Duro’s Playbook: How to Launch a Product When Your Market Isn’t Ready Yet

Launching too early in an emerging market is a unique kind of startup challenge – one that requires both unwavering conviction and strategic flexibility. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Michael Corr from Duro shared how they navigated this precarious balance while waiting for the hardware industry to catch up to their vision.

Recognizing the Gap

The signs were there in 2017. After 20 years in hardware development, Michael saw an industry ripe for transformation. “Having lived in the Bay Area in the mid-2000s and being first hand exposed to what I refer to as that whole software agile renaissance movement, I just had an extreme jealousy about how much innovation was happening in that industry and none of that was really transferring over to hardware industry,” he recalls.

The Early Struggles

But recognizing an opportunity doesn’t mean the market is ready for your solution. “I think in hindsight, maybe if I win year or two, there would have been a little bit more momentum in the market,” Michael reflects. “Early on that sizable market wasn’t there. It was still dominated by these legacy industry folks who were still trying to follow those old models.”

The resistance was fierce. “I can’t tell you how many calls I had with prospective customers who were yelling at me that what we were providing was not a true PLM, because we didn’t have these buttons or these processes that they had been using for 30 years,” Michael shares.

Strategic Adaptation

Rather than compromise their vision, Duro made strategic adjustments to bridge the gap. Their initial positioning as a “Data Management Platform” fell flat. “The market wasn’t ready for that concept. It was too much of the old school way of thinking,” Michael explains. “And so we kind of retroactively said, so fine, we’re a PLM. And then immediately we started selling because customers got what we were.”

This pivot in positioning – without changing their core product vision – proved crucial. It gave them a foothold in the market while waiting for their larger vision to materialize.

Finding the Right Customers

Instead of trying to convert everyone, Duro focused on teams going through new product introduction (NPI). “That’s where teams are trying to move fast. They’re innovating, they’re trying to get out of their competitors, trying to get their own products to market faster,” Michael notes. These teams were more receptive to new approaches and became early adopters.

Maintaining Conviction

What kept them going through the lean years? “The fundamental thing that kept me going is I really see the future and I see this, like, utopia of a much better place for hardware designers and engineers and manufacturers to get to,” Michael shares. “And I want to see it through. I want to get to that greener pasture.”

This conviction was supported by a strong support system. “What’s helped me get through that is various things, certainly. I’ve got great teammates. I’ve got a great co-founder, Connor. We built a fantastic team. The product customer base really inspired me.”

The Market Catches Up

After four to five years, the market began to shift. As software companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon entered hardware development, they brought their agile mindsets with them. This cultural transformation created the momentum Duro had been waiting for.

Lessons for Founders

Duro’s journey offers valuable insights for founders building ahead of market readiness:

1. Position your product in familiar terms while maintaining your innovative vision
2. Find and focus on early adopter segments that feel the pain most acutely
3. Build a support system that can sustain you through the waiting period
4. Be willing to adapt your messaging without compromising your core vision
5. Use the waiting period to perfect your product and build credibility

The key is balancing persistence with adaptation. As Michael’s experience shows, sometimes the market isn’t wrong – it’s just not ready yet.