Building hardware companies.
A weekly newsletter sharing anonymized stories from hardware founders navigating development, manufacturing, fundraising, and go-to-market. Browse the archive below, or subscribe to receive new stories in your inbox.
- #023
A robot made lunch
The founders expected feedback on the food. Customers questioned the machine.
- #022
They said yes
A manufacturer’s solution can reshape the product.
- #021
Go see the factory
What one founder learned by watching his product get made.
- #020
It took two
Why the first prototypes were designed to answer questions about what should come next.
- #019
Your first paid pilot
How one founder found a path into large B2B customers.
- #018
Can you build another?
A working prototype doesn’t always mean you’re ready to build more.
- #017
The two week prototype
The prototypes looked like progress. Then they tried to carry them forward.
- #016
Before you fund development
The roadmap changed when we stopped asking what to build and started asking what the next investment needed to prove.
- #015
Moving upmarket
The product was selling. Commercial customers needed something different.
- #014
Customer pull
Interest wasn't the signal they were looking for.
- #013
The limits of discovery
The next lesson couldn't come from another conversation.
- #012
Build less to learn more
The most valuable prototypes often never become the product.
- #011
Engineering isn't manufacturing
Every new prototype felt like progress. Looking back, they realized they weren't reducing the uncertainty that mattered next.
- #010
Letting the product evolve
The biggest product decisions came after a successful pilot.
- #009
Earning the right customer
A founder found a way to earn credibility before approaching the customer they wanted most.
- #008
When sales outpaced product
A founder realized the biggest risk had shifted from the market to the product.
- #007
From interest to commitment
What investors looked for before the product reached market.
- #006
The first customer
Interest was growing. The first customer was still unclear.
- #005
Proof before revenue
A founder building a premium camera questioned how much development made sense before revenue.
- #004
Finding the customer
The prototype was working. The customer was still being discovered.
- #003
Waiting for production
The company lost a year chasing the wrong manufacturing problem.
- #002
When momentum feels like validation
What one founder learned while moving from product interest toward deployment.
- #001
When product progress outpaces validation
A founder conversation about traction, product, and risk.