How to get started on a product: prototype, design and factory
Start by making a rough version of the product. Cut, tape, glue or assemble existing parts until you can show what you mean. It does not need to look ready for sale. It needs to make the idea understandable.
Build a prototype you can use
A physical version lets you check the size, shape and basic function. Use it and record what needs to change. This gives you something specific to discuss with a designer or supplier.
Turn the idea into instructions
The next step is getting the design into a form another person can follow. That might be a sketch with dimensions, a written brief with diagrams, an apparel tech pack or a CAD file.
Include the materials, measurements and details you already know. Hire help for the parts you cannot prepare yourself. A supplier should be able to see which parts are fixed and which still need development.
Find a factory making something similar
Search for suppliers already producing a comparable item. Order examples of their existing work to check construction and materials before paying to develop your version.
Modifying an existing product can reduce the amount of new development required. Ask which changes are possible on the existing design and which require a new pattern, mold or tooling.
Compare samples from your shortlisted suppliers against the same brief. Record the changes needed before approving production.
Transcript
Automatic transcript; names and numbers may contain errors.
This is how to get started on any product.
First, hack it to life.
In your garage, at your kitchen table, cut, tape, glue, and will a prototype into existence.
Your wife is gonna love this part.
Next, you'll need to design it.
This is a matter of getting the idea out of your head in a way that another human can understand.
It could be a simple sketch or a brief with diagrams.
For apparel, you may need a tech pack or even technical drawings and CAD files.
Start with what you know and hire out the rest in Upwork.
Finally, you'll need to find a factory.
Get on Alibaba and search for one making something similar to what you want to make.
This goes for apparel, electronics, packaging, and beyond.
Order a few samples of those similar things to vet quality of construction, materials, etc.
If you can modify an existing product, this will be a lot easier than building from the ground up.
But nobody said it'd be easy, brother.