[ChinaBang 2014] Crowfunding Platforms Bring Hardware Makers Closer to End Users – Interview with Yeelink Founder

At ChinaBang 2014, TechNode got lucky enough to talk with Jiang Zhaoning, founder of appcessory solution provider Yeelink, the winner of ChinaBang battlefield last year.

Yeelink offers a series of tools like platform Saas service, home gateway, and APP templates for reference design, helping the makers and enterprises to create new gen electronics, connected devices and App-enabled hardware, as well as providing cloud services to hardware makers. As compared with other cloud services, Yeelink is focused on providing services to hardware manufacturers, Jiang added.

Numerous makers in China have benefited from their service and built remarkable things, like air quality sensor, remote controller, home automation, simulated greenhouses and smart LED lighting systems.

Jiang has previously written an article to compare Chinese and U.S. hardware entrepreneurial environment, he thinks that Chinese startups enjoy advantages in supply chain, because they have easy access to strings of large-scale factories and module makers in Shenzhen, and the human resources costs in China is relatively low. He suggests Chinese hardware manufacturers to focus on developing products that can cater for the needs of customers as well as to improve branding and marketing of their products.

He added that most of the buyers from North America purchase hardware products from China and sell them at North American retailing stores. In this supply chain, the customers are stuck with a few options and do not have a say in what kind of products they want.

The emergence of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter has changed previous scenario. They give hardware designers opportunities to present their innovative ideas directly to the end-users, even if they do not have factories to put the product into mass production. The customers get a chance to vote for the products they like by investing in these projects to bring the prototype product into life. On the other hand, products welcomed by the customers will also attract the attentions of buyers. Jiang noted that more and more funds set their eyes on hardware projects.

image credit: Yeelink