Hire the expert... now!

As a short primer on me... I am the Chief Technical Officer at Axon Sleep Research Labs. We are developing a consumer product that helps people wake up feeling refreshed in the morning by monitoring their brainwave activity. I am in charge of all development, research, and IP related activities.

This entry focuses on some learning that I have done in the last few weeks, and some advice to new entrepreneurs. About a month ago, we had a technical snafu that needed to be solved immediately. I had a number of resourced that I was able to draw on: my internal team of engineers, our product development partner who works on industrial design and engineering, our sleep science advisors, and a board member who is a product development specialist. I also had the opportunity to do some paid consulting with an expert in the exact problem we were having.

My initial inclination was to first try to solve the problem internally, and then turn outside for expert help. In retrospect, I wish I had brought on the expert BEFORE we had the problem. If I had spent a few hours familiarizing him with our system before problems occurred, I would have had an easy resource to draw upon, reducing our development risk. By waiting to see if we could solve the problem internally, some time was lost. If we had engaged a consultant early and never had a real use for the individual (the best case), we would have spent a small amount of money for the confidence an expert brings to the table.

The short story... seek true experts in areas that you feel are challenging to the company. Bring these experts to the table early... before problems arise. In the long run, this will save you time and money.