Prototyping
What an unsuccessful prototype can teach you, how financial risk differs from engineering responsibility, and how findings guide the next decision.
The quick take
An unsuccessful prototype does not necessarily mean the engineering work was unsuccessful.
When a founder hires AVA Labs to develop a new product, they’re paying for a professional engineering process, not a guarantee that an unproven concept will work.
An example from prototyping
A motor-driven clamp needs to grip objects of different sizes. During testing, the team discovers that it cannot consistently produce the required force without becoming too large or expensive.
That identifies a technical limitation. The founder can now decide what to do next:
Financial risk and reward
The founder assumes the financial risk associated with that investment. If the product becomes commercially successful, the founder or their company generally retains the financial upside under the agreed ownership terms.
AVA Labs doesn’t automatically receive royalties or a percentage of profits when a product succeeds.
Likewise, AVA Labs doesn’t assume the financial risk of an unsuccessful product simply because the engineering process didn’t produce the desired result.
Engineering responsibility
Actual engineering mistakes or failures to fulfill contractual obligations are a different matter, and AVA Labs remains accountable for its work.
Sometimes prototyping means proving something works. Other times, it means discovering why it doesn’t. Both outcomes can represent valuable engineering progress before committing larger amounts of money.
An unsuccessful prototype does not necessarily mean the engineering work was unsuccessful.
When a founder hires AVA Labs to develop a new product, they're paying for a professional engineering process, not a guarantee that their concept will work.
Consider a founder developing a device that uses a motor-driven clamp to grip objects of different sizes.
AVA Labs designs the mechanism, builds a prototype, and begins testing.
During testing, we discover that the mechanism cannot consistently produce the required clamping force without becoming too large or expensive.
That's not the outcome anyone wanted, but it's still valuable engineering work.
We've identified a technical limitation, and the founder can now decide whether to revise the design, explore another approach, or discontinue development.
This brings us to an important distinction between financial risk and financial reward.
The founder is investing in the development of their product and assumes the financial risk associated with that investment.
If the product becomes commercially successful, the founder or their company generally retains the financial upside under the agreed ownership terms.
AVA Labs doesn't automatically receive royalties or a percentage of the profits when a product succeeds.
Likewise, AVA Labs doesn't assume the financial risk of an unsuccessful product simply because the engineering process didn't produce the desired result.
Our responsibility is to perform the agreed engineering work competently, communicate findings, and provide the technical information necessary to make informed decisions.
Of course, actual engineering mistakes or failures to fulfill contractual obligations are a different matter, and AVA Labs remains accountable for its work.
But developing new technology involves uncertainty, and no engineering firm can guarantee that an unproven concept will succeed.
Prototyping is about reducing uncertainty before committing larger amounts of money.
Sometimes that means proving something works. Other times, it means discovering why it doesn't.
Both outcomes can represent valuable engineering progress.