In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, host Brian Bell welcomes Justin Kosmides, CEO and co-founder of Bloom, a groundbreaking Operations as a Service platform transforming manufacturing for electric mobility and hardware companies.

Justin shares his journey from finance to manufacturing, detailing how his experiences with e-bikes, urban beekeeping, and investment banking led to the creation of Bloom. The conversation kicks off with a lighthearted discussion about beekeeping and how urban bees often thrive better than their rural counterparts. From there, the discussion shifts to Justin’s deep involvement in hardware operations, supply chains, and scaling global manufacturing.

• Managing an E-Bike Brand: Justin recounts navigating offshore manufacturing in China before shifting production to Detroit, Michigan. This transition provided critical insights into onshoring trends, supply chain efficiencies, and hardware startup challenges.
• The Birth of Bloom: Seeing brands struggle with cash flow constraints and inefficient supply chains, Justin saw an opportunity to develop Bloom—a platform that streamlines manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing through a distributed network of suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• Industry Trends: The conversation covers the rise of robotics, automation, and reshoring, all of which are reshaping global manufacturing.
• The Marketplace Model: A major highlight is how Bloom’s marketplace approach helps brands reduce costs, shorten supply chains, and increase production flexibility—similar to how AWS revolutionized cloud computing.

Justin shares how Bloom is enabling companies like MoonBikes, an electric snow bike manufacturer, to centralize operations and improve efficiency by replacing costly fixed infrastructure with a variable cost model. He also predicts a future where standardization, modularity, and automation will further drive down costs and enhance scalability.

The episode wraps up with quick insights on:

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