Fika Bytes: Hardware Founder Stories

By Vigs

Interviewing hardware entrepreneurs to bring you a behind-the-scenes look into building and shipping innovative physical devices that change our interactions with the real world.... more

· Technology

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Fika Bytes: Hardware Founder Stories:

How many episodes does Fika Bytes: Hardware Founder Stories have?

The podcast currently has 19 episodes available.

Fika Bytes: Hardware Founder Stories episodes:

April 20, 2025Academic Research to Product: Filling the gap between the lab and the launch
✍️ Show Notes
Jana Rieger of Breth Tech is a clinician-scientist who turned her research into a hardware product, co-founding and becoming CEO of True Angle. She shares her story and her passion to see more research outcomes turning into useful consumer products

🔗 Breth Tech: the Fitbit of breathwork
🔗 @bretchtech on Instagram

🔑 Bytes
Think specifically about the people you are helping and let them form your Go To Market strategy. Just because you're in health tech doesn't mean you should exclusively sell to healthcare providers.
A winning recipe for an academia-turned-founder is a combination of science, engineering, and business knowledge. You don't have to be an expert in all three, but be curious and open to learning.
Universities are increasingly supporting their research labs with startup accelerator support. If you're in a research lab, think of real world impacts of your work.

📖 Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:03 Starting True Angle: From Research to Commercialization
07:33 Overcoming Hesitation and Building Confidence
09:10 Development of the Mobili-T Product
11:32 The Importance of Smart Wearables in Rehabilitation
13:11 Improving Adherence and Patient Outcomes
14:22 From Idea to Product: The Development of True Angle
18:45 Navigating the Medical Device Market: Challenges and Strategies
23:39 Breath Tech: Expanding the Potential of Breath Work
33:00 Bridging the Gap: Universities and Commercialization of Research
35:51 Exploring Jana's Story and Its Impact

Keywords: technology, founder, hardware, entrepreneurship, medical devices, startup, breathwork, hardtech, academic research, product development
...more
30min
April 11, 2025 From Ivy League engineer to hardware founder
✍️ Show NotesNaom graduated from an Ivy League and was scrolling through his 'Ideas' notes page trying to figure out what he wanted to do next when he decided to create a heated vibration massager to help his jaw pain. This is the story of how he built the product and the business, myTMJ Relief.🔗 Noam’s YouTube - great example of building hardware in public (https://www.youtube.com/@noamaiz)🔗 myTMJrelief.com (https://mytmjrelief.com/)🔑 Bytes:* Noam’s approach to learning skills you don’t have: use the wealth of resources freely available, build the thing, and get feedback from experts before you finalize it.* Why share your journey with "Build in Public"? To create a sense of community, transparency, and brand credibility * Ideation is a skill that can be developed over time; it’s not just a stroke of pure luck.📖 Chapters:00:00 Understanding TMJ and its prevalence07:47 Developing a product for TMJ relief11:58 Challenges in design and manufacturing19:32 Building in public and connecting with customers26:27 Advice for aspiring hardware founders

#podcast #productdevelopment #hardware #founder #tmjdisorder #ideation #engineering #startup #smallbusiness #technology #entrepreneurship #tech #startup
...more
30min
March 14, 2025Trend to Tribe: How Totem turned virality into community
✍️ Show Notes
Carter Fowler, CEO & co-founder of Totem Labs, shares the incredible journey of going viral and building hardware tech for music festivals. Carter shares valuable lessons in building not only a brand, but also an engaged community of loyal fans, with thoughtful product design and exceptional customer service.

🔗 Article about where Totem is at today
🔗 totemlabs.com

🔑 Bytes:
In the beginning, do the things that don’t scale - e.g. The CEO responding to Instagram DMs and talking 1:1 to potential customers about their experience.
The shorter the brand message, the easier it is to explain new tech to someone. e.g. The word 'compass' leverages ancient knowledge to effectively communicate the concept of location finding.
When you’re doing customer research, your product DOESN’T MATTER. The only thing that matters is the customer, and the problem they are facing.

