HaxAsia hardware accelerator rebrands as Enchant VC, launches new program

Image credit: Creopop.

Of all the tricky startup verticals, hardware has earned a place among the trickiest. It’s not enough to find a market for your product and build it to perfection. You then have to find an audience and the demand for it, and produce it in sufficient bulk to meet that demand. And there are all sorts of minutiae you have to take care of along the way – including getting investors to believe in you and your product.

Enchant wants to focus on products that people will want to use every day.

Enchant VC has been in this game for a while. Previously known as HaxAsia (no relation to SOSV’s Hax), the hardware accelerator and venture capital firm is launching its startup program anew this year. 12 startups have already signed up, but the program is still open for more companies to join.

The rebranding comes as Enchant wants to focus on products that people will want to use every day, managing partner Slava Solonitsyn tells Tech in Asia. A lot of hardware products these days focus on the internet of things (IoT), but connectivity isn’t necessarily the reason people want to use those products. That’s why Enchant is trying to find companies who will build attractive products, connected or not.

Two of Enchant’s previous success stories are 3D-printing pen maker CreoPop and turn-anything-into-a-touch-surface gadget builder Touchjet, which illustrates Slava’s point quite well. Both had successful crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo and now have retail partnerships with US retailer Best Buy and Amazon respectively.

See: After launching in the US, Singapore’s 3D-printing pen CreoPop raises more funding

Around the world in 4 stages

Enchant’s acceleration program lasts for nine months. During that time, startups go through four different phases.

It all starts in Singapore, where the program is based. Participating startups either have to be located or willing to relocate there. They spend two months in the Lion City doing product-market fit and preparing for their crowdfunding launch.

They can then spend up to four months in Singapore or in San Fransisco, where they launch and manage their crowdfunding campaigns. “We use the crowdfunding model to build traction and validate the startup,” Slava says. The team of mentors helps the startups shape the campaign and release it to the world.

After that comes the manufacturing stage. Enchant takes those startups that are ready to work with manufacturers to Shenzhen, China, otherwise known as the manufacturing capital of the world. There the accelerator matches the companies to contract manufacturers, according to each startup’s needs. Slava says they don’t lock in contract manufacturers for startups beforehand, so that the companies can negotiate the production volumes they need instead of what the manufacturer wants.

Finally, the startups get to go to Vegas! Specifically, the teams spend a month in San Francisco to prepare for the main event, the Consumer Electronics Show. There they hold their official launch and connect with retailers, investors, and partners. Hopefully, at the end of it all, the startups can score a significant seed or even series A round – although according to Slava, some investors have approached startups even during the program.

Maturing market