Gate 2: Prototype
Your early prototypes may not look like much. Your minimally viable products (MVPs) will likely be made from duct tape and scrap wood, and you'll probably destroy kitchen knives and scissors cutting plastic and metal before super-gluing it all together. It's hard to believe that these prototypes may one day get translated into the final product, but this is how you start. I built sad little prototypes from parts I ordered from Alibaba.com before I met my co-founder.
When I joined OtterBox, a billion dollar business, I had the luxury to build amazingly fun and complex prototypes incorporating appearance models, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and GPS radios, iOS and Android apps, cloud, analytics and lots of fun RGB LEDs. It was rapid and the team was world class - that was the dream, almost limitless. The reality for a startup begins with duct tape and Arduino boards and is anything but limitless. But don't be afraid to dream big about the performance and appearance of your final product; a little daydreaming and imagination can fuel a self-fulfilling prophecy, at the worst, it will keep you motivated.
The Prototype gate is often both fun and frustrating as you start understanding and developing your craft. Enjoy the excitement but be prepared for setbacks. You exit this phase when you have a reliable, working prototype, some high-quality visuals of what you think the finished product will look like, and a list of the key hardware components.