📖 Chapters:
00:00 The Origin Story of Totem Labs11:23 Creating a Brand for the Music Festival Community15:42 The Importance of Founder Market Fit25:56 The Story of Going Viral35:37 Creating Screen-Free and App-Free Products36:17 Integrating with Festivals and Events40:23 Revolutionizing the Attendee Experience

#podcast #productdevelopment #hardware #founder #userengagement #branding #customerresearch #viral #marketing #musicfestivals #technology #entrepreneurship #startup
...more
44min
March 06, 2025Combining AI and Robotics
✍️ Show Notes
Mahesh Krishnamurthi, co-founder of Vayu Robotics, gives an inside look at the journey of creating an AI-powered delivery robot. Important questions we discuss: how to know when you have product market fit, how to grow a talented team, and how to know when you should raise money.

🔑 Bytes:
Prototyping should always start with off-the-shelf components to minimize cost and speed up development.
There's a fine balance between confidence and arrogance when it comes to pitching investors - lead with humility and quiet confidence.
Be cautious if you're raising capital before you hit the flywheel of product market fit.

🔗 Check out Vayu Robotics: ⁠vayurobotics.com

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Vayu Robotics
03:18 Ideal Customer Profile
06:04 Iterative Prototyping Process
08:45 Transition to Proprietary Technology
10:35 Co-Founders and Backgrounds
12:02 Building a Team with Complementary Skills
14:26 Soft Skills and Team Culture
17:48 Raising Capital and Investor Advice
21:00 Deciding to Raise Money or Bootstrap
22:36 Future Plans and Vision
...more
32min
February 14, 2025Turning a Love for Music into a Hardware Product
✍️ Show Notes
Tobias Butler shares his journey of building Tuneshine, blending software and hardware. He talks about the challenges of switching to hardware, the importance of prototyping, and what he learned along the way. He also dives into supplier relationships, scaling smart, and the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship—all while finding joy in creating something meaningful.

🔗 Check out Tuneshine: tuneshine.rocks
🔗 Follow on Instagram: @tuneshine.rocks

🔑 Bytes:

Understanding the assembly process helps in improving design.

It's important to focus on growing the business, not just building products.

Creating a physical product can bring joy and delight!

Chapters:00:00 Intro01:26 From Prototype to Production07:06 Navigating the Hardware Development Journey09:43 Building a User-Centric Product12:40 The Role of Software in Hardware15:46 Feedback and Iteration18:19 Scaling Production and Supplier Relationships20:59 The Transition from Artisan to Entrepreneur23:37 Future Aspirations and Growth StrategiesKeywordsTuneshine, hardware development, prototyping, production, entrepreneurship, software engineering, supplier relationships, product design, startup journey, founder stories
...more
37min
June 21, 2024Building Hardware to Strengthen Mind-Muscle Connection with Ethan Pollak
✍️ Show Notes
Joining us this week is Ethan Pollak, co-founder of Pulse Device, a small nifty device that incorporates the idea of muscle tapping to help you get the most of your weightlifing workouts. Ethan quit his job in finance to go full-time on his idea, partnering with a design studio and building his network along the way. As a non-technical founder, he shares a lot of valuable insights into how he brought this hardware to life by being consistent, helpful, and always willing to learn.

🔗 Check out Pulse Device: pulsedevice.com
🔗 Give their IG a follow: @pulsedevice

🔑 Bytes:
Have a solid plan ahead of time, and don't expect overnight success.

Take a value-add approach to networking: Reach out to interesting people and always add value.

If you're a perfectionist and it's getting in the way of shipping your product, think of 5 everyday products that you (and millions around the world) use. You can probably think of a few things that need improvement right? So ship your product and then build upon it.

