Considering striking out on your own in the performance automotive industry? There’s nothing more satisfying than building your own successful business and being your own boss but… getting it right isn’t easy.

On this episode of Tuned In, we catch up with M26 Engineering’s Matthew Bernasconi, who we first interviewed back in 2022 just as he was leaving stable employment at offroad legends Kibbetech to build his own business.

Use M26ENG50 to get $50 off HPA’s 3D Modeling & CAD for Motorsport course: https://hpcdmy.co/CADb

Matthew has designed and machined parts for the automotive and aerospace industries his entire adult life. If you’ve ever encountered any of his popular social media channels, you’ll probably already have a good understanding of just how talented he is.

This skill was what first had us reaching out to appear on the podcast two years ago, and considering that episode (linked below) ended on a cliffhanger with Matthew just about to strike out on his own, we decided it was time to fire up the mics again and get caught up on how it’s all gone.

This episode is filled with great technical chats about 3D modelling, machining, and component design, all mixed in with quality business discussions that’ll provide a whole lot of inspiration and insight if you’re ever thinking about starting your own company in the performance industry.

Listen to Matthew's first episode here: https://hpcdmy.co/mattb

Follow Matthew here:
IG: @M26Engineering, @matt_eight26
FB: M26 Engineering
WWW: m26engineering.com

Don’t forget, you can use M26ENG50 to get $50 off HPA’s 3D Modeling & CAD for Motorsport course: https://hpcdmy.co/CADb

Time Stamps:
0:00 Using your automotive skills to start your own business.
3:30 Who are you and what do you do?
4:48 What were you doing at Kibbetech?
16:22 What did you learn at Kibbetech that you then applied to your business?
18:27 How did you decide the time was right to start your business?
28:05 Did you start off just doing the design portion and outsourcing the machining?
33:30 Is making one-off CNC parts financially viable?
42:06 Did you have a business plan?
44:37 You’ve been running the business for two years, What’s that journey been like?
54:37 How did you transfer from rapid prototyping to production-style work?
1:00:35 How have you decided what makes and models to support?
1:06:58 How big are these production runs? How many parts are you making at a time?
1:11:18 Why are your parts better/different from the competition?
1:17:10 What’s your opinion on business-to-business or direct-to-consumer sales?1:20:10 How does product development work?
1:25:25 Liability on your products, Is it a concern?
1:28:09 What does M26 look like in 5 years?
1:35:38 Final three questions.