# 403: Engineers Are a Difficult People

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2022-02-25
- Length: 1h 13m
- Episode: 403
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people
- Listen: https://embedded.fm/episodes/403

## Summary

Shawn Hymel, Senior Developer Relations Engineer at Edge Impulse and former content creator for Digi-Key, discusses the challenges of marketing to engineers and the evolution of embedded machine learning. He shares insights on building an audience from zero, the importance of educational content over traditional advertising, and his transition from SparkFun to Edge Impulse. Hymel also details his technical background in Hidden Markov Models and his current work teaching TinyML via Coursera.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=6) Introduction and Background
- [6:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=371) Marketing to Engineers and Podcast Growth
- [23:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=1417) Building an Audience from Zero
- [34:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=2061) Content Creation vs. Marketing
- [38:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=2297) Technical Background: ML and FPGAs
- [54:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=3248) Embedded Machine Learning Projects and Predictions
- [1:08:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-02-25-403-engineers-are-a-difficult-people#t=4132) Career Advice and Blue Ocean Strategy

## Topics

- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Edge Impulse (company)
- Digi-Key (company)
- SparkFun Electronics (company)
- Coursera (other)
- Arduino Pro Mini (product)
- OpenMV Cam (product)
- Raspberry Pi (product)
- Hello Blink Show (product)
- Blue Ocean Strategy (other)
- Discovery-Driven Growth (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Changing Course with Shawn Hymel](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2024-08-09-changing-course-with-shawn-hymel) (The Amp Hour)
- [100 Episodes! Break Out the Champagne! A Retrospective](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2026-08-24-100-episodes-break-out-the-champagne-a-retrospective) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [244. The Hidden Power of Engineers as Storytellers (with Mouser’s Matt Campbell & Ricky Flores)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2026-05-05-244-the-hidden-power-of-engineers-as-storytellers-with-mousers-matt-campbell-ric) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [AI Vision Systems in Manufacturing with Deepview's Eliyahu Davis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-07-30-ai-vision-systems-in-manufacturing-with-deepviews-eliyahu-davis) (OnTrack)
- [Work on it for 10 years...](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-12-30-work-on-it-for-10-years) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

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