Keywords: hardware, tech, entrepreneur, startup, founder, fitness, fittech, product development
...more
38min
June 14, 2024Wearables That Unlock Women’s Potential in Midlife - featuring Loewen Cavill, CEO @ Amira
✍️ Show Notes:
Loewen Cavill joins us this week to share her story as the founder and CEO of Amira, a health tech company helping women unlock their full potential. We touch on all things product development including prototyping, meeting manufacturers, and raising venture capital. It's an exciting time for Amira as they begin to ramp up manufacturing and start seeing their product improve lives around the world.

🔗 Check them out here: www.amira.care

🔑 Bytes:
If you're a curious person, be disciplined about where your curiosity goes, and trust your team.

Prioritize face to face conversations when building relationships, like initially reaching out to manufacturers.

Don't get caught up in R&D before you prove your core business proposition, focus on building a sustainable business with revenue prioritized.

🔍 Keywords: product development, hardware, wearable, prototyping, manufacturing, founder story, women's health, hotflash
...more
33min
June 07, 2024Starting a Hardware Business in College with Cade Spector
✍️ Show Notes
Cade Spector was just a sophmore in college when his brother tragically took his own life due to substance abuse. With no formal engineering or business background, Cade knew he had to find a way to honor his brother's legacy, and he has done exactly that. He is now a college graduate working full-time on GreySun Technologies, and is gearing up to run a Kickstarter campaign and help improve people's relationship with alcohol.

🔑 Bytes:
When two things that don't usually go together, go together, there's an opportunity. Example: safety and fun.

Reach out to family and friends as a strong support system for initial feedback and testing.

Keep high standards for quality but at the same time don't get paralyzed seeking perfection.

🔗 Reserve yours at ⁠get.greysuntechnologies.com⁠
🔗 Check out ⁠Greysun Technologies⁠

🔍 Keywords: product development, business, hardware, technology, startup, tech, hardtech, engineering
...more
33min
May 31, 2024Solve Your Own Problem, Serve a Niche
Jon Fawcett created Sugar Pixel: He saw a problem at home, solved it for his family, and then discovered it would help millions of people around the globe.

✍️ Show Notes:
Jon Fawcett went from running an engineering design company to accidentally creating an iPhone accessories company that shipped globally. He then channeled all those learnings into Sugar Pixel, his newest creation that provides reliable, phone-free, blood glucose monitoring and alerts, aiming to help improve the lives of millions of people around the world.
🔑 Bytes:
Solve your own problem, so you will know the product best instead of spending money on focus groups or upfront customer research.

To create awareness and demand, go where your users are. In Jon's case, Facebook support groups knew the pain point well and gave Sugar Pixel virality with just two posts!

Whatever past experience and knowledge you have, use it to your advantage! It will give you an edge in one way or another. For everything else, use the Internet.
🔎 Keywords: product development, engineering, SugarPixel, continuous glucose monitors, alarm system, audible alerts, visual alerts, vibration alerts, randomized audio tones, vibration patterns, habituation, hardware, iPhone accessories, manufacturing, distribution, solving real needs, future roadmap
...more
41min
May 24, 2024Sit On The Floor More! With Greg Klein, creator of floor-sitting-to-standing desk
✍️ Show Notes:
While working from home during COVID, Greg Klein wanted to sit on the floor. But he couldn't find a desk that actually allowed for that. So, he scratched his own itch and brought to life the world's first electric floor-sitting to standing desk. Listen to Greg's entrepreneurship journey as well as his advice for those looking to build and sell their own hardware products.
🔑 Bytes:
Get validation as early as you can by talking to everyone around you. Don't hide your product idea behind polished design and marketing - get true validation!

It's lonely being a founder, and even more so in consumer hardware, so if you don't have a co-founder, find mentors and other founders in a similar space - most are happy to give advice!

Unforseen costs are always going to come up, especially in hardware dev, so give yourself some buffer.

🔎 Keywords: Uppeal Design, mobility, workspace, standing desk, differentiation, validation, manufacturing, shipping, customer needs, wellness, hardware, consumer
...more
31min

FAQs about Fika Bytes: Hardware Founder Stories:

How many episodes does Fika Bytes: Hardware Founder Stories have?

The podcast currently has 19 episodes available.