# Russ Angold | Exoskeletons, VR Fitness, and Starting Hardware Companies

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2023-02-17
- Length: 51m
- Episode: 7
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/russ-angold-exoskeletons/

## Summary

Russ Angold, co-founder of Ethereal Matter and former co-founder of Ekso Bionics, discusses the evolution of hardware startups from DARPA-funded military exoskeletons to medical devices and immersive VR fitness. He details the technical challenges of interfacing with human variability, the importance of rapid prototyping to fail fast, and the financial terror of early-stage cash flow mismatches. Angold emphasizes the necessity of validating product-market fit with actual end-users and building psychological safety within engineering teams to solve complex problems.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=0) Introduction and Engineering Origins
- [6:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=398) Ekso Bionics: From DARPA Military Exoskeletons to Medical Rehab
- [10:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=633) Navigating Government Grants and Pivoting to Low-Power Design
- [16:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=982) Ethereal Matter: Engineering Immersive VR Fitness Experiences
- [21:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=1297) Technical Challenges: Human Interface, Cost, and Latency
- [24:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=1451) Startup Lifecycle: Early Chaos vs. Sustaining Engineering
- [28:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=1696) Fail Fast: Prototyping Strategies and Customer Validation
- [39:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=2398) Leadership, Vulnerability, and Team Culture
- [43:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-02-17-russ-angold-exoskeletons-vr-fitness-and-starting-hardware-companies#t=2633) The Future of Prototyping and Final Advice

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Ekso Bionics (company)
- Ethereal Matter (company)
- DARPA (company)
- UC Berkeley (company)
- Sarcos (company)
- Lockheed Martin (company)
- McMaster-Carr (company)
- Scott Summit (other)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep. 39 - Starting a Hardware Company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2025-05-15-ep-39-starting-a-hardware-company) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [Succeeding in Hardware with Joshua Hsu of Introhm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2020-03-24-succeeding-in-hardware-with-joshua-hsu-of-introhm) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [#003 - From scientist to entrepreneur for holodeck technology, evaluating startups, with Bernhard Petermeier of World Economic Forum, Switzerland](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2016-12-08-003-from-scientist-to-entrepreneur-for-holodeck-technology-evaluating-startups-w) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [Episode 1 - The Hardware Story of Inito w/ Aayush Rai | Building a B2C medical hardware company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2024-06-26-episode-1-the-hardware-story-of-inito-w-aayush-rai-building-a-b2c-medical-hardwa) (The Hardware Story)
- [An Interview with Ben Einstein](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-08-06-an-interview-with-ben-einstein) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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