Lessons from the Prototype Graveyard: Failing Forward in Hardware

Not everything we build lives forever—and that’s okay. In fact, it’s necessary. Every product graveyard is full of lessons, iterations, and pivots that made the final version better.

At Pacinfinity, we have a shelf lovingly called the “graveyard.” It’s home to warped PCBs, abandoned casings, and wild concepts that never left the workbench. But it’s also where some of our proudest lessons came from.

Each failed prototype taught us:

• Why material selection matters
• How power consumption can make or break wearables
• What happens when user feedback is ignored early

We remember one specific concept: a multi-sensor smart device designed for athletes. It looked amazing and worked… until we tested it during real workouts. The sweat interference shorted the sensor. RIP Version 1. But that failure led to a better, waterproof, rugged version that is now on the field.

So don’t be afraid of failure.

• Build fast, fail smart, and move forward.
• Prototypes are not the product—they’re the process.
• A graveyard is just a garden for better ideas.

In the end, if your prototype graveyard is growing, you’re doing something right. Keep building.