 

Oh man, it takes too long and i'm not a good writer at all, However look at these files and tell me that i have described the module too bad or so bad:

Brochure: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12SviBBUoK6YSDZ-pEWgk1P6GnXSPK_N8
Datasheet: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eJyiLuPnid_nVwMNFcKLJb2H8k0fwsD9

No need to edit at the moment, i still should work more on it.

Thank you

I finally got around to looking at your brochure and datasheet, and then your website. I was impressed! These look much more attractive than I expected, and present a lot of information without feeling tedious. I have personally created such documents and sites, and I know how much work they are. Even when "done", they are never perfect and you have to come back and make changes for years. They are your children. Anyway, well done.

This technology is far beyond my skill level but I have just one technical comment on your promotional materials: It might be helpful to address security. If you did and I missed it, then sorry.

Some user information resides on your servers, correct? If I was a user I would want to know that information is protected. Here's an article that discusses the issue from a user perspective:
https://www.cnet.com/news/how-hackable-are-your-smart-home-gadgets/
Here's how one smart thermostat vendor addresses the issue to users:
https://support.ecobee.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006028047-How-do-I-know-it-s-secure-
And here's a more detailed brochure from a smart outlet vendor:
https://idevicesinc.com/downloads/documents/iot/iDevices-IoTPlatform-Booklet.pdf

 

I finally got around to looking at your brochure and datasheet, and then your website. I was impressed! These look much more attractive than I expected, and present a lot of information without feeling tedious. I have personally created such documents and sites, and I know how much work they are. Even when "done", they are never perfect and you have to come back and make changes for years. They are your children. Anyway, well done.

This technology is far beyond my skill level but I have just one technical comment on your promotional materials: It might be helpful to address security. If you did and I missed it, then sorry.

Some user information resides on your servers, correct? If I was a user I would want to know that information is protected. Here's an article that discusses the issue from a user perspective:
https://www.cnet.com/news/how-hackable-are-your-smart-home-gadgets/
Here's how one smart thermostat vendor addresses the issue to users:
https://support.ecobee.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006028047-How-do-I-know-it-s-secure-
And here's a more detailed brochure from a smart outlet vendor:
https://idevicesinc.com/downloads/documents/iot/iDevices-IoTPlatform-Booklet.pdf

Thanks for the links and visiting my website. Your links were so useful. You're right, I have to publish a post about the module's security. There are unlimited ways to securing the information, also in the new update of the firmware I'm going to add some new features about the connections and etc.

Anyway, My website has a few visitors, So I tried to build a quad-copter with my module. Do you think making a quad-copter would be impressive for people?

WiFi ESP32

Still I think my module is different: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/pr...n-custom-programmable-WiFi-controller-WiCard/

 

Still I think my module is different: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/pr...n-custom-programmable-WiFi-controller-WiCard/

That's the problem though. YOU think it is different but my first thought (right or wrong) was "Isn't this just an ESP32?" It's not really my job, as a consumer, to dig deep. First impressions are where a whole bunch of purchases are made.

Looking deeper let's go through a checklist (from my pea brained frame of reference):

• Smart programmable wireless controller module - Like an ESP
• Programmed by JTAG or OTA - Like an ESP
• IDE that resembles Visual Basic - Like an ESP using Arduino in VS Code environment
• Allows use of "control boxes" in drag and drop interface - Like an ESP with Blynk
• Connects user control via WiFi - Like an ESP with Blynk
• etc etc etc

Now I did alot more work on this post than I would normally do on evaluating this. Once I saw it did what an ESP would do I lost interest. Been there, done that. I have a whole herd of ESP modules, the support is good, and I can readily get more if need be. I can Arduino up the ESP, when I'm lazy, Blynk it up when I don't want to look at a webpage interface, or even use bare-metal C using the ESP-IDF when I want to pretend I can actually do firmware well.

The problem you have is I'm sure there are quite a few folks that think like I do (which is a sad state of affairs for this world). How do YOU propose to change my mind (and others like me) to scrap all my ESP parts and buy your product. Orrrrrrr, how do you propose to separate your product from the ESP products for somebody that is looking for a WiFi enabled product?

Right now a search for "wifi blink led" turns up, in this order:

1. Arduino with WiFi shield
2. ESP8266 + Arduino
3. ESP8266 + NodeMCU
4. A couple linux references
5. ESP8266 + Arduino

Your job is to convince me to change from ESP AND convince folks looking for this functionality that your platform is better. I'm one of the few folks you might convince to give it a try. I have plenty of "kinda like that" platforms I should toss out but haven't. I'm glaring at you Intel Edison!!!

