This startup’s main goal was designing a device that warms an organic sex lubricant to temperature in 10 seconds and dispenses a pre–measured amount on demand. With these objectives in hand, the team embarked on an electro–mechanical exploration utilizing an agile bench engineering process. Multiple paths and methods were explored for warming and dispensing technologies through a combination of in–house experience, Frankenstein prototyping and electro–mechanical breadboarding. A viable mechanical design foundation was created and validated, and a premium, luxurious form language designed and integrated around it. The team then fabricated a functioning looks–like, works–like prototype used for crowd–funding.

The startup product development process can present unique challenges. Projects are exciting and backed with passion and vision; but budgets and timelines are constrained and the future of the company relies on on-budget, on-time deliverables. In these types of collaborations, SF has tuned their process and skill sets to accommodate sprint invention tasks. This requires the integration of physical pre-totyping: on-the-fly, mechanical prototyping through surrogate products, cannibalized parts, rapid prototyping and deep knowledge of the McMaster-Carr catalog. For PLAISIR des SENS, a wide variety of heating elements, valves, and containers to use as our mechanical playground were purchased. The team backed up the approach with physics calculations for heat capacity and latent heat (this particular lubricant required a phase change from solid to liquid within the target temperatures). And then came iteration; repeatedly. Each time learning and refining.

These processes can help efficiently unveil opportunities; they can also help communicate the complexity of the task at hand and illustrate the path ahead. The goal is to bring content and options forward as far as possible to stair-step the development process and follow suit with the typical startup funding process.