Hardware Podcasts

Concept2 Rowing Machines: Dick and Peter Dreissigacker

How I Built This · 27 May 2024 · 1h 00m

What this episode covers

Brothers Dick and Peter Dreissigacker, former Olympic-level rowers and Stanford engineering graduates, founded Concept2 in a Vermont barn to design and manufacture lightweight carbon fiber rowing oars. They later pivoted to building stationary indoor rowing machines using bicycle parts and air resistance, initially targeting competitive rowers before finding massive success when CrossFit founder Greg Glassman adopted the equipment for his gyms. The company remains privately held, profitable, and assembled in Vermont, maintaining a minimalist hardware philosophy by avoiding built-in entertainment screens in favor of open data integration for third-party apps.

Most relevant to

founders before launch and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Concept2, CrossFit, North Face, Yale, Harvard, Peloton, Strava
Products
Stairmaster
Also
Greg Glassman

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