Technology Startups: Machinery and Manufacturing

This chapter, together with the following two chapters, addresses challenges of technology startups. Here, we cover issues and challenges of technology startups around machines, manufacturing and manufacturability. Although manufacturing does create process IP and manufacturability is a fundamental step towards addressing the market, the process of setting up manufacturing entails many risks. Further, decisions made here can have a lasting impact on the ability of the startup to scale. These decisions can result in dramatic dilution of the founders’ equity.