For those bringing a new electronic product to market
Develop and launch your product faster without the costly mistakes
Concept-to-market guidance from engineers and product experts
Over 3,000 people helped since 2019
You’ve done the research, built an early prototype, or filed a patent...
But now you’re staring down what comes next: custom development, certifications, manufacturing, testing, logistics, marketing, and more.
And you’re starting to realize just how much you don’t know.
Why would you know all this if you’ve never launched an electronic product before?
So you fall back on what feels safe.
I call it the 3 P’s trap: Prototype, Patent, Pitch deck.
These things often feel like progress. But is it the right kind?
Real progress only comes when you can clearly see the bigger picture.
Because one small mistake now can snowball into a future disaster.
And when the path ahead is unclear, moving forward feels overwhelming.
What makes it even harder?
It’s easy to feel like you’re stuck all on your own.
Even when you have support, it’s tough to find people who truly understand what you're trying to do.
I've been there...
Years ago, I was trying to bring my own product to life all by myself.
It ended up in hundreds of stores, but it took longer than expected and cost way more than it should have due to all the mistakes I made.
Later, when I helped others developing their own products, I saw the same mistakes repeated again and again.
I decided it was time to do something about it.
Imagine this instead...
You wake up with clarity, not uncertainty.
You know exactly where to turn for real answers from experts and others on the same path.
Your design is solid. Momentum is building.
You haven’t wasted thousands on flaky developers, expensive consultants, or anyone who overpromises and underdelivers.
You’re moving forward with confidence and a team of experts behind you.
That’s exactly why I built the Hardware Academy, to give others the expert guidance I wish I’d had when developing my own product.
Introducing the Hardware Academy
Bringing a new electronic product from concept to market is like walking through a minefield.
One bad assumption can blow up your schedule, your budget, or your confidence.
Every decision, from component selection to certification to validation and funding, has ripple effects, and trial and error is the most expensive way to learn.
Hardware mistakes don't just cost money, they kill momentum.
What you need isn't another course or consultant. You need a team of engineers and product experts who've done it before, guiding your decisions and keeping you out of trouble.
That's what the Hardware Academy gives you, a complete support system of experts and peers who've been where you are and know how to move fast without breaking things.
"Biggest bangs for my buck. No fluff, just honest advice that saves time and money.”
Lucas Schulte
Academy member
Meet Your Guide: John Teel
Hey there, I'm John Teel.
I spent over a decade designing microchips at Texas Instruments. My chip designs are in devices from Apple, Intel, and others. In fact, you likely own a device with one of my chip designs.
At TI, no design ever shipped without a room full of experienced engineers reviewing it first. That was just how serious hardware got built.
Then I left to launch my own electronic product from scratch. I got it manufactured and into hundreds of retail stores across the U.S. and Canada, including chains like Walgreens.
But it took longer than it should have, cost more than it needed to, and I made mistakes I could have caught earlier if I'd had the kind of outside perspective I took for granted at TI.
Those experiences shaped everything I do now.
Since 2015 I've been helping people like you bring new electronic products to market without costly trial and error.
Not just the technical side, but funding, market validation, manufacturing, and certification that trip people up just as often.
Inside the Hardware Academy, you get direct access to experienced engineers and my honest feedback at every stage, so you're never figuring it out alone.
You can even send me private video messages to get my advice and feedback on your project (see below).
Ask John your question via private video:
Featured In
“John’s track record was the best in our group. His projects always ran smoothly.”
Apple engineer
Jamie Langlinais
(formerly at TI)
- Over 3,000 members helped since 2019
- 28,700 posts in design discussions
- 40+ courses and workshops
- Members on every continent
Why most hardware products fail
(and how to prevent it)
I've watched hundreds of hardware products up close
And the ones that fail usually don't fail for just one reason. They fail because founders only saw one type of risk while the others blindsided them.
The engineer who builds a great product but never validated whether anyone would actually buy it.
The entrepreneur who pre-sold thousands of units but didn't realize the design couldn't pass certification.
