Pitch to Product

Hosted by 52 Launch

Business Entrepreneurship

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Pitch to Product is the official podcast for 52 Launch - a product development company that take products, apps, and more from napkin to reality. 52 Launch is a multi-million dollar company creating products like EggMazing, with over 55 million in sales in 2020. Many of our products have been featured on Shark Tank, Home Shopping Network, and more. We have a track record of success and we don't see failure as an option. If you've got a product or idea and the drive to see it through, fill out a form: https://www.52launch.com/book

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60 recent

October 23, 202635 min

From Pain To Product: How JoeCaddy Went From Garage Prototype to Golf Gadget

Ever bent over to pick up a golf club and felt your back protest? Inventor Joe Stumpo did something about it. In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Peter Drakulich sits down with Joe to talk about JoeCaddy, a pocket-sized pickup tool that helps golfers with back pain, knee issues, or limited mobility grab their clubs without bending over. Joe walks through the full journey: spotting the problem on a golf course, building a janky prototype from Home Depot back scratchers, proving the concept, and teaming up with 52Launch to turn it into a finished, manufacturable product. Whether you’re a golfer or an aspiring inventor, you’ll get real lessons on: - Why you should prove your concept before spending serious money - The difference between a designer and a manufacturer, and why it matters - How custom details like the grip, magnet strength, and graphite-shaft attachment make a product feel premium - Why packaging is a first investment in the brand - Handling the “gimmick” haters and winning over skeptics, like a pain doctor who didn’t get it until he held one - Marketing a brand-new product with no direct competitors, including why funny content stops the scroll Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 22, 202642 min

We Asked AI the Hardest Questions About 52Launch. Here’s What It Got Wrong.

We asked AI the toughest questions a prospective client could ask about hiring 52Launch, then fact-checked every answer. AI flagged real risks, but it also got some things wrong. In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Steve Sisto and Peter Drakulich break down what AI tells inventors and entrepreneurs about product development, and what they should be asking instead. Topics covered include: - What is the biggest financial risk of hiring 52Launch, and how do you plan for it? - Do you really own your CAD files, tooling, and IP? - Why a prototype is not a product, and why you need a pre-production sample - Why you should invest in your own tooling instead of amortizing it into the piece price - How the fixed-fee model works vs. commission-based pricing - What happens if you terminate the relationship halfway through - Whether you can move your product to another manufacturer - How AI search and citations are changing how new products get discovered - Wantrepreneur vs. founder: how to know if you’re built for this Questions AI says to ask before hiring a product development company: - Will I own all custom IP and receive every original design and engineering file? - What is the realistic all-in cost through my first production run? - Can I speak with previous clients who developed a similar product? - What happens if I terminate the relationship halfway through? - What objective milestones are you contracted to? - Can I move my product to another manufacturer at any time? Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 21, 20263 min

Here's Why 52Launch Is Different

In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Peter Drakulich and Bobby Quintero explain the two reasons founders choose to build their products with us: Experience and convenience. Bobby breaks down what a decade of product development really looks like: 750 products, 160 factories sourced from, and plenty of mistakes along the way. Experience isn’t something you get from reading a book. It comes from the bumps and bruises, and it means we catch problems earlier so you don’t have to learn them the hard way. Then there’s convenience. Design, manufacturing, logo work, and more, all handled in-house, so you aren’t juggling five different vendors. Most companies charge more for convenience; we charge less. The result is getting to market in months instead of years. Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 20, 202646 min

When To File Your Patent: A Timeline For Product Inventors

Filing a patent too early can leave gaps in your protection. Filing too late can cost you your rights entirely. In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Jack Dalton sits down with patent attorney Robert McConnell to map out exactly when to file at each stage of product development. Robert walks through the full patent timeline for physical product inventors, covering utility vs. design patents, provisional applications, deadlines you can’t miss, and why design patents are often the most valuable protection for consumer products. Topics covered include: - When to file a provisional patent application, and why it’s optional - When to file the non-provisional utility application - Why design patent drawings should match your final product - How continuations, divisionals, and continuations-in-part let you add new features later - The one-year on-sale and public disclosure bar, and the 6-month and 1-year international filing deadlines - How to protect future versions of your product (V2, V3) in your first application - Why design patents are cheaper, have no maintenance fees, and are powerful on Amazon - When to bring in a patent attorney Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 19, 202623 min

How Scope Creep Kills Product Development

Most products don’t fail because of a bad factory or a bad market, but because nobody ever agreed on what they were building. In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast's 52U Series, 52Launch's Dan Gonyea and Peter Drakulich break down why an approved scope of work is the single document that prevents almost every downstream disaster in product development: blown budgets, missed timelines, and launches that never happen. Topics covered include: - Why scope creep is never one change, but rather 50 small ones. - Why “a tweak is a tweak” is a myth, and how every change ripples through the whole project - The Goldilocks balance between a Lamborghini vision and a Hyundai budget - How to build an MVP that makes customers say “I want that” - Why a signed document beats a good relationship - Why shrinking a product costs real engineering money, with a real-world example - Why 52Launch is investing in sending two team members to China every month - How a flat-fee model keeps everyone motivated to stay on scope Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 15, 202615 min

