ddp design fair

Written by Jungho Park (Professor of Myongji University)

For technology-based startups, it takes a lot of time and money to launch a product. For example, it takes an average of 16 years to develop a new drug. An average of $800 million is invested during the development period. It also takes an average of $200-300 million to develop an online game. The game development period ranges from 4 years to as long as 10 years.

Of course, the examples mentioned above represent the industry which requires a lot of time and cost for development. What is clear is that it takes much higher cost and longer time for R&D, especially for technology-based startups when compared to design-based startups. Anyone who is thinking about starting a business based on technology needs to be aware of this.

The completion of development does not mean everything is all set. For technology-based startups, what is most important is performing a trial run under actual conditions as well as filing a patent application. Make sure that the technologies and products you have developed

work well in real world conditions. A sneaker startup, which was once popular, made a crucial mistake of producing sneakers made of fabric that bleeds color in the wash. An MP3 player manufacturer, which was widely acclaimed for its high quality, was eventually shunned by consumers because its MP3 player did not work in subfreezing weather. It is important to do a trial run for a considerable period of time as long as the development period since missing small details can lead to irreversible consequences.

It is easy to think that it is much easier to create a new product by combining technologies that already exist in the market than investing a lot of time and money to develop a new technology but this method also requires a considerable amount of time and money.

Design-based startups are different. Unlike technology R&D, design development does not require a variety of research equipment and facilities. The duration of design development varies greatly among designs. Designs based on of a lot of thought and effort lead to a successful outcome, but sometimes designs created by an intuitive spark resonate with consumers.

Design-based startups should beware of counterfeits which are commonly referred to as “knock-offs”. It is more difficult to properly protect designs under intellectual property rights than technologies. Unless they are exactly the same, it is not easy to claim that someone has infringed on the intellectual property rights even when the design is somewhat similar to your work.

Many startup founders endure through extremely difficult situations to create a technology or design that provides extraordinary added value. Understanding the main points that are mentioned above and noticing the difference between design and technology in advance will be perhaps the easiest way to overcome difficulties.