Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1078362
48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 enough. In addition, try to add value to your customer. Know the business as far as what they offer. Give me something that catches my eye. Tell me what differentiates you from your competitors. Johnson: A Google advertisement from a po- tential supplier is not doing it for you. Ramanathan: I have other investments and business that use Google ads, but this is not a Google-ad model. I don't go to Google ads to pick my suppliers, at least not for a long-term production need. Most of the ear - ly-stage companies and large companies do use Google search, but if CMs reach out first, you're most likely going to get the business with an early-stage company faster than with a large, matured company. With early-stage companies, come with the right attitude. We know you are in the early stages, we know you will grow, and we want to be there with you during this journey. It's about taking the risk and being that seed investor that believes in an entrepreneur. That doesn't mean you have to go to a two-person company who doesn't have anything except a lofty idea. Balance the risk. You have to understand and do the home- work. It's not like selling things. It's more about research and saying, "I see your product and the form factor of this size. You are an au- tomotive business, and here is the automotive grade we do." The moment you say you're do- ing automotive-grade boards or have the tech- nology to do it and can build a prototype, I'll give you everything to scale it up if your model is a prototype only. You could also say, "I can build you a prototype and volume, and we can negotiate the price. I'll compete with oth- ers." The moment that the comfort zone kicks in, people will order. Prototypes are all about speed. If you can get it to seven days instead of 10 on the prototype side, that's good. Johnson: And is being on schedule paramount once you're in production? Ramanathan: Schedule is important at all stag- es. At the production stage, it not only affects us but also our customers. Automotive cus- tomers are far less forgiving when it comes to schedule slips. If things are not going as planned at a vendor, everyone panics. The un- known is scary for them. Most importantly, if you are going to miss a schedule, please give advance notice, and come up with a quick re- covery plan. Don't compromise on the qual- ity of the product. Early-stage companies are always in a race against time, and you're also taking a higher risk than usual. Do that knowingly because if you don't, you're going to hurt yourself. You're going to have a bitter taste toward startups as a whole. CMs need to understand that it is important to treat an early-stage company the same way they treat a matured company. It is also important to be a partner. Johnson: When is AEye's target date for the New Product Introduction? Ramanathan: Our next-generation mobility products will be available at the end of this year, and our ADAS-integrated product will be available for the 2021–2022 model year. We also have a few surprise products in between that are in the pipeline. So, it is really important for us to work very closely with partners. Come be a partner with us in this exciting journey! Johnson: Fantastic. Thank you. Ramanathan: Thank you very much. SMT007 We know you are in the early stages, we know you will grow, and we want to be there with you during this journey.