From Concept to Consumer: How to Turn Ideas into Money

by Phil Baker

"This is a fascinating, convincing,and highly detailed discussion of the innovation-and-marketing process as it actually works. Phil Baker has helped me understand how the modern, global high-tech industry actually works, and anyone who shares that curiosity will benefit from reading his book." — James Fallows , The Atlantic Monthly "In the high volume, fast moving field of high-tech consumer gadgetry, learning from your mistakes can be a very expensive education. It takes much more than a great inspiration to create a great product, and Phil Baker's book provides hard earned, practical advice (and fair warning) to those obsessed with making the next great shiny new toy." — Paul Jacobs , CEO, Qualcomm "When it comes to understanding how things work, why things work, and perhaps most important, why I should care, Phil Baker is my go-to guy. I've always believed that if you can't understand the process, you'll never appreciate the product and Phil Baker always provides that essential perspective. Don't just read the instruction manual—read Phil Baker first." — Peter Greenberg , Travel Editor, NBC Today Show "Phil Baker uses his personal experience in the development of such seminal products as the Polaroid SX-70 camera to provide practical and readable advice on how to turn good ideas into profitable products while avoiding the numerous pitfalls along the way." — Steve Wildstrom , Technology & You Columnist, BusinessWeek " From Concept to Consumer isn't just for the entrepreneur or the product development guru-in-training. If you're one of the legion of gadget hounds, or just want to be more informed about how the electronic products you love and use everyday come into being, then read this book!" — Ken Wirt , VP Consumer Marketing, Cisco "Phil Baker knows product development like no one else. This book is the true guide to getting your ideas to market. A must own for the entrepreneur." — Robert Brunner , Founder and Creative Director, Ammunition LLC, Former Apple Computer Director of Industrial Design "If you are an inventor or developer with a great idea for a product and the need to get it manufactured and distributed, this is the book for you. Here, Phil Baker reveals the valuable lessons he has learned from his many years of developing products for himself and others, getting them designed and manufactured, sometimes in the United States, sometimes in Asia. The discussion of Asian outsourcing is especially strong. 'The advantage is now to the swift and the creative, rather than the big,' says Baker, 'but to get that advantage you'll need to go to Asia.' Sound daunting? Don't worry; this book is a delightful tour of the virtues and dangers of outsourcing. If you want to get your product produced, this book is essential reading." — Don Norman , Nielsen Norman Group, Author, The Design of Future Things " I've known and admired Phil for years- and to this day, I keep learning about significant products that I didn't know he had a hand in bringing to market. He's seen it all and done it all—and in this highly readable, immensely practical book, he tells all." — Harry McCracken , Former Editor-in-Chief, PC World " Phil Baker's book should be required reading for any entrepreneur as well as successful companies planning new products because they will gain important insight into what it takes to deliver new and innovative products in a digital age in which consumers demands, tastes, and desires often change overnight." — Tim Bajarin , President, Creative Strategies, Inc. " Phil Baker combines a long-earned knowledge of product design, manufacturing, and marketing to give us an insider's look at how a company or entrepreneur turns an idea into a real-world product. Ideas are easy, he observes, but creating something people want to buy is a complicated business, with many tradeoffs and difficult choices. He's been there, done that, and it shows." — Dan Gillmor , Director, Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, Kauffman
Professor of Digital Media Entrepreneurship, Walter Cronkite
School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University " Few people in the consumer electronics industry are as uniquely qualified as Phil to serve as a guide between idea and product. Even if you're not making a gadget, From Concept to Consumer offers an insightful and increasingly relevant look into a very different kind of project management. It's well worth the read if you want to build something people love." — Ryan Block , Former Editor-in-Chief, Engadget and Cofounder, GDCT " Phil Baker is one of those people whose career has spanned a generation of personal technology, and he's seen it all, from the design labs of -California to the factory floors of Guangzhou. This book distills his experience in a highly readable guide to the ins and outs of getting a product to market, and the practical advice he offers will save many an entrepreneur from months and millions of dollars of pain. Anyone with a pr...

