Pawvlov NLT Labs NLT Labs
GTM Execution → Partner Desk ↗

For Investors

Path to Product

The four phases from today to a shippable product, with the cost, the timeline, and the go/no-go signal that gates each transition.

Four-Phase Roadmap

  1. 1

    Validate the classifier (the risk that gates existence)

    Collect 1,000+ labeled dog-behavior frames across breeds/lighting/angles incl. docked-tail/cropped-ear edge cases; validate ESP32-S3 on-device inference >95% calm/anxious accuracy with <2% false-positive fear-reward; concierge behaviorist-supervised beta in 5 homes (log-only, no dispense); build the storm-belt waitlist.

    Timeline
    75 days
    Cost
    $26,000
    Go signal
    >95% calm/anxious accuracy + <2% false-positive fear-reward on held-out data AND 500 storm-belt waitlist signups
  2. 2

    Engineering prototype — single M SKU, on-device architecture

    Schematic + PCB rev 1-3; FreeRTOS firmware with the firmware-locked calm gate; on-device-only inference (no cloud pose data - BIPA mitigation); validate <40 dB auger across treat-size variance in EOL test; mobile app v0; commit the single-cavity $35K injection-mold tool; FCC pre-scan at design freeze.

    Timeline
    120 days (8-12 wk mold lead time is the dominant gate, parallelized with cert prep)
    Cost
    $72,000
    Go signal
    5 working prototypes pass <40 dB dispense + jam-recovery + fail-closed gate on the bench; mold first-shots dimensionally in spec
  3. 3

    Certify, comply, pilot

    FCC Part 15B/15C + UL 62368-1 + CARB; privacy/legal build-out (two-party-consent disclosure for CA/FL/IL/MA/PA/WA, BIPA on-device architecture opinion, auto-renewal disclosure); first 1,000-unit component buy + run; storm-belt pilot launch to the waitlist.

    Timeline
    90 days
    Cost
    $62,000
    Go signal
    FCC + UL granted; privacy legal opinion clean; 250+ paid pre-orders convert from the waitlist
  4. 4

    Scale + prove the economics

    Add S/L SKUs via family-mold inserts; scale storm-belt DTC with a real CAC budget; grow subscription attach; instrument LTV/CAC; target Series A metrics.

    Timeline
    6 months
    Cost
    $60,000
    Go signal
    5,000 cumulative units, >40% sub attach, CAC <$150, line-of-sight to $50K MRR

Phase 1.5 · Go / No-Go

The Demand Gate

Between the marketing launch and the playable prototype sits one gate: does this idea show real demand? A clickable demo is expensive to build, so we only build it once the market says yes. Ideas that show no demand ship marketing-only and stop here — no prototype spend is burned on them.

Gate clears when
A pre-declared demand threshold is met — interested-over-exposed conversion plus at least one hard commitment (a payment intent or refundable deposit), not a verbal maybe.
If it clears
The prototype build runs: a front-end-only playable demo with a commitment surface, then the usability + commitment loop toward MVP.
If it doesn't
The POC ships as demand-marketing only. No prototype is built — the effort is redirected to ideas that earned it.

Hardware lane · Crowdfunding readiness

Pre-campaign readiness

Hardware funds differently than software: a 8–12 week pre-campaign window assembles a VIP list of refundable-deposit holders before the crowdfunding campaign launches. A campaign that hits its goal is itself the demand proof that de-risks a raise.

Deposit-to-backer model

Assembles a VIP deposit list, then projects day-one backers at a measured deposit-to-backer conversion rate (65% baseline). The projection populates once VIP deposits are captured.

Projection is deterministic — VIP deposits × conversion rate. No estimate is authored by a model.