Group aims to strengthen the competitiveness of Silicon Valley high technology hardware developers and manufacturers

Local Silicon Valley hardware developers and manufacturers have teamed up with the City of San Jose’s Office of Economic Development to hold an inaugural meetup on Thursday, February 21, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. This forum is focused on New Product Development, Introduction, and Manufacturing processes, with the goal of increasing local product development and manufacturing.

There has been a recent resurgence in hardware product development and manufacturing in Silicon Valley, enabled by new sources of funding like Kickstarter and rapid-prototyping resources such as TechShop. Hardware entrepreneurs (with limited expertise) and larger businesses (with fewer resources) have come together to share best practices, and create a new paradigm for launching new products—Hardware 2.0.

The meetup group is called Hardware NPI – SV and interested participants can learn more and register at http://www.meetup.com/Hardware-NPI-SV/.

“We plan to hold regular discussions on new product development and introduction processes, share insights about the latest trends and practices, and highlight real world examples from industry experts,” said Michael Keer, Founder and CEO of Product Realization Group. “Our goal is to increase local product development and manufacturing by leveraging the latest industry advances, expanding knowledge, and facilitating personal connections.”  The topic for the first meeting is “Product Feasibility – Validating Product Concept.”

According to Chris Burton, Business Development Manager, from the Office of
Economic Development from the City of San Jose, “PRG’s Hardware NPI SV meetup group will be a great way to strengthen the competitive advantage of Silicon Valley hardware companies and keep jobs in the local area. We are pleased to host the inaugural meeting on February 21.” 

Attendees of the first meetup will learn about product feasibility best practices including technological concepts, how to test for viability and how to pivot for success.  The meeting will also discuss how best to leverage the forum to provide maximum value moving forward.  Join the Silicon Valley hardware revolution!

More information is available at:
http://www.meetup.com/Hardware-NPI-SV/