Hardware Podcasts

HIBT Lab! Bored Ape Yacht Club: Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow

How I Built This · 1 Sept 2022 · 1h 07m

What this episode covers

Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow, co-founders of Yuga Labs, recount the origin of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, explaining how their backgrounds in literature and gaming led to a unique community-driven brand. They detail the strategic decision to grant full commercial IP rights to holders, the rapid sell-out of the 10,000-piece collection, and the subsequent acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits to expand the Yuga ecosystem. The founders also discuss their vision for 'Otherdeeds,' a metaverse platform designed to prioritize true digital asset ownership and interoperability over traditional Web2 models.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Yuga Labs, Andreesen Horowitz, Larva Labs
Products
Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Crypto Kitties, Hashmasks, Otherdeeds for Otherside, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Meebits, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club
Tools
Legal Zoom, OpenSea

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • People of Packaging · 36m

    143 - NFT's, Bored Apes, Web3, and Packaging with Pinar LaCroix

    Pinar LaCroix, former Global Creative Director of Color at L'Oreal and lead packaging designer for Bath & Body Works, explains how she leveraged her background in textile and packaging design to bridge the gap between Web3 and physical goods. She discusses the commercial rights associated with Bored Ape NFTs, the potential for brands to partner with existing communities like CryptoPunks and World of Women, and the creation of a sustainable beauty line tied to these digital assets. LaCroix argues that while blockchain has environmental impacts, the packaging industry can mitigate this through sustainable manufacturing and that early adopters risk falling behind just as companies did by ignoring the early internet.

    Direct-to-consumer & e-commerceMarketing & brand
    6 chapters

  • Hard Tech Podcast · 1h 51m

    Hatch Duo: Industrial Design, Navigating AI, Branding, Hardware Innovation | Hard Tech Podcast #16

    Michael Yim and Jonathan Tai, co-founders of Hatch Duo, an AI-enhanced industrial design and engineering studio, discuss their journey from bootstrapping to serving early-stage hardware startups. They detail their 'design capital' model, where they invest in-kind to help pre-seed companies build prototypes to secure funding, and explain how they blend human creativity with AI tools like FLO.ai to enhance efficiency. The conversation covers the importance of brand identity, the challenges of working with first-time founders, and their strategic use of social media for client acquisition.

    Industrial & consumer product designStarting a product company
    8 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 45m

    Founder Fundraising Journey: Victor Guardiola, Bawi

    Victor Guardiola, Founder and CEO of Bawi, a sparkling agua fresca brand, details his journey from a UT Austin entrepreneurship practicum to scaling a beverage company in Texas and California. He explains how he overcame the lack of a 'rich uncle' by selling on tap at farmer's markets, cold-emailing hundreds of investors, and leveraging a 'golden follow-up' from a notable investor to unlock his first equity round from backers like Patrick Terry and Mike Rypka. Guardiola also discusses Bawi's strategic pivot to food service distribution to drive retail velocity, the challenges of early production contamination with breweries, and his mission to increase representation for Latino founders in CPG.

    Fundraising & investorsDirect-to-consumer & e-commerce
    8 chapters

  • Core77 Podcast · 55m

    Afterschool Podcast, Episode 1 - Rich Brilliant Willing

    Theo Richardson, Alex Williams, and Charles Brill, co-founders of the Brooklyn design studio Rich Brilliant Willing, discuss their journey from RISD graduates to running a furniture and lighting company. They explain how the 2008 financial crisis pushed them to bypass traditional licensing models and instead design and manufacture their own products, such as the XL Perch and Delta Fabric lamp series, to maintain speed and control. The founders detail their collaborative process, the shift from seasonal trade show launches to a more continuous product release strategy, and the challenges of maintaining their creative partnership while scaling the business.

    Starting a product companyIndustrial & consumer product design
    8 chapters

  • Moore's Lobby · 52m

    Ep. 23 | Arduino Co-founder Massimo Banzi on How Arduino Took the World by Storm

    Massimo Banzi, co-founder of Arduino, explains how the platform evolved from a classroom tool in Ivrea, Italy, to a global standard for prototyping and industrial automation. He details the design philosophy of lowering barriers to entry for non-engineers, the backlash from traditionalists, and the strategic pivot toward commercial applications like the Portenta H7 board for machine learning and precision agriculture. Banzi also reflects on the painful legal disputes with former co-founders and the importance of clear governance in open-source hardware companies.

    Starting a product companyPrototyping & iteration
    7 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.