"there hell a lot of competition"

Actually "hell" is an understatement.

Some 6 years back I developed a water level controller that can be used in both domestic/commercial set ups. It had all the features of dry run protection, sump level monitoring, auto cycling of standby and main pumps - the works. And it was designed to be fully modular - a single double sided PCB and you populate only the options that you need. And most important I was using a 10mA AC source for the probes. Thus there was no problem of "electrolysis" which is a common issue whenever you use DC source for the probes.

Once into the market it was going well and with about 60+ installations in the first three months I was planning to expand. ( Installation was a pain in the bum in this product - you never know where you have to climb!) Then competition stuck - with a DC sensing and a cheap plastic box at less than half of my unit's price. And this was launched in a trade fair - and so was an instant success. And I had to withdraw - mine was technically superior - but do you think the consumer cares or understands ? The competition was smarter where it mattered.

The only satisfaction that I had was : All my units went through the warranty period and beyond. The DC sensing units of the competition were down in a matter of weeks and months.

At the end of the day it was another lesson learnt.

Raghu