The Hardware Development Timeline Myth: Why MVPs Take Time

There’s a running joke in hardware startups: “We had the idea Monday… where’s the MVP by Thursday?” It’s funny because it’s painfully relatable. In the world of digital products, quick MVPs might be doable—but hardware is a different beast altogether.

Building real, functional hardware takes time, trials, and a few burnt boards. If you’ve ever stayed up soldering circuits or debugging a prototype that worked ‘yesterday’, you know exactly what we mean.

At Pacinfinity, we get this. We’ve seen timelines that began as 2 weeks and turned into 2 months—not because of failure, but because real building takes real effort.

Here’s why timelines stretch:

• Components don’t always behave the way you want.
• Supply chains are unpredictable.
• Testing and certifications are no joke.
• Manufacturing prototypes need redesigns and cost balancing.

We once worked with a startup that had an exciting health tech idea and expected a working demo in a week. What they got instead? A journey through sensor selection, PCB iteration, and real-time firmware debugging. It took 5 weeks—but it worked.

And that’s the truth. Great hardware is rarely built overnight.

Our advice: Embrace the messy middle. It’s where the magic happens.