Stoke Ventures

In my personal experience, working with Stoke Ventures, and specifically Carter Beall, was one of the most frustrating and unproductive business decisions I’ve made. I paid a lot of money and spent nearly a year waiting for a functional prototype that was never delivered.The prototypes I did receive were nowhere near what was agreed upon — they didn’t fit the specifications, key design elements were incorrect, and some features were changed without my approval. Communication was inconsistent, and several explanations I was given did not match what I later confirmed directly with the manufacturer.One of the most concerning issues was pricing. After months of asking, I was finally given production costs that were several times higher than the actual numbers the manufacturer provided to me. I was ultimately able to obtain a working prototype on my own in 30 days for a fraction of what Stoke quoted — something they could not accomplish in nearly 11 months.When I requested a refund for incomplete and unusable work, I was told the company “doesn’t issue refunds.” After terminating the contract and consulting an attorney, Carter stated they operated in good faith and exceeded what was required. Based on my experience, that was not the case. The company may claim they fulfilled the contract because they sent prototypes, but none of those prototypes were functional or aligned with the agreed specifications.I eventually had to finish the design and prototyping directly through the manufacturer which took me only 30 days to accomplish. Given my experience, I strongly recommend extreme caution before hiring this company. I truly wish someone had warned me ahead of time. "

I hired Stoke to conduct a research study on the feasibility of an advanced nail technology concept. While the team was professional and responsive, I was ultimately disappointed with the value delivered relative to the cost.The final outcome relied largely on secondary research and literature review, with little to no hands-on testing, despite “basic testing” being part of the stated scope. The conclusion was that the concept was not feasible with current materials, which may be accurate, but the process did not feel as thorough or experimentally grounded as I had expected for the investment.For early-stage founders or individual inventors, this approach may feel limiting, especially when funding work out of pocket. Expectations around methodology, depth of testing, and practical validation could have been clearer from the beginning.Overall, the experience felt more like a high-level feasibility opinion than a robust technical exploration. Some may find value in that, but in my case, the return did not match the cost.Prospective clients should ask very detailed questions upfront about what testing will actually be performed and what level of hands-on work is included before engaging. "

Working with Stoke Ventures has been an outstanding experience. They have been instrumental in helping us develop an extremely difficult product, and their approach has been nothing short of excellent. The team is thoughtful, highly professional, and an absolute joy to collaborate with.Their communication is top-notch—clear, consistent, and proactive—which has made every step of this process smooth and productive. Even though our project is still in progress, we have complete confidence that they will deliver flawlessly. In fact, the experience has been so positive that we’re already planning our next project with them.If you are looking for a partner who combines technical expertise with genuine care for clients, Stoke Ventures is the perfect choice. "

Working with Stoke has been great & more human than other product development firms we've used. Andrew's entrepreneurial experience shines in his work. Stoke develops products with the whole business process in mind from material and manufacturing sourcing to fulfillment and marketing and that has, a few times now, saved us headaches before they even began (and saved us a lot of money). I can't recommend them enough! "

Andrew at Stokes did a great job helping us create some parts that we needed, enabling us to launch a new business. He designed CAD files for five different parts and worked with us back and forth until our vision was perfected! Andrew was flexible and worked with our schedule. Thanks, Andrew. "