As a small business I was trying to compete with awkward or overly expensive “sex machines” for the niche kink market. Our closest competitor sold for $2k, and my bom cost was $200, so hopefully 2x-5x lower BOM cost than the competitor.

If you're trying to start a real business, your competitors are mass market sex toys with a $2 BOM cost, not one-off dildo-sawzalls pieced together in someone's garage.

I strongly disagree. Thrusting sex machines are not competing with a $2 vibrator. The goal is not to orgasm but to have an experience worth having, and thrusting sex machines provide a vastly different experience from a vibrator. The competition I describe was a functioning small business and not a sawzall. Honestly your comment seems super dismissive to me, and I don’t really understand the vitriol after I’ve shared honestly my experience for all to benefit from.

I wasn’t trying to start a billion dollar business. I was the only employee and I wanted to make enough to support myself while making a fun product. Unfortunately the product was too complex for me to do it myself, especially at that skill level.