Before You Build: Making Smarter Prototype Decisions for Hardware Startups
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This 30-minute session explores how hardware startups can use digital validation to test assumptions, identify high-risk design decisions and determine what is—and is not—worth building. You will learn how to connect engineering decisions to development costs, reduce unnecessary prototype iterations, and make better use of limited capital without slowing innovation.
What you will learn:
· Why every prototype should be treated as an investment decision
· How to identify the assumptions and design risks worth validating first
· Where digital validation can reduce unnecessary physical prototyping
· How to decide what needs to be built, tested and iterated
· How engineering decisions affect development costs, runway and milestone timing
Who should attend:
Founders, CTOs, engineering leaders and engineers at early-stage hardware startups who influence product development, prototyping and validation decisions.
Speakers:
Brandon Nelms
Industry Process Consultant Manager
Dassault Systèmes
Brandon Nelms is an Industry Process Consultant Manager at Dassault Systèmes, based in Indianapolis. He works closely with startups to accelerate innovation, guiding fast-moving teams as they turn bold ideas into market-ready products.
Before joining Dassault Systèmes, Brandon spent seven years as an Application Engineer at GoEngineer with a primary focus on solving customer problems. Prior to that, he spent six years in the bearing and power transmission industry—developing a sharp technical foundation and a deep understanding of what engineers actually need to succeed.
At Dassault Systèmes, Brandon connects people, tools and processes in ways that reduce friction and deliver measurable outcomes—bridging deep technical knowledge with real-world business needs.
Kip Speck
Senior Sales Leader
Dassault Systèmes
Kip Speck is a Senior Sales Leader with extensive experience helping manufacturers and technology companies accelerate product development through digital engineering and cloud-based innovation. With a strong background in the Dassault Systèmes ecosystem, he has worked with organizations ranging from emerging startups to global enterprises, helping them adopt modern engineering and product development solutions that improve collaboration, reduce risk, and bring products to market faster.
Kip is passionate about helping early-stage companies scale efficiently by leveraging digital technologies, simulation, and streamlined development processes. He regularly speaks with business and engineering leaders about innovation, go-to-market strategy, and practical approaches to accelerating growth.
Before joining Dassault Systèmes, Kip held several Director roles focused on PLM strategy and implementation, building a strong foundation in engineering technology and leadership. He's also worked as a consultant, guiding companies through product data management and helping engineering teams work more effectively with their tools