The founder who nailed the design and proved demand, but ran out of cash because they funded production out of their own pocket.
I see these all the time.
That's why the Academy helps you reduce all three types of risk that kill hardware products:
Technical risk: The design that can't be built. A lot of founders pick the wrong components, miss certification requirements, or end up with a design that can't actually be manufactured reliably.
Inside the Academy, our engineers help you catch these issues before they get expensive, from component selection to manufacturing to certification.
MEMBER WIN
One startup's product failed FCC conducted emissions testing on the very first pass.
The culprit was the off-the-shelf USB charger powering it, which carried FCC and CE markings but had no real test data behind them.
After our finding, they swapped in a properly certified charger with published compliance data, sent it back to the lab, and passed.
A logo printed on a part means nothing without the test report to back it up.
Market risk: The product nobody buys. Too many founders build something without ever proving that people will actually buy it. And most assume they need a finished prototype before they can do any real validation.
That's one of the biggest myths out there. You'll learn how to validate your product from the earliest stages, long before you have a finished prototype.
MEMBER WIN
One member, working solo on a niche outdoor product, opened a simple "notify me when in stock" list before launch.
It grew past 2,000 sign-ups against a planned output of only a few hundred units a year.
With demand proven that far ahead of supply, every remaining question was about getting the hardware production-ready, not whether anyone wanted it.
That's what validating early looks like: you find out people want it before you've spent the money building it.
Financial risk: The self-funded production run. A lot of founders drain their savings or go into debt to fund production when they don't have to.
You'll learn how to fund production without risking your own money, using capital from customers, manufacturing partners, and investors instead.
MEMBER WIN
A member's Kickstarter looked like it was going to fall short. Partway through, the numbers just weren't there.
Then the late surge kicked in, and in the final days the campaign jumped from around $24K to past its $60,000 goal with 320 backers.
That funding meant his customers paid for the production run, not his savings.
Most help out there covers only one of these. The engineering side doesn't understand the market and financial risks. And the business coaches don't understand the design and manufacturing risks.
But for a hardware product, you can't really separate these three. They're all connected. You need people who understand how all of it connects, from idea to launch.
I call this the Predictable Launch Protocol™. At every stage, reduce risk with expert input and real validation instead of rushing ahead alone.
That's why I built the Hardware Academy around all three. I've spent over a decade as a design engineer, then launched my own product and learned the market and financial lessons the hard way. That's what shapes everything inside.
Ronald Wijnsema and the Button+
Ronald spent over four years developing Button+, a modular control panel for smart home systems.
With guidance from the Academy, he launched pre-sales directly from his website. A major Dutch tech publication ran a feature on his product that generated huge engagement, and within days he had sold over $64,000 before manufacturing anything.
That single move reduced his risk in three ways at once.
Pre-selling validated that people would actually pay, funded the production run without draining his savings, and attracted manufacturing partners willing to work with him.
One of those partners was Renaud Anjoran, a manufacturing expert inside the Academy who runs a facility in Asia.
Ronald flew to China to work with Renaud's team on production, and today Button+ is manufacturing and shipping to customers.
Best of all, he's sold out of every production run, and is now expanding his product line.
"I'm over the moon, but it didn’t come easy. I spent more than four years developing this, of course with the help of John Teel and others in the Hardware Academy. The Academy gave me the guidance and feedback I needed to finally make it real."
Ronald's connection wasn't anything rare. Renaud now works with several other members.
In fact, people team up like this all the time in the Academy.
Some work on their products together, some connect with engineers who help them finish their designs, some partner with manufacturers, and at least one has even invested in another member's product.
Expert Engineering Support
Get real guidance and technical feedback to ensure your product is manufacturable, reliable, and ready for certification.
The Academy gives you hands-on support from experienced engineers throughout every stage of development.
Design reviews are one of the most valuable parts of that support because they catch issues early and prevent expensive redesigns.
The level of design feedback depends on your plan:
Community Design Reviews (All Plans)
With the Standard plan, you’ll have access to Community Design Reviews in our forum.
