# 96: Yarn Is Serious Business

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2015-04-08
- Length: 1h 07m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business
- Listen: https://makingembeddedsystems.libsyn.com/embedded-ep96mp3

## Summary

Carrie Sundra, an electrical engineer and owner of Alpenglow Yarn, discusses her Kickstarter campaign for the SkeinMinder, an automation device for small-scale yarn winders. She explains the technical design using an ATmega328P and solid-state relay, and details the financial challenges of reaching the 100-unit production threshold for economies of scale. Sundra describes how a late-stage pledge match saved the campaign from failure and her strategy for transparently communicating manufacturing costs to backers.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=7) Introduction and SkeinMinder Overview
- [2:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=168) Technical Design and Yarn Processing
- [9:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=558) Kickstarter Campaign Challenges
- [12:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=778) Economies of Scale and Inventory Costs
- [17:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=1054) The Pledge Match and Campaign Rescue
- [27:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=1655) Transparency and Kickstarter Rules
- [53:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business#t=3204) Engineering Career and Alpenglow Yarn

## Topics

- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- SkeinMinder (product)
- Alpenglow Yarn (company)
- ATmega328P (chip)
- Ravelry (other)
- Kickstarter (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Kickstarter, IndieGoGo & Ignite - Jasperated Jimswinger Jobbery](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-04-24-kickstarter-indiegogo-ignite-jasperated-jimswinger-jobbery) (The Amp Hour)
- [A 2013 Recap - Year-end Yarn Yakking](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-12-31-a-2013-recap-year-end-yarn-yakking) (The Amp Hour)
- [No More Naming](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-07-23-no-more-naming) (The Amp Hour)
- [Year End, 2017](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-12-18-year-end-2017) (The Amp Hour)
- [16: 3,841](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2016-08-10-16-3-841) (Thoroughly Considered)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-04-08-96-yarn-is-serious-business. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Embedded.fm.