Quirky is returning!

The return of Quirky is great news for makers and creators. If you're not familiar, the idea behind Quirky was simple. One could submit an invention, and Quirky would make and sell the product. If you provided the original invention or contributed along the way, you got paid for it.

It sounds too good to be true, but it was real. I was an early contributor to Quirky. None of the ideas I submitted to Quirky were chosen, but because I contributed to other ideas, like the Pivot Power, I acquired enough cash to pay bills in college. I experienced the value of Quirky early on.

But, they failed. Here is an excellent write-up on why. All in all, it’s hard to ship many products at a large quantity and pay people for each tiny input.

Today, if Quirky can come up with a model that establishes a sustainable business while solving the same problems, we will benefit now more than ever.

Let’s talk about how important their return is for us.

Creating a Physical Product Is Hard

There is not an “Absolute Beginner's Guide to Making Physical Products”. The knowledge gap from idea to product is huge. To make a great product you’ll need engineering resources or, at least, be an engineer yourself. To build a good product, it takes a lot of research, prototyping, and iterations. Take a look what it takes to make a product waterproof:

As we see with the web, lowering the barriers to entry leads to more innovation — simply because, people can iterate faster. There are enough tools and resources for software that you can run an entire company with one or few people. This is opposite for physical products:

“When building physical things, you essentially have to create three companies: Prototype, Low-run, and Production. They all have very very different challenges.” — Eric J Elias

Until similar resources exist for physical products, companies like Quirky are worthwhile.

Ideas are the 🔑

Not everyone is meant to — or wants — to start a company. Quirky is a way for people with ideas just to have ideas, and let others take care of the rest.

Every idea that came out of Quirky was useful to someone. Well, maybe the Smart Egg Tray wasn’t the best idea.

Smart Egg Carton

Every idea will not be a hit, and that’s okay. Here is the important part: That idea went from someone’s head into someone’s hand. Once we form a process around that, we can make it repeatable.

On the other hand, The Wink Hub is an fantastic product that came from Quirky and still exists. It’s always recommended by Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin C. Tofel on the IoT Podcast. The Wink is one of the best smart home hubs you can buy today.

Wink Hub

With Quirky, you can truly say: All you need is an idea.

Maker Revolution

Quirky started in 2009. The first generation Raspberry Pi was released in February 2012. Makerbot’s Thingiverse was launched in 2008. Quirky was created before a large maker explosion.