350: The State of the Empire Is Good
Ben Hencke, founder of ElectroMage, discusses the evolution of his Pixelblaze LED controller business from hand-soldered hobbyist projects to a scaled operation using a desktop pick-and-place machine. He details the technical transition from the ESP8266 to the ESP32 microcontroller for the upcoming Pixelblaze V3, highlighting the challenges of multi-core firmware development and race conditions. Hencke also explains his decision to launch V3 via CrowdSupply for its rigorous vetting and fulfillment support, and shares practical advice on solder paste selection and safety.