Best of luck to you though.

 

The problem you have is I'm sure there are quite a few folks that think like I do ...

Exactly true. Even though the people that would care about this device are smart people, they are still human. And smart people are smart because they know how to ignore "noise" and look for "signal".

If your device resembles some others, but is different, consider a features comparison table where your product gets all the checkmarks but the other products have some holes in their feature set compared to yours. I know that, as a customer, I find these very useful for making a mind map of the products on the market. The table focuses the reader on where the products differ and allows them to gloss over the many shared features.

 

Looking deeper let's go through a checklist (from my pea brained frame of reference):

Well all I have to say is I'm so glad to hear that what I have made lonely, is like what two big companies with professional programmers team have made. Thanks for the compariotion my friend.

If your device resembles some others, but is different, consider a features comparison table where your product gets all the checkmarks but the other products have some holes in their feature set compared to yours.

Two years ago, after the firmware and my server were ready and when my device was ready to be produced, I bought 200 pcs of parts and 100 pcs PCB. All I had to do was assembling the parts on the PCBs and selling those WiFi modules.

I remember in that time Espressif was focused on the professional designers and developers. The simplest way to use their ESP8266 module was using "AT commands". They also release a 100 KB Android app without any kind of features for making a "control box". (In fact the control box should be made in Android studio.)

All while my module had the online IDE that resembled Visual Basic, OTA programming and etc.

I started to assemble the modules at a workshop with one of my friends, but after we assembled about 20 modules I thought we should find the customers, before assembling more modules.

I talked to some national electronics companies, sent e-mails to international electronics companies and even sent e-mails to Espressif and Arduino, but none of them didn't want to even take a bit time on what I made.

EETech wanted to helping me, after sending and receiving hundred emails between me and different employees of EETech, they suddenly decided to not helping me and didn't tell me the reason.

I don't know how much it costs, but even I'm willing to release my sources for free but I'm afraid nobody does care.

However, as you said, I publish a post about the security and another post about the benefits of using my module instead of the other modules and see what happens...

Thanks for the idea my friend

 

they suddenly decided to not helping me and didn't tell me the reason.

Perhaps they were worried about possible infringement of intellectual property rights? Did you check the Patent and Design databases of various countries before starting your venture?

 

Perhaps they were worried about possible infringement of intellectual property rights?

Maybe, but they should tell me at least.

Did you check the Patent and Design databases of various countries before starting your venture?

No, but once I tried to check us patent database and I couldn't find the source.

 

Perhaps they were worried about possible infringement of intellectual property rights?

Having been on the other end of such things (in biotech, not electronics), I can absolutely tell you this is a big issue. First there is the natural "not invented here" effect. People inside a company are much less excited about something outside than something that was created internally. There are a lot of reasons for this and a few are valid.

But even if you get past that, it's very dangerous ice to talk about technology with someone outside the company, without legal protections such as an NDA in place. Large companies are at risk from individual inventors having contact and then claiming afterwards that their IP was stolen by the bigger company. Sometimes parallel R&D is going on inside and the outside inventor wants to claim that it came from their contact.

The net result is that a hurdle is created. In order to engage in a discussion, the big company has to be sufficiently interested that they're willing to involve the lawyers in executing an NDA or similar agreement. That carries its own risks.

 

Having been on the other end of such things (in biotech, not electronics), I can absolutely tell you this is a big issue. First there is the natural "not invented here" effect. People inside a company are much less excited about something outside than something that was created internally. There are a lot of reasons for this and a few are valid...

Whether they (ESP, Arduino, etc) have stolen my idea or we just worked on the same thing at the same time, I will release my device info for (e.g.) a Chinese company (If I could) and I guess I have no other choice.

 

My country has blocked the AAC

AAC didn't publish my article

And now removes my posts

Goodbye AAC forever!

 

My country has blocked the AAC

AAC didn't publish my article

And now removes my posts

Goodbye AAC forever!

If AAC is blocked, how did you get on here to claim that AAC didn't publish this supposed article and state your imminent departure from said AAC? VPN? Some new IoT technology that allows non-internet internet communication?

Inquiring minds want to know and in Navy parlance: Fair winds and following seas.

Mods: I know it's a smart-a$$ comment, but c'mon man, you gotta allow me this!