Share your design and receive guaranteed feedback from our expert engineers and fellow community members. It’s a collaborative space where you can get valuable insights in a shared setting.
MEMBER WIN
A member brought a power management board in for review before ordering fabrication, and the schematic looked clean.
Then one of our engineers caught that his current-sense resistors were wired in parallel with the supplies instead of in series, causing a short-circuit.
That same review also caught a shutdown signal wired to the wrong regulator. Both of these fixes cost nothing, because no board existed yet.
Manufacturing Readiness Reviews (Premium only)
The full formal design review. We evaluate whether your product can be manufactured, tested, certified, and scaled, covering roughly 100 checkpoints including manufacturability, reliability, and EMI.
You receive a complete written report of our findings. Premium members also get unlimited private access to our engineers for design feedback and questions throughout development.
MEMBER WIN
A member had two products in volume production, and they came with a costly pattern of failures.
5% of boards were failing at the factory, and about 1% were failing once they got into customers' hands, all on a power circuit that matched the datasheet.
Our engineers went through the design and found no problems. Instead, the evidence pointed at the chip itself, since the chip used gets cloned a lot, and he had no control over where his factory was buying them.
At volume, random failures in a correct design usually point back to the parts. And catching sourcing and manufacturing-scale risks like that before a production run is exactly what these reviews exist for.
Click below to see all of the checks included in our Manufacturing Readiness Reviews:
You get a team of experts:
Some of the people above don't even work for me...
They're expert members who just enjoy helping others like you.
For example, Dave Millman has helped hundreds of people succeed with their products. He even consulted for Steve Wozniak on a universal remote control, Woz's first product after leaving Apple.
Then there's Renaud Anjoran, who runs his own manufacturing company in China. He also manufactures several members' products.
Or take Bill Whitlock, who spent 25 years running Jensen Transformers, one of the most respected names in pro audio. Members lean on him for analog, power, and audio help.
All three of these guys joined within the first year of the Academy opening in 2019, and they've stuck around ever since.
My staff provide the guaranteed reviews and private support. But the room around them is full of people like Dave, Renaud, and Bill.
How the Academy helps you succeed:
Here's what that team helps you do at every stage:
Reduce your technical risk...
- Expert design reviews from our engineers to catch issues before production
- Select the right components and technologies for production
- Make sure your design can actually be manufactured
- Simplify your product to lower development and setup costs
- Reduce or even eliminate expensive certifications
Reduce your market risk...
- Honest feedback on your product idea and feasibility
- Discover how to actually prove your product will sell
- Build your audience before launch
- Improve your chances of crowdfunding success
Reduce your financial risk...
- Know where to spend and where to save
- Learn how to fund production without draining your savings
- Get honest feedback on quotes, timelines, and designs
Work with the right people (and avoid the wrong ones)...
- Referrals to trusted developers and manufacturers
- Learn how to spot and avoid dishonest vendors
- Connect with other founders and engineers who are building real products right now
- Find collaborators, partners, and even manufacturers among the members themselves
MEMBER WIN
One startup committed to a Bluetooth module that was pre-certified and marketed for wearables.
Partway through development, they found out its FCC grant said it couldn't be used any closer than 20 cm from the body, which left them with a wearable that legally couldn't be worn.
So our experts reset the whole premise. A module's pre-certification only covers the conditions of its grant, not your product.
From there they laid out the real path forward, including the classification detail that decided whether an expensive SAR test was even needed.
All of it got caught and rerouted before a dollar of certification money was spent.
Your complete training library:
Over 40 courses & workshops on everything from PCB design to certifications to manufacturing to market validation and sales.
