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Education

Tech Kits: electronics kits for kids

A subscription series of electronics kits for ages 10 to 12: four missions of 30 minutes or less, from mission brief to mechanics, electronics, PCB, CNC G-code and an illustrated assembly guide, with a check at each stage.

Prototype ✓ 2026

Next: Go/no-go on 5 November 2026, with a threshold of 12 paid orders

  • CNC (GRBL)
  • PCB design
  • BOM costing
  • Market validation

One breadboard, four missions

The Starter kit teaches electronics in four missions of 30 minutes or less, all on one open breadboard powered by three AA batteries. Pick a mission to see where it lives on the board and how far it has got.

The whole kitA 400-point breadboard that nothing covers, a holder for three AA batteries and, for the fourth mission, three MDF stations that I cut on my own CNC. Each mission has to pass numbered checks (mechanics, electronics, PCB, G-code, a test cut) before it moves on. The kit is in engineering and validation and is not on sale.Illustration of the design, not to scale. Two of the four missions are verified on the bench. Where each circuit sits on the board is schematic.

What I built

Founder and hardware product engineer, since October 2026.

Stages reached

  1. Prototype ✓ 2026

Result. 2 of 4 missions verified on the bench, with an in-house CNC workshop for MDF parts and PCB milling. A 21-day market validation started on 15 October 2026. Engineering and validation stage; not yet on sale.

Next: Go/no-go on 5 November 2026, with a threshold of 12 paid orders

Inside the product

Project showreel (24 s).

Business plan in seven parts

The plan is built to be wrong in a cheap way: it names what it assumes, sets the decision rules before there is data, and corrects its own numbers. Status says how much each part is worth today.

Business plan in seven parts
PartWhat the plan saysStatus
1. CustomerParents of children aged 10 to 12 (grades 5 to 7) in Paipa, Tunja, Sogamoso and Duitama. The parent buys and the child builds. The 10 to 12 segment scored 80 against 77 for ages 9 to 11 in a decision matrix. That is a starting hypothesis, not a finding.Assumption
2. ProductA Starter box with four missions of 30 minutes or less and reusable hardware, then monthly expansion boxes with new parts only. The opening offer is 129,900 COP (about 39 USD) with batteries.Decision
3. Unit economicsMy first margin estimate left out the real bill of materials, tool wear, assembly and machine time, so I withdrew it and rebuilt the calculation from measured costs. The corrected margin is much thinner, and my own time is not covered yet. The price then moved to 129,900 COP, and the margin at that price is still to be recalculated.Audited, open
4. Go to marketDirect sales to parents through schools, starting with the technology teacher. A three-minute demo where the child connects the last cable, and a free 20-minute demonstration workshop for the school. No selling inside a school without permission. Every conversation is logged with school, age, price and main objection.Decision
5. Validation21 days from the first offer on 15 October 2026, with a budget of about 650,000 COP (about 196 USD). Twelve or more paid orders is a go, 6 to 11 means iterate, 5 or fewer is a no-go. The decision is on 5 November 2026. With 12 orders the result is a direction, not a statistic.In progress
6. Operations and retentionManual billing with reminders 7 and 3 days before the due date, and a pause of up to 60 days instead of a cancellation. One founder is expected to reach about 80 subscribers before assembly or billing has to be delegated or automated.Assumption
7. RisksToy conformity certification (Colombian resolution 686 of 2018) is flagged and never claimed: the kit is described as in validation. Data of minors is limited to the child's name and age. A thin margin and the children's autonomy are open: at least 70% should finish a mission in 30 minutes without a technical adult, and I expect under 50% on the first try.Open

From my business proposal for Tech Kits, corrected on 12 October 2026. Amounts in Colombian pesos; 1 USD was 3,312.84 COP on 1 October 2026. Not legal advice.

The five hypotheses that would break the business

Ranked by how fast they can kill the plan. The first one is tested first, with a paid pre-order.

  • Recurring payment: parents pay about 90,000 to 110,000 COP a month with real money, not only interest.
  • Autonomy: at least 70% of children finish a mission in 30 minutes without a technical adult.
  • Retention: at least 55% are still subscribed in month 3 with manual billing.
  • Margin and market: a real margin that covers costs and an acquisition cost the margin can support, in a small local market.
  • Compliance: the kit may need a conformity certificate of unknown cost.

Analysis and product skills shown on this page

Analysis and product skills shown on this page
SkillWhere it shows
Auditing my own numbersA cost cascade from components to my own time, and a margin estimate withdrawn after the audit.
Hypothesis-driven validationFive hypotheses ranked by how fast they can break the business, and a paid pre-order as the first test.
Setting decision rules before the dataGo, iterate and no-go thresholds fixed before day 0, and rules for choosing the age segment.
Sensitivity analysisA 12% rise in the dollar raises the unit cost by about 5% and cuts into the margin.
Design checks before buildingA traffic light built on a 555 timer failed my check (it needs 4.5 V and three AA batteries give 3.6 to 4.8 V), so mission 2 uses two transistors.
Process development in the workshopA test coupon measured 0.20 mm of play in the CNC axes, a feed-rate ramp set the safe feed at F500, and a rounded relief at each tab fixed the fit of the pieces.