# S2E26 Getting To Know Your Vendors & Being Hands On | Mark Adams

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2021-06-11
- Length: 45m
- Episode: 26
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/getting-to-know-your-vendors-mark-adams/

## Summary

Mark Adams, Senior Manager of R&D at Stryker Neurovascular, discusses his unconventional path from vocational machining to engineering leadership. He emphasizes the critical importance of hands-on experience with tools like SolidWorks and 3D printing, arguing that physical prototyping builds spatial visualization skills that software alone cannot. Adams also details his experience founding Fruition Design, highlighting the business lessons learned from that venture, and stresses the value of maintaining strong relationships with manufacturing vendors and machinists.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=0) Introduction: Mark Adams and Stryker Neurovascular
- [1:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=78) From Machinist to Engineer: The Value of Hands-On Experience
- [5:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=359) Defining Scope and Success in R&D Projects
- [9:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=559) Prototyping Tools: 3D Printing, SolidWorks, and Machine Shops
- [16:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=1002) Ideation, Brainstorming, and Protecting Intellectual Property
- [19:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=1164) Benchtop Modeling and Recreating Clinical Environments
- [21:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=1278) Founding Fruition Design: Lessons from a Failed Startup
- [27:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=1622) Managing Machinists vs. Engineers at Edwards Lifesciences
- [33:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=1990) Communication Strategies and Vendor Relationships
- [36:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-06-11-s2e26-getting-to-know-your-vendors-being-hands-on-mark-adams#t=2186) Hiring Criteria: Hands-On Skills and Cultural Fit

## Topics

- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Stryker (company)
- Northeastern University (other)
- University of Utah (other)
- SolidWorks (tool)
- Make Salt Lake (other)
- Fruition Design (company)
- Edwards Lifesciences (company)
- Team Pipeline (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [An Interview with John Saunders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-02-11-an-interview-with-john-saunders) (The Amp Hour)
- [Sam Holland (Co-Founder, Informal)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-04-15-sam-holland-co-founder-informal) (Just Gonna Send It)
- [S3 E1: Mastering Tech Adoption and The Hardware Development Workflow with Jon Hirshtick](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2025-09-30-s3-e1-mastering-tech-adoption-and-the-hardware-development-workflow-with-jon-hir) (The Builder Circle)
- [Ep. 8 - Ryan from V1 Engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-11-09-ep-8-ryan-from-v1-engineering) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [374: Tiny Forks](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-10-21-374-tiny-forks) (Making It)

## Citing this page

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