• Tutorial - How to Design a Custom ESP32 PCB (includes ordering boards and programming and testing them)
• Masterclass: From Concept to Prototype to Market for Your New Electronic Hardware Product
• Understanding Certifications and Regulatory Requirements
• Workshop: New Methods for Low-cost Injection Molding
• Tutorial: How to Design Your First PCB
• Tutorial: Designing an ESP32 PCB with a Battery Charger
• How to Design Your Own Custom PCB
• Introduction to 3D Modeling
• Online Marketing and Building an Audience
• Defining and Validating Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• Introduction to Power Management
• How to Estimate Your Product's Manufacturing Cost
• Introduction to PCB Design Using KiCad
• Introduction to Mechanical Design
• How to File a Provisional Patent Application (PPA)
• Setting Up a Low-Risk Supply Chain in China
• Design Your First PCB Boot Camp
• Beginners Introduction to Arduino
• Define Your Market and Find Your First Big Customers
• Product Design Masterclass: From Concept to Prototype
• How to Design Your Enclosure for Injection Molding
• Introduction to 3D Printing
• How to Build a Hardware Company, Not Just a Product
• How to Order PCBs
• How to Select the Wireless Tech for Your Product
• How to Talk to Customers
• Low-Volume Manufacturing Strategies and Methods
• Firmware Programming for STM32 Microcontrollers
• How to Protect Your Intellectual Property in China
• How to Find and Meet Customers
• Introduction to Bluetooth Low-Energy
• How to Build Reliability Into Your Product Design
• How to Achieve Product-Market Validation
• 12 Layers of IoT Cloud Infrastructure
• Introduction to PCB Manufacturing
Every question gets an in-depth answer from an expert!
Inside the Academy community:
MEMBER WIN
A member got the fourth revision of his board back, and USB to the ESP32-S3 was completely dead, even though revision three had worked fine.
He posted his layout and said it was "a problem that has me stumped." One of our engineers walked through the things that actually matter for USB: the differential pair widths, where the ground plane sat in his stackup, and the stubs in his routing.
So he redrew the data lines as a proper differential pair, and the next board came back with USB working just like it should.
Nicolas Franco and the Hex Evo
Nicolas had a bold idea for a new type of gaming controller called the Hex Evo.
He spent years developing it while inside the Hardware Academy, where he got help with everything from early breadboarding to strategy, marketing, and manufacturing.
When his crowdfunding campaign launched, nerves were high. But just 86 minutes later, he blew past his $40,000 funding goal.
"From figuring out the first prototypes to building a waitlist and launching my campaign, the Hardware Academy supported me every step of the way. I couldn’t have done it without them."
Is It Right for You?
The Hardware Academy is NOT for everyone, and I'd prefer to help you figure out if it’s not right for you BEFORE you join rather than waste your time. So, let’s cut to the chase...
WHO IT IS FOR:
WHO IT IS NOT FOR:
“I was hesitant joining…but immediately all those worries were gone. Worth every penny. I saved myself tons of headaches.”
Erik Hunter
Academy member
You're not too early, and you're not too late...
Wherever you are right now is the right time to start.
Here's why waiting costs you either way.
Most people tell themselves they'll join once they're further along, once the idea feels solid, or the prototype's working, or they've already got a product in hand.
And then there are the people on the opposite end, the ones who figure they're past the point of needing the Academy. They've got a working product, the hard part's behind them, and it's smooth sailing to the finish from here.
I get the instinct, but it's backwards in both directions. The people who think they're too early and the ones who think they're too late are usually making the same mistake at opposite ends.
The decisions that are most expensive to undo start early, and they keep coming at every stage after.
So every month you put this off is another month of those calls made without a second set of eyes. And you don't get those months back.
"I'm still at the idea stage, so it's too early to join."
That's actually one of the best times to join, not a reason to wait.
When you're still weighing directions, the right input helps you pick the idea worth pursuing and spot the risks before you've sunk months into the wrong one.
It's far cheaper to get clarity now than to discover the problem after you've built around it. The earlier you catch it, the less it costs.
MEMBER WIN
A member came to us early with an ambitious, feature-packed plan for an assistive sports product.
Two replies from our experts got him to think hard about the complexity and failure rates he hadn't planned for, and he cut the riskiest part of the design before spending a cent building it.
"Just those two alone were worth several months' worth of the Hardware Academy monthly membership cost, to me, particularly as they helped me identify a number of blind spots."
"I'll join once I've finished my prototype."
