You might not want to spend too much time on your own miners if your tape-out is successful. I'd do a reference PCB design, test it, and release it asap together with the chips. You'll make much more money selling the chips and maybe licensing the reference design, than by mining yourself. Time is your enemy here.
Of course, but product quality and customers' words of mouth are the life of a company. But we don't want to sell prototypes. We want to sell mining devices with a higher standard. We ourselves could probably handle second-digit rates of failure, some heat issues, and sketchy appearances. But we wouldn't want our customers to have to deal with them.
This is exactly why I suggest you do a reference PCB design, and roll it out ASAP together with the chips. There's no point for you taking care of all the hassle associated with B-to-C sales like warranty, after sales etc. You customers should be mining rig manufacturers or able hobbyists, not end consumers. Sell the chip like xilinx sells spartans. License the ref design PCB or just release it open source. Scale up quick, time is your enemy.
I tend to agree.
I have to ask. What will be the potential market share when pitted against BFL *if* BFL uses a 90 or 65nm process?
In my mind this would have to be a market battle fought on unit price.
