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Be Investible, Whether You Need Investment Or Not
In product development, the term "investibility" often gets tossed around in conversations about funding rounds, venture capital, and angel investors. However, we feel investibility isn’t just about securing investment. It’s a much broader concept that applies to any business, whether or not you are actually seeking external funding.
At FLYNN, we often tell our clients “Even if you don’t need investment, you should always aim to be investible”.
Why? Because investibility isn’t just about attracting investors, it’s about building a product and business that is robust, scalable, and primed for success. It’s a great metric, if you have a product business that investors would jump to invest it, it’s a pretty good sign you’re on the right track.
In this blog, we’ll explore why investibility should be at the heart of your product design strategy and how it can drive long-term growth and sustainability.
What Does It Mean to Be Investible?
Being investible means that your product and business are attractive to stakeholders, whether they are investors, partners, customers, or even your internal team. It means that your product has:
- A Clear Market Fit – A well-defined audience and strong demand.
- Scalability – The potential to grow without excessive barriers.
- Competitive Differentiation – A unique value proposition that sets it apart.
- Financial Viability – A solid business model with strong revenue potential.
- Technical Feasibility – A product that is both innovative and practical to manufacture.
Even if you never pitch to investors, these factors are critical. If your product isn’t appealing to an investor, chances are it won’t be appealing to the market either.
How Working With A Design Consultancy Can Boost Investibility
Many startups and entrepreneurs focus entirely on their product idea, believing it should be developed exactly as it is in their minds. However, a strong product design consultancy goes beyond the idea, they’ll put it on the “investometer” evaluating its potential and strategically shape the development to maximise its chance at success.
We like to focus on the following points to optimise an idea for investibility:
1. Design for Market Fit
Investors (and customers) want to see products that solve real problems. Too often, we have seen businesses fail because they had an idea for a “cool” product but lacked a well-defined market need. Before even sketching the first concept, we like to ask:
- Who is your target customer?
- What pain points does your product solve?
- How does your product improve upon existing solutions?
By clearly defining the target market and ensuring genuine demand, we can tailor the design to resonate with that audience. This way, when the design is complete, we can be confident there’s a ready customer base eager to buy.
2. Design for Scalability
Scalability is essential to any business wanting to grow and see substantial ROI. If your product is too complex, expensive, or difficult to manufacture at scale, its long-term viability is compromised. Thoughtful design choices, such as modular components, efficient manufacturing techniques, and materials optimisation, can make all the difference.
3. Design for Cost Efficiency
An investor-friendly product is one that balances innovation with cost-effectiveness. There is no point in creating a product that is prohibitively expensive to produce, even if its beautifully designed and works perfectly.
It’s important to consider:
- Are there alternative designs that achieve the same functionality at a lower cost?
- Can the materials be sourced affordably?
- Does that feature really justify the added production costs?
- Can production be streamlined to reduce costs?
4. Design for Differentiation
If your product blends into the sea of competition, it won’t attract investment, or customers. If you’re going into a saturated market then selling your product at a lower cost is not a good way to stand out. All this is going to do is put you in a race to the bottom on price.
Successful products stand out through:
- Unique aesthetic appeal
- A strong brand identity and product brand fusion
- Superior functionality
- A compelling brand story
- Innovative technology or features
Your product should immediately communicate why it is different and better than what’s already available.
5. Design for Risk Mitigation
Investors, and customers, want to avoid unnecessary risks. A well-designed product reduces potential pitfalls such as manufacturing bottlenecks, regulatory issues, and usability flaws. Investing in thorough prototyping, testing, and compliance ensures that your product doesn’t just look good but is also reliable and legally sound.
Final Thoughts
Investibility is not just a buzzword; it’s a philosophy for smart product development and business strategy. By designing products that area market-fit, scalable, cost-effective, differentiated, and risk-mitigated, you set yourself up for long-term success, regardless of whether you seek external investment or not.
At FLYNN, we help clients design products that aren’t just functional and beautiful but also built for success. Whether you're looking to attract investors, launch a new product, or strengthen your business, aiming for investibility ensures that your efforts pay off.
Want to make your product more investible? Let’s talk! Our team is here to help you turn your vision into a winning reality.
We provide businesses with product design consultancy, industrial design, prototype design & related services.
