# Belkin International: Chet Pipkin

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2019-05-13
- Length: 52m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin

## Summary

Chet Pipkin, founder of Belkin International, explains how he identified the gap in computer cables during the early PC boom and built the company from his parents' garage in the early 1980s. Pipkin details the operational challenges of scaling from handmade Frankenstein cables to a global manufacturing operation, including the pivotal decision to outsource production to Asia to compete on cost while maintaining US-based design. The episode covers Belkin's growth through the smartphone era, its strategic move to Compton, and its eventual acquisition by Foxconn subsidiary FIT for over $800 million.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=0) Introduction: Chet Pipkin and Belkin
- [3:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=231) Early Life and the PC Cable Opportunity
- [13:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=838) Building the First Cables in the Garage
- [23:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=1402) Scaling Operations and Early Financial Struggles
- [31:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=1873) The Decision to Outsource to Asia
- [36:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=2160) Moving Headquarters to Compton and the 1992 Riots
- [41:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=2469) Taking Outside Financing and Product Expansion
- [43:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin#t=2607) The Foxconn Acquisition and Legacy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up, large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Belkin (company)
- Foxconn (company)
- FIT (company)
- IBM PC (product)
- Apple II (product)
- Lynxis (product)
- RadioShack (company)
- Carnegie Mellon University (company)
- Zipper Rescue (company)

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- [Monster Scale Production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-10-28-monster-scale-production) (The Amp Hour)
- [Wait, why is Jeff glowing?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-10-30-wait-why-is-jeff-glowing) (The Amp Hour)
- [CircuitHub, 12 Years Later with Andrew Seddon](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2025-08-01-circuithub-12-years-later-with-andrew-seddon) (The Amp Hour)
- [Scaling Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-09-19-scaling-manufacturing) (Oxide and Friends)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-05-13-belkin-international-chet-pipkin. 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 How I Built This.