Hardware Podcasts

Tony Kelbert | Authenticity, Engineering, and the Business of Manufacturing

Being an Engineer · 14 Aug 2026 · 1h 11m · Episode 34

What this episode covers

Tony Kelbert, a mechanical engineer and manufacturing strategist at AeroGrowth, discusses his career path from defense vehicle design at Oshkosh Defense and medical oxygen systems at Gulfstream Aerospace to his current work helping precision manufacturers win aerospace and defense contracts. He shares insights on the challenges of small machine shops, the importance of diversifying customer bases to avoid reliance on single large OEMs, and the cultural differences between engineering firms and family-run manufacturing businesses. Kelbert also explains his approach to LinkedIn content creation, emphasizing authenticity and humor to build genuine professional connections, and discusses his interest in open-source hardware and community-driven engineering education.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up and early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
AeroGrowth, Oshkosh Defense, Gulfstream Aerospace, Form Logic, Pipeline Design & Engineering, Omni Ventures
Also
Influence, Robert Cialdini, PDX, LinkedIn

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