Mark Cuban's 6 Rules Every Founder Needs To Know

Mark Cuban can sound harsh on Shark Tank, but is the advice actually right? In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Peter Drakulich and Bobby Quintero break down six “Cubanisms” through the lens of helping real founders take products from idea to market. Topics covered include: - Why an idea is worth little and execution is everything - The difference between an entrepreneur and a wantrepreneur - Why “if I just get 1% of the market” is a wish, not a plan - Why you should follow the green, not the dream, and know your numbers - The power of saying “I’m out” (and when to say it) - What sweat equity really means, from selling door to door to getting the product sold Whether you have a product idea, are stuck mid-launch, or just love Shark Tank, this one is for you. Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 13, 202643 min

What U.S. Founders Must Know Before Manufacturing Overseas

Manufacturing your product in China, or planning to sell internationally? In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Jack Dalton sits down with Jennifer Che, U.S. patent attorney and President and Managing Director of Eagle IP, to break down cross-border IP strategy for physical product founders. Jennifer explains why international patent strategy needs to start before your first public disclosure, how China’s patent system differs from the US, and what can go wrong when a manufacturer becomes a co-inventor or files on your invention first. Topics covered include: - When international IP strategy should enter the conversation - Why a U.S. grace period for public disclosure won’t protect you in China - Whether to file in China if you only manufacture there - How the 12-month priority deadline and the PCT’s 30-month window work - What utility models are, why they take 8 to 12 months, and why they’re hard to invalidate - How Chinese patent scope differs from the U.S. and how to plan around it - Who owns an invention in China when an employee or university researcher contributes - When a manufacturer’s engineer becomes an inventor - A real-world horror story of a manufacturer filing first - Why a “secret” sale can still destroy novelty in the U.S. - Typical costs, translation, and why China filing fees run lower than the US - Why two years out from launch is already late Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 12, 202633 min

Speed To Market vs. The "Perfect" Product

Perfection kills profitability. In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast's 52U Series, 52Launch Co-Founders Dan Gonyea and Peter Drakuluch break down why speed to market almost always beats a more polished product, and how to tell whether you’re improving your product or just hiding from the launch. Dan and Peter cover why founders get stuck in “tweaking land,” what the iPhone, Carhartt, and Champion can teach you about finding your audience, and why a 4.3-star product launched today beats a 5-star product that never ships. Topics covered include: - Why “perfect” is usually about fear of criticism, not what customers want - The core successful product (CSP): the 52Launch take on MVP and MSP - Why real customer feedback beats imagined feedback - Why the market and your cash don’t wait for you - How to filter “just one more change request” so it doesn’t delay your launch - Why your first 1,000 to 5,000 units are your best source of real consumer feedback The 3 takeaways: - Presence over perfection. The market rewards products that are out there. - Real customer feedback is worth more than any amount of internal debate. - Before any change delays your launch, ask whether it matters to your customer, not just to you. Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 9, 202630 min

How Much Does It Cost To Manufacture A Product? Breaking Down Real Tooling, MOQ, & Margin Numbers

In this episode of the Pitch to Product Podcast, we answer the questions every first-time product founder asks: What’s a realistic MOQ? How much does tooling cost? What should my unit cost be? 52Launch's Peter Drakulich and Bobby Quintero break down what it really costs to manufacture a consumer product, using real examples across electronics, outdoor, cookware, wellness, and kids’ footwear. You’ll learn how MOQ, tooling, and landed cost fit together, and how to work backward from your MSRP to a target manufacturing cost. Topics covered include: - What MOQ (minimum order quantity) means and why 1,000 units is a reasonable test run - How tooling costs range from about $3,200 to $72,000, depending on the product and materials - How to work backward from MSRP to wholesale to target manufacturing cost (the “Keystone” formula) - Why buying in volume lowers your per-unit cost - Why a higher upfront tooling investment (stainless steel mold vs. cast iron) can pay off - Why proof of concept has to come before you hire anyone to build your product - How AI-generated “million dollar ideas” can inflate cost, and why starting with a core product matters Check out Flipside Socks, the world's first reversible sock, here: https://flipsidesocks.com/ Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch

October 8, 202611 min

Raising Money For Your Product Business Idea: What Investors REALLY Want To See

Where does the money come from, and what if starting this business is the biggest mistake of my life? In this episode of Pitch to Product Podcast, 52Launch's Peter Drakulich and Bobby Quintero tackle the two questions every first-time product founder asks. Topics covered include: - Why fear of failure is normal, and how to work through it - Why your first round of funding comes from the people who know you - The shift from “tell me” to “show me” to “prove it to me” - What investors ask first: What does it look like? Would I buy it? Who makes it? What are the margins? Can it scale? - Why a visual, dynamic product page beats an idea that only lives in your head - The concept car lesson: sell the vision, then launch the core consumer product - How to keep your costs in check - Starting with the end in mind, then working backwards to timelines, pricing, and manufacturing - Why the wantrepreneur zone wastes everyone’s time, and how to step into the entrepreneur zone - Handling rejection and keeping your decision circle to two or three people Ready to turn your idea into something you can put in front of investors? Our venture program starts as low as $7,500 and takes your idea from your head to a visual, fact-backed plan, built with the team that has already launched products in your category. Don't delay and start your journey with 52Launch today: https://bit.ly/BookCall52Launch