There are really two prototype stages: the proof-of-concept you build from dev kits, and the custom design that follows.
A lot of people assume the Academy is for that later custom stage, so they wait. But the decisions you make in your proof-of-concept directly shape the custom design, things like your component choices and the core technology you end up committing to.
Getting experienced eyes on it before you've locked those in is how you avoid carrying an expensive mistake forward. Earlier is always cheaper regardless of the prototype stage.
"I already have a working product, so I'm past the point of needing this."
A working prototype is where the next set of expensive problems begins, not where the risk ends.
Things like certification, design for manufacturing, design for testing, and scaling to volume are where products that work perfectly on the bench fail in production, or rack up costs that should have been designed out earlier.
Having someone experienced review your design before you commit to tooling, test, and a production run is how you avoid the failures that cost the most, the ones that show up last.
Even at these later stages, fixing problems now costs less than after you've shipped to customers.
No matter which stage you're at, your membership covers all of them. You're supported the whole way, from idea to production.
Can't I just use AI for this?
You should be using AI. We use it every day, and so should you.
AI is extremely useful where being wrong is cheap, things like learning concepts, drafting code, or summarizing datasheets.
But in hardware, the expensive decisions are different. A confidently wrong answer means a board respin, a failed certification round, or a production order you can't undo.
And AI only answers the questions you ask it. The most expensive mistakes in hardware live in the questions you didn't know to ask.
Even the AI design tools are just assistants, not engineers. They catch some issues, but you have no way of knowing what they missed.
So that's where our engineers and product experts come in. They review your whole product and catch those mistakes before they cost you months.
MEMBER WIN
A member's CO2 sensor kept acting flaky, and a ChatGPT debugging session confidently told him to power it at 5V instead of 3.3V.
The problems seemed to go away, so he built his next board revision the same way.
Then the flakiness came back, and the AI's fix had added a second fault of its own: a 5V-powered sensor with 3.3V logic on its data lines.
Two board revisions went into chasing that ghost.
When the design finally came in for review, our engineers tracked down the problem and suggested the correct fix.
The real cause was routing. Power lines for an ultrasonic piezo ran right beside the sensor wiring and coupled noise into it.
So the voltage was never the problem, and the datasheet had allowed either one all along.
A fix that works for reasons you can't explain is just a failure waiting to come back.
How the Academy Is Different...
To launch a product, you’ll need engineers, consultants, attorneys, manufacturers, and more.
But here’s the problem: most of them get paid whether you succeed or not.
In many cases, their incentives reward complexity instead of real results.
• A patent attorney profits if they convince you to file.
• An engineer earns more by over-engineering your design.
• And invention firms just say what you want to hear so they can extract more from you.
The Hardware Academy is different.
Our engineers don’t just give advice, they review your actual designs to make sure your product is ready for manufacturing.
I don’t sell design services or take commissions on referrals. My only incentive is to help you succeed. If I don’t, you’ll just leave. Simple as that.
Your Academy membership gives you honest, unbiased advice from someone who’s been through it and genuinely wants your product to succeed.
| Do It Yourself | Hire Consultants | Recommended Hardware Academy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Low upfront, but costly mistakes | $150+ per hour, adds up fast | One low monthly fee, paid for by the mistakes it prevents |
| Risk Coverage | No experienced guidance on any risk | Each risk needs a separate specialist | Design reviews plus market and financial guidance |
| Incentive Alignment | You care the most, but lack the experience | Paid whether you succeed or not | Recurring model keeps us invested in your progress |
| Speed | Slow trial and error, likely with rework | Fastest, if your budget allows | Fast async help, not a full-time hire |
If you're like me you've already spent endless hours scouring the internet for answers. Its tough to know where to even start.
Now I'm surrounded by talented ambitious individuals who love to help others. They help motivate you and hold you accountable.
Kris Christopher
Member
31-Day Money-back Guarantee
Why 31 days? Because I'd rather give you an extra day, so even a monthly rebill is fully covered. I take the risk out of joining, like the Academy takes the risk out of your product.
