In 1992, Jeff Hawkins wanted to design a digital assistant that would fit in a pocket. Before drawing a single circuit, he carved a block of wood to the exact dimensions of his future product, slipped it into his pocket, and carried it around for weeks. When a colleague invited him to a meeting, he would take out the block, pretend to jot something down in a planner, and then put it away. He wanted to answer a simple question: Is an object of this size, this weight, and this frequency of use practical for everyday use? The Palm Pilot, launched four years later, became one of the best-selling mobile devices of its time.
The anecdote is recounted by Alberto Savoia in Pretotype It, an essential read for anyone interested in product development. It encapsulates a discipline that is all too rare in the tech industry: proving that an idea is worth building before committing the capital needed to build it.
We regularly see the opposite scenario among the founders we support at Garage&co, nearly 60 hardtech companies since 2022, ranging from medical devices to agtech. A clear idea, a real problem to solve, and sometimes potential customers already identified.
When it comes time to present something, whether it’s slides, a technical description, or a CAD file that no one can make sense of, a gap exists between the idea and an object. The user needs to be able to hold it, look at, and evaluate it in a matter of seconds ends up eating into the budget, particularly in hardtech, where each iteration takes months and requires a significant investment.
This first post kicks off a joint series with Punctuate Design, which supports the development of physical products for hardware and hardtech startups by integrating manufacturing constraints and eco-design principles from the very beginning. The series explores their methodology, starting with the stage of hardware development that is most often overlooked: Phase 0.
Design is, first and foremost, an investigation
Many industrial design studios work downstream, focusing on the shell of a technology that has already been designed: shapes, colors, and 3D renderings that look good on an investor slide. This approach assumes that we already know the user, the need, the use case, and the manufacturing constraints. Many founders pay dearly for this presumption.
At Punctuate, the initial conversation resembles a friendly interrogation more than a creative brief: who is this product designed for? What specific problem does it solve? In what context will it be used, by whom, and how often? What are the technical, ergonomic, and manufacturing constraints?
The candor of the answers determines everything that follows. It is this investigative discipline, combined with an eco-design approach to materials and the life cycle, that sets Thibault and his team’s work apart.
This is also why Punctuate insists that every project begin with a Phase 0. Before a founder begins its incubation journey, and commits time and capital to a functional prototype, we want to know if the need has been tested on real people.
Pre-prototyping: testing the market before the product
The answer to the fundamental question—is this product worth building?—lies in how real users react to something tangible. The goal of Phase 0 is to define the minimum necessary to elicit that reaction, prior to the MVP and the working prototype.
Punctuate will design what is known as a pretotype: a device that simulates the experience of the final product, without the technology actually being in place. The goal is to prove that there is interest, before proving that it works. Three examples illustrate the idea.
The pizza vending machine. A hardtech startup wants to develop an automated pizza vending machine. Before investing in robotics and patents, the pre-prototype is simple: a box with an attractive poster on the front, as if it were a real vending machine. Inside, there’s no technology : just a person with a microwave heating up pizzas. The customer places an order, receives their pizza, and enjoys the experience. The team, meanwhile, measures traction: how many people stop, how many buy, and how many return.
The medical glove. A medtech company wants to design a therapeutic glove for patients with a specific condition. Before developing the electronics and sensors, the pre-prototype is an inert, technology-free glove that patients wear for several full days. The question to be validated is fundamental: is wearing this glove on a daily basis even feasible? If the answer is no, the product’s form must be rethought before integrating anything into it.
The snow-clearing robot. A startup wants to develop an autonomous residential snow removal robot. Before designing a single part, the pre-prototype is even more minimalist: a simple Google Calendar where residents can book a three-hour slot for free snow removal. If no one books, it doesn’t mean the product is a bad idea. It means the market, the sector, or the target persona isn’t the right one.
“Prototyping doesn't always yield the answer you're hoping for, but it does provide it early on, when there's still time to make adjustments.”
In each case, the prototype is accompanied by specific metrics: engagement rate, number of interactions, response rate, and volume of bookings. This data enables you to make an informed decision: continue, pivot, or stop.
What This Means for Hardtech Founders
If you’re developing a physical product—whether in hardware, hardtech, or medtech—there’s one question that takes precedence over all others: “What do I need to show to convince my next investor or my first customer?”
The key verb here is “show.” An object that the other person can look at, touch, and evaluate in thirty seconds elicits a reaction that no description, slide, or CAD file can replicate. It is this reaction, and the data it generates, that subsequently guides decisions regarding funding, technical hiring, and the choice of manufacturer.
This response is your Phase 0. It’s the work we support through Garage&co’s Pretotyping journey, and it’s the natural starting point for a conversation with Punctuate.
In the next post, we’ll get down to business: defining the product and developing the initial concepts. This is the stage where a validated idea becomes an object you can hold in your hands.
Want to start a conversation with Punctuate?
Thibault Lerailler – Founder, Punctuate Design | Industrial design studio, Montreal
Mention Garage&co when you reach out.
About our partner : Punctuate Design
Punctuate Design is a Montreal-based industrial design studio specializing in the development of physical products for hardware and hardtech startups, as well as manufacturing SMEs. By combining product strategy, industrial design, and manufacturing constraints, the team helps transform ambitious ideas into desirable, scalable products that are aligned with their market. Their approach is both rigorous and agile, designed to accelerate decision-making, reduce risks, and create useful products.