Flat monthly plan
$500/month
For entrepreneurs building a physical product who need regular expert guidance but are not ready for a full engineering team.
Start advisory requestServices / Founder advisory
Senior hardware guidance for founders.
A flat-rate advisory plan for entrepreneurs who need practical industrial expertise before committing major time, money, tooling, or supplier decisions.
$500/monthflat advisory rate
Monthlystrategy review call
Asyncfocused email questions
Included
- 1 monthly strategy or review call
- Async email support for focused technical questions
- Product concept, CAD, or design review
- Mechanical, electronics, and manufacturing guidance
- BOM, cost, and supplier feedback
- Prototype and validation roadmap
- Risk review before tooling or supplier commitment
Not included
- Full CAD execution
- PCB design execution
- Firmware development
- Daily engineering support
- Supplier management
- Production ownership
How the month works
Not vague coaching. A monthly engineering review rhythm.
The founders who get the most out of advisory show up with three specific Quoted prices, a CAD screenshot, or a prototype failure photo — not "I'm thinking about a product." We use the 45-minute call to compare options, name the risks, and walk out with a one-page decision memo and the three next steps for the month.
1. Intake
Send the latest sketches, CAD screenshots, BOM, supplier quote, prototype photos, questions, or test results before the review.
2. Strategy call
Use the monthly call to identify the highest-risk decision, compare options, and decide what needs proof before spending more.
3. Async questions
Ask focused questions during the month when a supplier, component, prototype, or design tradeoff needs fast technical judgment.
4. Risk notes
Leave with a short action list: what to test, what to change, what to ask suppliers, and what to avoid locking too early.
Typical questions
Use advisory when the next decision is technical, but hiring a full team is premature.
- "My BOM is €82 and I need to hit €38. What gives — the MCU, the BLE module, or the enclosure tooling amortisation?"
- "Three Chinese suppliers quoted my tooling at $18k, $24k, and $41k. Which one is real and which one is going to break?"
- "My EVT prototype works in the lab but fails IP-X4 in the bathroom. What's the cheapest fix that doesn't change my injection tool?"
- "I'm shipping 5,000 units to the EU. Do I need EU Battery Regulation passport, GPSR responsible person, EU CRA, or all three?"
- "I want to launch on Kickstarter in 4 months. Is my product engineering really ready for $250k of pre-orders?"
- "My patent attorney says €18k for a utility patent. Is that worth it for my product, or should I file a design right and trademark?"
Good fit
- You are actively developing a hardware product yourself.
- You can share sketches, CAD, photos, quotes, test data, or decisions to review.
- You want experienced judgment before paying for tooling, custom electronics, or suppliers.
- You can execute the tasks or manage freelancers after the review.
Not the right fit
- You need Ideambox to own CAD, PCB, firmware, purchasing, or supplier management every day.
- You need emergency production support or guaranteed response times.
- You need legal certification sign-off instead of engineering preparation and lab coordination.
Related reference documents
Background reading we send to every advisory client.
IDB-CVE-023
Cost engineering & VA/VE
Target costing, BoM optimisation, design-for-cost rules, real cost-reduction case studies.
IDB-CWF-013Crowdfunding to production
Platform selection, engineering-readiness gate, marketing budget benchmarks, fulfilment economics.
IDB-IPP-010IP protection for hardware
Trademark, design right, utility patent, trade secret — costs, timelines, Madrid Protocol, NDA template.
Not sure if advisory is enough?
Book the free technical call and we will recommend advisory, a discovery sprint, or a larger development scope.