i3 - November/December 2018 - 52

Policy

By Jeremy Snow

T EC H H U B

"At the Hardware Club,
Community Comes First"

ardware companies are known as some of the riskiest
investments in Silicon Valley, but a successful one has
the possibility to define an industry and change consumers' lives. Just look at companies like Apple, Fitbit and GoPro.
Alexis Houssou deals with the highs and
lows of hardware startups every day as
the co-founder and president of
Hardware Club, a venture firm that exclusively deals with hardware. But Houssou
cares about much more than signing the
check, spending the past three years making Hardware Club a community where
roughly 500 startups of all sizes and types
network and share advice.
Before starting the company, Houssou
invested in multiple hardware businesses but noticed each of his investments suffered similar challenges, like
distribution or Chinese manufacturing.
So, Houssou set out to create a place
where companies could work together to
solve these problems.
"Hardware is hard, definitely, but
one of the easiest ways to make it more
approachable is connecting to other

Alexis Houssou,
co-founder and
president of
Hardware Club.
52

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

people and gaining information,"
Houssou says. "I would bet that everyone in Hardware Club could find at
least one other company that is going
through - or already overcame - the
same problem as you."
Hardware Club describes itself as
"stage agnostic" instead of an accelerator or incubator, since just three percent of member companies have
investments with it. Instead, the firm
focuses on bringing together startups
of all levels to provide mentorship and
advice. Once a member is accepted,
startups join for free and have access to
all other members, as well as community events and unique opportunities at
trade shows. Participants immediately
recognized the value of flexibility and
access at Hardware Club.
The VC has allowed dozens of companies to come to CES since 2015. In
2018, Hardware Club brought 18 companies, including 3D-body scanning
scale Shapescale and internet-connected helmet Cosmo Connected. CES
continues to be essential for many
Hardware Club members, introducing
them to distributors, investors and
manufacturers. For 2019, Houssou
plans to bring a total of 23 member
companies to their "CES alley."
"CES is the best way for our members
to meet the whole system behind the
industry," Houssou says. "It's not just
about launching a company - it's a
week where you can focus on connecting to the community."

2019

CES 2019 More than 1,200 entrepreneurs and startups will showcase
innovation at Eureka Park.

Hardware Club
Members
With hundreds of members around the
world, Hardware Club features some of
the most exciting companies in transportation, robotics and smart home.
Here are two companies positioned to
become household names.

REACH ROBOTICS: At CES 2018, dozens of attendees gathered around a large
box in front of Reach Robotics' booth to
see spider-like robotics crawl around.
The attendees were watching MekaMon,
the flagship product of the Hardware
Club member. Users can control the
robots on their phone and through a
combination of remote control and VR,
use them to play different games or fight
other MekaMon. Reach Robotics envision
their creation as the future of gaming -
an unforgettable experience that makes
playing both digital and physical.

COWBOY: Described by Hardware Club
as the "Tesla of e-bikes," Cowboy is looking to revolutionize urban travel in the
age of the smartphone. The European
company, now worth over $1.3 billion,
creates a high-end bicycle complete
with a brake light, removable battery
and an accompanying app for your
phone that acts like a dashboard with
navigation, ride stats and GPS.

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

https://hardwareclub.co/ https://reachrobotics.com/ https://cowboy.com/ https://www.ces.tech/

i3 - November/December 2018

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