AlphaLab Gear is a nationally ranked hardware accelerator in Pittsburgh, PA. The accelerator guides early-stage physical product companies through a 21-week customer discovery module and a separate 15-week manufacturing module, with up to $125,000 in total funding.

There are two points in time when hardware companies are best equipped to fundraise and scale successfully:

1) When they have identified their first target market and proven that customers will pay to use their product.
2) When they’re ready to manufacture at scale.

To help companies reach these points faster, the program is divided into two sequential modules: the first one focuses on market validation, and the second on manufacturing at scale.

Market Validation: 21 weeks (April through August) focusing on customer discovery, prototyping, legal and accounting, business model development, product iteration and customer traction.
Manufacturing at Scale: 15 weeks (September through December) focusing on design for manufacturing, tooling, regulatory, quality control, vendor negotiations, inventory management/fulfillment, and connections to manufacturers and supply chains.

These are separate programs with separate applications, but together they are designed to take a company from an initial idea or prototype, through engaging early customers, to fulfilling demand by manufacturing at scale.