Two ways to get expert help with your product:
Both plans give you the full training library and the community.
Standard is where you get your questions answered and your design reviewed by experienced engineers and product experts in the community.
Premium adds unlimited private engineering support throughout your development, plus unlimited Manufacturing Readiness Reviews, priority responses and full design confidentiality.
STANDARD
Pay only
$147
per month
Support from team of experts
Answers typically within 24-48 hours
Personal advice from John Teel
Community design reviews
All courses and workshops (40+)
Masterclass: From Concept to Market
Thousands of design discussions
Resources and referrals
Active member community
PREMIUM
Pay only
$997
every 3 months
(that's about $332/month)
Everything in Standard plus:
Unlimited private engineering support
Unlimited private Manufacturing Readiness Reviews
100+ checks covering manufacturing, certification, EMI, and reliability. These also sell separately for $997 each.
Priority responses (typically within 24 hours)
Full design confidentiality
Recurring payment. Cancel anytime. 31-day money-back guarantee. Your rate never increases while you're an active member.
In hardware, one caught mistake can pay for years of the Academy:
- Redesigns: Thousands of dollars and months of delay
- Failed certifications: $3K to $30K, plus a redesign cycle
- A product that doesn't sell: Tens of thousands in inventory
- One year of the Hardware Academy: $1,764 (12 x $147)
An engineer costs $150+ an hour. The Academy gives you a team of them for $147 a month.
I decided to give the Hardware Academy a shot and was very glad I did.
I’ve spent the past couple years researching every aspect of how to bring my product to market, but ran into roadblocks with technical and business issues I just couldn’t find the answers to.
In the Academy I was connected to like-minded individuals and was able to quickly get solutions to my lingering questions, including from John.
Nick S.
Member
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a design review?
Do I need to learn electronics or product design for this to work for me?
Does it matter where I'm located?
Can I get private one-on-one help with my project?
How far along do I need to be with my product?
What type of products are right for the Hardware Academy?
How do you handle confidential information?
How is the Academy community area different?
How are courses structured? Are courses live or recorded?
I don't yet have a product idea, or I have lots of product ideas. Should I join now?
How do I cancel my subscription? Can I rejoin later?
I'm in secretive stealth mode, can I be anonymous?
Is all of the content available straight away or is it time-released (drip fed)?
Can I upgrade and downgrade between plans?
My startup consists of several people, can we all share the same account?
Does the Hardware Academy make any claims to my intellectual property?
Once I join will the price ever increase?
We're pre-revenue, should we join now or wait until we have revenue?
How long does it take to get a reply?
How much time does this take each week?
31-Day Money-back Guarantee
Why 31 days? Because I'd rather give you an extra day, so even a monthly rebill is fully covered. I take the risk out of joining, like the Academy takes the risk out of your product.
Two ways to get expert help with your product:
Both plans give you the full training library and the community.
Standard is where you get your questions answered and your design reviewed by experienced engineers and product experts in the community.
Premium adds unlimited private engineering support throughout your development, plus unlimited Manufacturing Readiness Reviews, priority responses and full design confidentiality.
STANDARD
Pay only
$147
per month
Support from team of experts
Answers typically within 24-48 hours
Personal advice from John Teel
Community design reviews
All courses and workshops (40+)
Masterclass: From Concept to Market
Thousands of design discussions
Resources and referrals
Active member community
PREMIUM
Pay only
$997
every 3 months
(that's about $332/month)
Everything in Standard plus:
Unlimited private engineering support
Unlimited private Manufacturing Readiness Reviews
100+ checks covering manufacturing, certification, EMI, and reliability. These also sell separately for $997 each.
Priority responses (typically within 24 hours)
Full design confidentiality
Recurring payment. Cancel anytime. 31-day money-back guarantee. Your rate never increases while you're an active member.
In hardware, one caught mistake can pay for years of the Academy.
Still wondering if this is for you?
Send me a message below and I'll reply by video.
This video chat feature is also available inside the Academy.
Already a member? Here's the login page (please bookmark it): https://thehardwareacademy.com/login
