Hacking Hardware With A Dragon On Your Side

For years, many of our most high profile hardware investments have had a quiet partner. Dragon Innovation – experts at helping hardware ideas actually happen – have helped companies like Makerbot, Sifteo and Orbotix (all from the Foundry family) move from product idea to product reality. As the startup world shifts from an intense focus on bits to celebrating atoms and the “maker movement” of hackers who give those atoms life, there is bright light being shined on the ability of those makers not just to come up with cool ideas, but to take those projects from ideas, to prototypes to delivered product. This is where Dragon shines, and where they aim to completely change the way great ideas are planned, funded, made and sold.

Today, Dragon is opening up a platform focused entirely on great hardware projects and their makers. With the expertise of their years of consulting and hundreds of products they’ve helped come to life, they’re applying a different filter on the traditional hardware crowdfunding model (which is rife with failure due to improperly scoped projects and overambitious and unrealistic expectations). They’re building what they hope will not just become the platform for makers to launch their projects, but ultimately will become the center of the maker community – where makers come to get help from each other, learn about new products and get feedback on their ideas. 

Of course the Dragon marketplace is also about the other side of the funding equation – the backers. The company believes the experience of backing a a company should be about both the project and the maker and they’re building tools into their site to allow makers to better interact with their backers, simplify and make more meaningful the project tiers and, most importantly, to back projects that have a high likelihood of actually delivering.

The company has launched with 8 initial projects (including a special edition of the Pebble watch). The company is also partnering with companies like GE and Qualcomm to help put more muscle behind what they bring to the table (look for more partnership and some innovative twists in the coming weeks). Go check them out!