LA NPDT — LA New Product Development Team

Join LA NPDT

Submit your information to join our cross-functional team of talented engineers, designers, web/app developers, and simply awesome people. Join LA NPDT.

Designers, engineers, prototypers and marketers — tell us what you do best and attach your work.

We are hiring

Join LA NPDT

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All submitted information is kept confidential and is never shared.

Where to go next

What working with us actually looks like

Joining is not a membership. It is the start of a defined engagement with a scope, a schedule and deliverables you keep.

The first conversation is diagnostic. We want to know what the product is, who buys it, what has already been tried and what decision is blocking you right now. That question determines where you start — research, concept design, engineering or straight to a prototype — and it is the single biggest factor in what the work costs.

After that call you receive a written scope: the stages, what each one produces, how long it takes and what it costs. Nothing begins until you approve it, and each stage ends with files you own outright. If you decide to continue with another firm, you leave with CAD, drawings and documentation that any competent engineering team can pick up.

We work with individual inventors, early-stage companies and established manufacturers, and the process is the same for all three. The difference is usually how much of the front end already exists — a company with a spec skips discovery; an inventor with a napkin sketch does not.

Where people usually start

Common entry points into a project
Starting pointWhat it answersTypical duration
Product discoveryShould this exist, and can it be made at a viable cost?2–4 weeks
Concept designWhat does it look like, and is it credible to a buyer or licensee?3–6 weeks
EngineeringWill it work, and can a factory build it repeatably?6–12 weeks
PrototypingDoes the physical object behave the way the model promised?1–3 weeks

Before you get in touch

Do I need a patent before joining?

No. Most people who come to us have an idea, some sketches and a clear sense of the problem they are solving. A provisional application is often the sensible first step, but it is not a prerequisite for talking to us or for starting concept work.

What happens to my idea once I share it?

We sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement before any technical discussion, and everything created inside a paid engagement is assigned to you through a work-for-hire agreement. We do not file patents on client concepts and we do not shop ideas to manufacturers without written permission.

How long does the first stage usually take?

A concept package — research, sketch exploration, a resolved direction and photoreal renderings — normally runs three to six weeks depending on how much of the product is already defined. Engineering and prototyping follow from there.

Is there a minimum project size?

There is no formal minimum, but the smallest engagements that produce something genuinely useful tend to start around a few thousand dollars. If your budget is below that, say so early and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth starting.

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