# Live From HIBT Summit: Payal Kadakia, Tristan Walker, and Perry Chen on Innovation

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-07-22
- Length: 42m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation

## Summary

In a panel discussion from the 2021 How I Built This Virtual Summit, Guy Raz speaks with Payal Kadakia of ClassPass, Tristan Walker of Walker and Company, and Perry Chen of Kickstarter about the nature of innovation. The founders argue that innovation does not require newness but rather authenticity, soul, and solving personal frustrations, such as Walker’s experience with razor bumps or Kadakia’s difficulty finding dance classes. They discuss their early struggles, including ClassPass’s initial product failure and Kickstarter’s long development cycle, emphasizing the importance of resilience, specific metrics like ClassPass’s reservation count, and the value of continuous improvement in hardware.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=0) Introduction: Innovation Panel with Kadakia, Walker, and Chen
- [1:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=76) Origin Stories: Solving Personal Frustrations
- [4:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=255) ClassPass Iterations and False Signals of Success
- [6:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=364) Kickstarter’s Long Development and Accidental Entrepreneurship
- [9:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=574) Walker and Company: Continuous Improvement in Hardware
- [11:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=705) Finding the Right Metric and Staying on Track
- [17:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=1032) The Role of Lived Experience and Courage in Innovation
- [27:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=1659) Newness vs. Soul: Defining True Innovation
- [33:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation#t=1992) Navigating the Pandemic and Future Opportunities

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- ClassPass (company)
- Walker and Company (company)
- Kickstarter (company)
- ZocDoc (company)
- OpenTable (company)
- YouTube (product)
- Lululemon (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep. 39 - Starting a Hardware Company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2025-05-15-ep-39-starting-a-hardware-company) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [The Pilot: Unveiling the Blueprint of "The Builder Circle"](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-05-13-the-pilot-unveiling-the-blueprint-of-the-builder-circle) (The Builder Circle)
- [Hatch Duo: Industrial Design, Navigating AI, Branding, Hardware Innovation | Hard Tech Podcast #16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hard-tech-podcast/2024-03-20-hatch-duo-industrial-design-navigating-ai-branding-hardware-innovation-hard-tech) (Hard Tech Podcast)
- [034: Staying Motivated & Overcoming Lack of Money, Time & Skills](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2017-01-03-034-staying-motivated-overcoming-lack-of-money-time-skills) (Product Startup)
- [CES 2019 Special: Stas Gayshan, CIC-Boston](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-01-16-ces-2019-special-stas-gayshan-cic-boston) (EE Times Current)

## 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/2021-07-22-live-from-hibt-summit-payal-kadakia-tristan-walker-and-perry-chen-on-innovation. 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.