PCH International has teamed up with online network FounderDating to help budding entrepreneurs find potential co-founders.
FounderDating Hardware, an expansion of the original FounderDating platform aimed specifically at hardware firms, will work with PCH’s incubator programme Highway1 to help connect future hardware makers with each other. The network, which is aimed at entrepreneurs and engineers who are ready to start a new venture, screens applicants carefully to ensure they meet the skill set required. A once-off fee of $50 applies to those who are accepted as members.
“Before we can invest in and educate teams, it’s vital to be able to bring the right core founding teams together,” Highway1’s vice president Brady Forrest said. “FounderDating does a preeminent job at this. We can then begin to fill in the gaps around product development, supply chain and manufacturing.”
Highway1 is planning to hold events for FounderDating Hardware members, including a digital fireside chat.
Cofounder and chief executive of FounderDating Jessica Alter said the complexity of a hardware company’s founding team was often overlooked, with the essential elements including industrial design, mechanical, electrical and software engineering.
“It’s tremendously difficult and rarely do these people just happen upon each other day-to-day,” she said. “We give them a platform to connect with the right people to get hardware companies started the right way.”
Highway1 was launched earlier this year, aimed at early startups. The four-month programme, which is mainly US-based but open to entrepreneurs all over the world, provides advice and expertise in supply chain and manufacturing for hardware companies. As part of the programme, participants will spend time in China learning about the consumer electronics supply chain.
PCH International chief executive Liam casey had previously described the initiative as “the greatest enabler of hardware in the planet”.
