Not a spec sheet. Not a full design. A product concept is the minimum viable document that turns a cold meeting into a signed project.
A product concept sits between an idea and a formal engineering specification. It answers four questions simultaneously: What does the system look like? What does it cost to build? Who else is trying to solve this problem? And how do we position the solution so the client says yes?
In practice, a product concept is a 6-10 page document that combines a high-level system architecture, a preliminary bill of materials (BOM), a competitive landscape analysis, and a go-to-market entry point. It is specific enough to be credible and concise enough to hold attention during a 30-minute meeting.
The concept is not a substitute for detailed engineering. It is the document that earns you the right to do detailed engineering. In the Model T pipeline, every concept goes through technical review, product validation, and business logic checks before it reaches a client.
Every product concept follows a consistent structure. The architecture diagram shows how the major subsystems connect, what interfaces they use, and where the key technical risks sit. This is not a schematic; it is a system-level view that a CTO can evaluate in under two minutes.
The BOM section provides a preliminary cost estimate. It lists the critical components, their approximate unit costs, and the expected production volume needed to hit target margins. For hardware products, this is often the section that separates a credible proposal from a wishful pitch.
The competitive positioning section maps the solution against 3-5 existing alternatives. It identifies where the proposed approach differs, whether through lower cost, faster time-to-market, better integration, or regulatory compliance. The go-to-market angle defines the entry point: which stakeholder to approach, what pain point to lead with, and what the first project scope looks like.
The traditional sales meeting starts with "What do you need?" The Model T meeting starts with "Here is what we found." This inversion changes the entire dynamic. The client sees that you invested time understanding their business before asking for money.
During the Munich and Switzerland roadshow, Promwad presented tailored concepts to 7 companies. The result: 75% conversion from meeting to active project discussion, and zero negative reactions. The concepts worked because they demonstrated domain understanding, not just engineering capability.
When a client receives a concept that accurately describes their competitive landscape, identifies a gap they have been discussing internally, and proposes a technically feasible solution, the conversation shifts from "Can you do this?" to "When can you start?" That shift is worth the 40-80 hours of research and analysis that went into building the concept.
These three terms are often confused, but they serve different purposes and sit at different stages of the product development lifecycle. A product concept validates the business case and technical approach on paper. A proof of concept (POC) validates that a specific technical approach works in practice. A feasibility study evaluates whether a project is viable across technical, economic, legal, and operational dimensions.
A product concept typically takes 1-2 weeks and costs from EUR 15K. It produces a document. A POC takes 4-12 weeks, costs EUR 30-100K, and produces working code or hardware. A feasibility study takes 2-6 weeks, costs EUR 20-60K, and produces a risk-assessed go/no-go recommendation.
The critical difference: a concept is a sales tool that earns you the POC engagement. Companies that skip the concept phase and jump straight to POC proposals face the industry-average 5-10% RFQ win rate. Companies that lead with concepts report significantly higher conversion because the client has already seen evidence of domain understanding.
The intellectual property generated during concept creation belongs to the client. Model T operates on a white-label delivery model: every concept, presentation, and supporting document is delivered under the client's brand. The client's sales team presents it as their own work.
This is a deliberate design choice. The goal is to make the client's team look competent and proactive, not to showcase Promwad's brand. When a vendor's field application team walks into a meeting with a ready-made product concept tailored to the prospect, that vendor wins the design-in. The engineering partner behind the concept stays invisible.
For vendor partners like semiconductor companies and distributors, this means the concepts integrate directly into their existing sales workflows. No co-branding required. No attribution needed. The value is in the outcome: more design-ins, shorter sales cycles, and higher win rates.
The full Model T pipeline from target account list to delivered concepts takes approximately 10 working days. The concept creation itself (steps 8-9) takes about 72 hours of analyst time, but it builds on 36 hours of prior research and technical review.
Every concept goes through a multi-stage quality gate: technical expert review, product manager validation, and business logic check. The pay-on-acceptance model means you only pay for concepts that meet your standards. Concepts that miss the mark are reworked or replaced at no additional cost.
Yes. Concepts are delivered white-labeled. You can present them under your brand, modify them, and use them in your sales materials. The architecture diagrams, BOM estimates, and competitive analyses are yours to use as you see fit.
A design agency typically charges EUR 300-800K for a full product development engagement and expects a detailed brief upfront. Model T creates the brief for you. The concept is the document that a design agency would need to start work. At from EUR 15K per concept, it is a fraction of the cost and serves as a qualified entry point into larger engagements.