Genres: Business

175 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Rafi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always wondered how consumer electronic products are developed. This book gives a good overview of that.

IMO building a software product is comparatively easier, because you have a good control over the development process (developing something that users want and selling it is a different story, but that's difficult for all kinds of products). On the other hand, manufacturing a hardware product and distributing it takes a lot of effort, and generally you depend on third parties for doing these. Phil explained these processes from his own personal experience and gave lots of good advice for beginner entrepreneurs.

[Kyle Handfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the perspective of a new player entering the product design industry and building my own company (www.Ventrify.ca) I read Phil's book to get a overview of the industry and to find a starting point.

Getting into the product development industry can be a daunting prospect with most people having experience in one link of the chain but having little knowledge of the whole process. Phil does a fantastic job discussing each aspect of product development in the modern day to give the reader a fair understanding of what to expect. Drawing on years of experience with several companies, Phil has both wise and interesting stories of his ventures.

It is easy to over-estimate the importance of our role in the overall development process. This book serves up a dose of perspective and details how issues in any department can be catastrophic to the whole process. At Ventrify, we recognize Phil’s, From Idea to Consumer, as a great base of information with which to enter the industry.

Thanks for Reading, and if you are interested in conencting or learning more about our company visit our website at www.Ventrify.ca

[Ethan J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very practical book on building hardware products from someone who has built hardware companies;
building hardware companies is so damn hard;
a few inspirations from this book:
* so much of hardware building relies on 3rd party firms (industrial design firms, manufacturing firms, OEMs), which all make building hardware so much harder than software
* it's also so much easier for competitors to copy, or sue you with patents if you build hardware companies, because they can tear your products apart; while it's so much harder to copy software products.

[Khalid S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It gives you a practical perspective about how product development should be! Here are some takeaways:
Take-Aways

A great idea is only about 5% of what you need to make a winning product.
Listen to your customers, use what they tell you in your marketing and build what they want without cumbersome extras.
Each of the five phases of product development is fundamental to the success of the next phase.
The five phases are: concept design, design development, detailed development, preproduction and production.
Great industrial design tells customers about your product, brand and company.
Keep only those parts of product development you do best and outsource the rest. Look for a partner in Asia to get your product to market faster and less expensively.
Don’t waste too much time pursuing patents; the best protection against being copied is getting your next innovation to market quickly.
Sell through your own Internet store, but also expand by using other Web stores.
Take responsibility for knowing when to listen to your lawyer and when not to.
Success is only a stop within the larger journey, so keep working on the next idea.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to do with your great product idea

Phil Baker has helped many great companies bring cool products to market. He draws on his experiences with Polaroid, Apple, Stowaway, Fuego and numerous others to show you what you must do with your great product idea to make it a success. Baker takes you behind the scenes and tracks how product development has evolved. His most valuable insights include an explanation of why you need partners in Asia, where to look for them, how to select them and how to manage such far-flung relationships. His appendices are excellent, including the “Top 10 Rules for Taking Your Product from Concept to Customer,” an evaluation of products in relation to the environment, a list of helpful resources, and a look at China’s positive and negative impact. Whether you are an inventor, a product engineer, an entrepreneur or a business reader interested in the topic, getAbstract recommends this clear, informative, engaging read.

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good explanation of how consumer electronics products come to be, written by a guy who has been doing it for about 50 years. The depth varies and some of the examples' math is a little off, but the insights and reminders are really great. Good, solid, practical advice for the startup making a physical product.

[Alya N · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way Phil Baker writes is full of joy! You will find no dull moment as long as you read it. :)

This book has a focus on how to make money in gadget's area. As author's occupation.

Yeah, i can take the quintessence all in all.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great title on product development - mostly discussing businesses in the electronics field, but could apply to others. Discusses design, idea concepts and sourcing production throughout Asia.

[Chad Roghair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on product development and manufacturing. It's mostly relevant to entrepreneurs and people working in the high-tech industry.

[Kelsey Breseman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practical and short, a good read for anyone going through this process

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phil's insight about manufacturing in China is priceless. Hey, I just learned it's now available as an audio book!