The Grommet's mission is to launch undiscovered products and help them succeed. This year their Product Pitch contest will feature movers and shakers of the Maker ecosystem including GrabCAD CEO Hardi Meybaum.
Originally posted by The Grommet on Boston.com:
At The Grommet, we believe in Citizen Commerce, which is the belief that you and I seek, buy, and share products from companies that reflect our values. Every purchase is an act of citizenship, amplifying good in the world.
With Product Pitch, we’re excited to involve the community in the selection of winning products, and to celebrate the Makers who are creating hacks or problem-solving products in this Maker Movement we’re experiencing across the nation.
Hardi Meybaum to join panels discussing product launch, hardware, & design innovation
Hardi's Cambridge-based startup is leading what they call the Open Engineering movement, fostering a community for advancing collaborative product design and modeling.
GrabCAD also provides a collaboration tool called Workbench that allows professional engineering teams to manage their CAD data and projects by sharing designs and 3D models -- think Google Drive for mechanical engineers.
The advent of rapid prototyping through CAD software and 3D printing technology is leveling the playing field for product creation. Regardless of company size, it’s helping to bring products to market faster, enabling more efficient testing for market validation.
From creating a virtual prototype for raising funds or initial selling to 3D printing a small batch of samples, rapid prototyping is allowing companies and even one-man or woman operations to test the market before spending time or money on large-scale manufacturing of a product.
This year, The Grommet's Product Pitch event will be looking at products that may be still in prototype stage or looking to scale. There will be two categories: ready for crowdfunding and ready for market. The winners of both categories will be receiving the guidance and tools for a successful product launch into market.
You can vote for your favorite product now. The top 6 voted contestants will go to Fenway Park to compete for the ultimate product launch prize.
