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From Prototype to 200k Products: The Embr Labs Story with Sam Shames
“What happened was just the market need was so strong… it kept pulling us forward.” — Sam Shames
In this episode, Chris sits down with Sam Shames — materials engineer, MIT grad, and co-founder of Ember Labs, the company behind the Ember Wave: a wearable that helps people regulate temperature and reclaim comfort on their terms.
Over the last 12 years, Sam has led Ember from a student side project to a real business, launching two hardware generations, shipping over 200,000 units, and recently pivoting to a subscription model that’s rare in consumer wearables.
We talk product-market fit in hardware, solving real pain points like hot flashes, scaling with a lean team, and what it really takes to make a physical product company sustainable, both financially and environmentally.
Key Takeaways:
🚀 The prototyping contest that sparked Embr Labs, and the overheated lab that started it all
🚀 From student side project to Kickstarter success (and 4 years of learning in between)
🚀 Building circularity into hardware, and why refurbishment isn’t just a sustainability play
🚀 Subscriptions in wearables, how $20/month changed everything for Ember
🚀 Designing for real needs, from aesthetics to AI that predicts hot flashes
🚀 Founder evolution; why Sam stepped back and hired a CEO to scale the business
Memorable Quotes:
🟰 “We thought it was going to take six months. It ended up taking four years.”
🟰 “It's never too early to think about manufacturing. Prototypes and products are worlds apart.”
🟰 “At some point, we realized this wasn’t just a cool project. It needed to become a real business.”
🟰 “The leap from Gen 2 to Gen 3 will feel like going from a flip phone to a smartphone.”
Resources & Links:
🌍 Connect with Sam Shames on LinkedIn
🧊 Explore Embr Labs https://www.embrlabs.com
🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube
📸 Follow on Instagram
🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign
👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events
🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte
🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.
💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode!
About Kodu
Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com.
View all episodes
By Chris Whyte | Kodu“What happened was just the market need was so strong… it kept pulling us forward.” — Sam Shames
In this episode, Chris sits down with Sam Shames — materials engineer, MIT grad, and co-founder of Ember Labs, the company behind the Ember Wave: a wearable that helps people regulate temperature and reclaim comfort on their terms.
Over the last 12 years, Sam has led Ember from a student side project to a real business, launching two hardware generations, shipping over 200,000 units, and recently pivoting to a subscription model that’s rare in consumer wearables.
We talk product-market fit in hardware, solving real pain points like hot flashes, scaling with a lean team, and what it really takes to make a physical product company sustainable, both financially and environmentally.
Key Takeaways:
🚀 The prototyping contest that sparked Embr Labs, and the overheated lab that started it all
🚀 From student side project to Kickstarter success (and 4 years of learning in between)
🚀 Building circularity into hardware, and why refurbishment isn’t just a sustainability play
🚀 Subscriptions in wearables, how $20/month changed everything for Ember
🚀 Designing for real needs, from aesthetics to AI that predicts hot flashes
🚀 Founder evolution; why Sam stepped back and hired a CEO to scale the business
Memorable Quotes:
🟰 “We thought it was going to take six months. It ended up taking four years.”
🟰 “It's never too early to think about manufacturing. Prototypes and products are worlds apart.”
🟰 “At some point, we realized this wasn’t just a cool project. It needed to become a real business.”
🟰 “The leap from Gen 2 to Gen 3 will feel like going from a flip phone to a smartphone.”
Resources & Links:
🌍 Connect with Sam Shames on LinkedIn
🧊 Explore Embr Labs https://www.embrlabs.com
🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube
📸 Follow on Instagram
🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign
👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events
🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte
🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.
💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode!
About Kodu
Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com.