# 173: Everything's Amazing

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2016-10-26
- Length: 1h 15m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing
- Listen: https://makingembeddedsystems.libsyn.com/173-everythings-amazing

## Summary

George Stocker, former VP of Software Development at Jewelbots, discusses his transition from a 10-year career in application development to embedded firmware engineering. He details the challenges of building the Jewelbot, a Bluetooth-enabled friendship bracelet for girls, including porting the Nordic nRF51 SDK, debugging hardware-software interactions, and managing the unique constraints of a hardware startup. Stocker highlights the humbling experience of learning embedded systems from scratch, the insular nature of the embedded community, and the specific technical hurdles of BLE mesh networking and power management.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=6) Introduction and Background
- [4:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=268) Jewelbots Product and Startup Challenges
- [7:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=470) Hiring Difficulties and Bootcamp Decision
- [11:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=717) Embedded Bootcamp and Learning Curve
- [16:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=1002) SDK Migration and BLE Implementation
- [25:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=1521) Debugging Tools and Community Issues
- [49:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=2968) Hardware Bugs and PMIC Failure
- [1:04:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing#t=3842) Career Reflections and Full-Stack Engineering

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Jewelbots (product)
- Nordic nRF51 (chip)
- S130 soft device (product)
- IAR (tool)
- Keil (tool)
- GCC (tool)
- OpenOCD (tool)
- J-Link (tool)
- Making Embedded Systems (other)
- Programming Pearls (other)
- Getting Started with BLE (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Why isn't this working?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-02-14-why-isnt-this-working) (The Amp Hour)
- [#011: Memfault Joins Nordic Semiconductor: What This Means for the Future of Connected Product Development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-07-01-011-memfault-joins-nordic-semiconductor-what-this-means-for-the-future-of-connec) (Coredump Sessions)
- [Why IoT Is Difficult with Jonathan Beri](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-01-18-why-iot-is-difficult-with-jonathan-beri) (The Amp Hour)
- [Cellular IoT with Jared Wolff](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-09-20-cellular-iot-with-jared-wolff) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Jeff Rowberg - Mini Module Master](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-07-24-an-interview-with-jeff-rowberg-mini-module-master) (The Amp Hour)

## 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/2016-10-26-173-everythings-amazing. 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.