PCH Accelerator enables hardware startups to go from concept to production and fulfilment faster.

PCH as a business has disrupted traditional supply chain models, contributing to the success of many of the world’s largest technology brands. PCH has dramatically shortened the time-to-market for a wide range of consumer technology products. The company offers its customers a unique end-to-end integrated supply chain solution, from product design through to a fulfillment business that offers customers the fastest development time with the longest global reach and the leanest supply chain inventories.

PCH Accelerator uses the same model that has led to the success of large companies, and tailors the same services for early hardware startups. Through the rigorous application process, select entrepreneurs with a world-class idea are offered access to PCH’s expertise, mentoring and coaching, and the same services that are offered to Fortune 500 companies.

“There are always problems when developing a hardware product,” said John Garvey, director of Technology at PCH International. “But with PCH, the key to de-risking is the application of knowledge. The key is to fix the problems early at the very beginning of the cycle, during the design, engineering and brand ID stage. This is the stage when you need to problem solve. PCH has the expertise to know where the pain points are and how to iron them out at the start, so that you don’t meet problems later at a critical point in the development stage. You will get what you want, when you want it. We are well known in the industry to always meet schedules. We solve problems.”

Many entrepreneurs start out with an idea, and their main question is “how are we going to sell this product?” But there is a lot of preparation and hard work to be done to get to this point. PCH helps them to develop a product that is designed for cost, designed for manufacturing, and designed for shipping – towards production and the revenue stream. Entrepreneurs have the ability to create a presentable product, while keeping their own brand ID. PCH enables success.

The Accelerator Model

Waking Potential: Lark Case Study  

It all started on a Saturday morning in April 2009. At 4.40am.

The scenario is a familiar one. After a tough week of deadlines and chaos and waking up early to get to work or school, Saturday morning is a sacred lie-in time for many of us. But what happens when your partner is enthusiastically keen to bound out of bed at the crack of dawn to pursue some sporting or other early-morning hobby? Worse, he/she is a serial snooze-button-thumper, so the alarm interrupts you again and again. The result is a cranky, sleep deprived and resentful “other half”.

As an MIT engineer, Julia’s mind was buzzing with ideas of how to make this situation better. MIT held a competition which allowed Julia to deliver a “one-minute pitch” where she outlined the problem she was having. She pitched the problem, and found (not surprisingly) that it resonated with a lot of people: 75% of American professional couples, to be exact.

Julia drew up the business plan and discovered that when she tried to design it, what it would take to get it to market and commercialization was much more difficult than developing the idea.

At that stage, for the product to survive, she thought she would have to go to China and live there to be able to get it produced to the scales of her dreams. In these early stages she was trying to use various middlemen to go to China to try to facilitate, source, and produce, which involved a lot of risk and even more effort, with minimal results.

But in April 2010, Lightspeed mentor Eric O’Brien introduced Julia to Liam Casey, CEO of PCH International. Liam called her “in the middle of the night” and he asked her to join a meeting with himself and John Garvey, PCH’s director of technology, early the next morning.

“From the very beginning, I appreciated that PCH took me seriously and were always very willing to help and put resources behind my early-stage idea,” said Julia. “They were the perfect partner for the stage I was in. At later stages, it became evident that PCH is the invisible hand that helped us through a very complicated process.”

At that early stage, Lark was only a prototype with US$80K total funding from business plan competitions. They had very little marketing/media coverage, and no production or distribution plan for large scale success.

“It was clear that we needed professional engineering support and industrial design,” Julia explained. “PCH made sure the design prototype could be translated into functionality and manufacturability. PCH can help realize your dreams: without making decisions for you; they help you to realize what the right decision should be.

“For a first-time hardware entrepreneur, I did not expect how much work it would take from the concept stage to the final robust product. PCH gave us a reality check and foresight into what needs to be done to make a great product, on a realistic schedule, advising on the certification etc. PCH gives you the luxury of professional decision points and choosing the best of a few options.”

PCH offered Lark expertise in design engineering, and how to transition from design to production towards a revenue stream. This included advice on design for cost, design for manufacturing, design for tooling, and design for shipping, as well as advice on materials and vendor selection.

“PCH takes care of the “non-glamorous” things that entrepreneurs don’t want to handle. Entrepreneurs don’t become entrepreneurs to deal with the “small stuff”, yet these small things are the areas which will bring your product to life, and you don’t even realize it,” said Julia. “For example, our mechanical engineer visited dozens of different stores in the US to find a certain kind of comfortable, soft and silent Velcro. PCH found it for us in 2 weeks in China. That could have been the death of our product – a quiet alarm clock that then was uncomfortable and woke your partner up with noisy Velcro? PCH ensured we made the right choices.”

PCH also helps entrepreneurs navigate the potentially tricky waters of the implementation process, which is where most “mistakes” are discovered if they haven’t been caught early enough in the design cycle. This can potentially cost entrepreneurs an additional 2-3 months if they need to go back to the design stage.

 
Following implementation is the testing and regulatory stage, which includes strict reliability testing and regulatory approval, which varies dramatically depending on which market the product will ship to. Part of this process is complying with stringent environmental regulations and CSR responsibilities; every vendor that PCH uses has been carefully vetted and audited to Fortune 500 standards. PCH is also able to advise on sticking to a tight timeline – there is nothing worse for a brand than promising a delivery than doesn’t arrive on time. A product roadmap and how to develop one, along with mentoring and workshops is a key part of the Accelerator program that an entrepreneur can benefit from.

Following these stages are the production, packout and delivery stages (PCH offers expertise in both B-to-B and B-to-C delivery) and in all of these categories, PCH offers best-in-class services and solutions from end-to-end.

“Every part of the puzzle of a startup is a risk. There is a great fear of not knowing, stress that it might not work, meeting the right dates at the right time,” said Julia. “With a clear direction in mind and a confidence to take the “bold” choice of direction – never the safe option, entrepreneurs will be winners. But you need a good choice of partner to succeed.  PCH gives you their expertise of branding and marketing; you always feel like you are in control of your own brand, yet you are supported by real assets and real experiences in China. They tell you about the things that you didn’t even know you had to think about eg. Fulfillment, distribution – they handle everything, and this is one of the reasons that retailers are willing to take a risk on your product – they know you have so much infrastructure behind you.”

Julia and her team have successfully developed Lark into a game-changing product for sleep that represents a huge leap in science and technology. It is the first wireless body sensor that shares not only how a person has slept, like many apps on the market - it also provides “personalized sleep coach” advice on how to improve the quality of sleep within seven days. The Lark sleep coach was developed with Harvard sleep experts and a professional sports sleep coach. As for marketing, the company developed some tongue-in-cheek slogans such as “Perform better in bed” and “Like a vibrator, only better” which were eventually deemed too risqué by the retail stores.  The more politically correct marketing slogan was decided as “Wake your Potential, not your Partner”. Lark also has a range of exciting new products in development including a baby and parent item, a ‘baby boomer’ item, and jetlag sufferers can find relief in the near future.

Julia says, “If I were to send a message to entrepreneurs, I would say think of PCH as your support network. They prevent your problems, they enable decision making. You will never feel like you are competing for time or effort – in fact, you are always more in control than you could ever be without a partner like PCH. They will teach you about things you didn’t even know. PCH allows me, as a small, scrappy startup company, to develop a professional product that is a game-changer in the industry. I got to spend time working on my product and the things I wanted to work on, rather than worrying about things I have no expertise in – for example, logistics and fulfillment. PCH guarantees everything happens smoothly. As a China-based company, PCH always feels international. IP is never an issue because of PCH’s large network and supplier base. We were always completely confident. “