Design and Prototyping

The founder of a startup company, Ayah Bdeir, is introducing circuits and tinkering to kids in the form of a toy called LittleBits. She grew up in Lebanon in a home where “programming lessons, chemistry sets, electricity kits, and dolls” was the norm. At a very young age her parents could see that she was excelled in the STEM field so they decided to challenge her to become an engineer. Then after graduating high school Ayah applied to MIT but was rejected, so she decided to apply to graduate school at the Media Lab department of MIT because it blended two things that she loved graphic design and engineering. Her time at Media Lab culminated into the birth of LittleBits with funding and business support as a board member from Joi Ito, the director of Media Lab at MIT. From there she began LittleBits as a project with a group of designers that critiqued and helped develop the idea. Once Ayah was able to build up enough funds she was then able to manufacture a prototype and introduce her idea to the world. (Nguyen, 2014)

Manufacturing and Production

Venture capitalists then came into the picture with a series A investment that also provided the capabilities to bring together a team and begin fulfilling orders for LittleBits sets (Kolodny, 2012).  A series A investment is financing given to new companies after an initial startup with seed capital (Series A Financing Definition, 2003). These financial negotiations also led to a partnership with PCH International, a manufacturing company that could produce toys and satisfy demand for LittleBits (Kolodny, 2012). The manufacturing company produces product in Shenzen, China and employ workers 18-25 years old and are mostly women because they “learn new jobs faster, handle high-precision work better, and pose fewer disciplinary challenges”. The working conditions and materials used at PCH International are not known because of the lack of media presence allowed in their facility. However in 2012 James Fallows was one of the first members of the media allowed to take a tour of the facility. During the tour James was presented with mostly staged presentations of working, sleeping, and eating conditions. These staged presentations lead James to believe that machinery may be operating at a faster and more dangerous pace than presented and the materials they make products from may cause some damage to worker’s health. The article did note that unlike other less regulated companies because this site is visited by western media and companies they are safer than smaller companies to keep up appearances of safety. Rather than the staged walkthroughs the turnover rate of 60% is much more reflective of how workers are treated and how they feel about working there. (Fallows, 2012)

Marketing

The idea behind LittleBits’ marketing is appealing to a wide range of audiences along both genders and at all ages. LittleBits simplifies electronical components and presents them in a more visually appealing way. Each component of the sets are magnetic to join together quickly and orient them correctly using the property of magnetism. Each part is categorized and labelled by color and a sleek design to avoid wiring and complicated circuit boards that would deter girls and mature adults. Through fulfilling these objectives, a product is created that allows boys and girls to enjoy tinkering and inventing along with mature adults and anywhere in between (Anderson, 2016). Ayah’s goal for her product was to provide a low bar and make the toy accessible to everyone. There are also Wi-Fi capable additions that are more appealing to mature users whom could utilize and program: adding a skill option for buyers. (Lawson, 2015). The LittleBits toy sets allow the user to grasp electrical concepts through problems solving and playing with a toy rather than fumbling with wires or circuit boards. (Anderson, 2016)

Sales

Initially, LittleBits was introduced into the world through word of mouth and most significantly in the “maker” community. (Kolodny, 2012) Makers are do it yourself creators that create with “unused, discarded, or broken electronic, plastic, silicon” to create and then sell their products. (Maker Movement) Then as manufacturing capabilities increased and sales increased the first shop was opened in New York City to give buyers a hands on experience in the form of a workshop. This workshop employs workers that assist customers and provide an environment that encourages inventing and testing of the product and design to understand what they are all about. (Lawson, 2015). Due to the one shop they sell the majority of their products online due to the risks of opening up more stores that could injure the company beyond repair before they become stable enough to expand their market. (Griffith, 2014) Each of these base LittleBits set costs $99 (Nguyen, 2014).

User Support

With each set of LittleBits that is purchased comes with detailed instructions that outline basic uses and necessary information that allows users to easily pick up and tinker with the product. The instructions are simple and for projects that had been previously designed. (Lawson, 2015). Each kit not only includes a “how-to booklet” but also craft materials to make it easier to use the product as bought. (Anderson, 2016). This product is fueled by the maker community which means that project ideas and designs are shared and accessible online. This online group helps users connect with a community and create new ideas for the product. (Griffith, 2014)

Maintenance

The basic structure of the product is set up similar to Legos which is known to be able to withstand enough punishment to last multiple generations. The components on the other hand are typical electrical components such as lights, batteries, and wires which could be easily replaced. Otherwise the other components are durable plastics that are versatile and built for regular use. (Anderson, 2016)

Recycling and Disposal

From previous knowledge about Legos, we know that they cannot be recycled with regular plastics beyond use as Legos again; however, the baseboards of these sets could be reused to make more baseboards. The broken electrical components though would have to be sent to specialized recycling centers. Electrical components that are still working could also be distributed in the maker community that would welcome the used parts.