# 239: How to Build a "Customer Advisory Board" and Create a Frictionless Customer Experience with Mandy Dwight (Dwight & Co.) and Anthony Leo (IPR Robotics)

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2025-06-03
- Length: 50m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Anthony Leo, President of IPR Robotics, and Mandy Dwight, Founder of Dwight & Co., discuss how to build a customer advisory board and create a frictionless customer experience. They draw on their shared history at Rethink Robotics, where they worked on the Baxter and Sawyer collaborative robots, to explain the importance of validating product ideas with customers before development. The conversation covers the pitfalls of focusing on technical specs over value propositions, the need for large companies to adopt startup-like agility, and strategies for reducing sales friction.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=0) Introduction and Boston/Detroit Food Culture
- [9:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=592) Anthony and Mandy's History at Rethink Robotics
- [13:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=800) Lessons from Rethink: Baxter, Sawyer, and R&D Feedback
- [25:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=1506) Selling Value Over Technical Specs
- [31:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=1904) Building a Customer Advisory Board at Norgren
- [36:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=2166) Large Companies Acting Like Startups
- [38:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=2323) Avoiding the 'Customer Prevention Team'
- [43:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex#t=2581) Partner Ecosystems and Internal Silos

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up, early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- IPR Robotics (company)
- Dwight & Co. (company)
- Rethink Robotics (company)
- Baxter (product)
- Sawyer (product)
- Norgren (company)
- Soft Robotics (company)
- Boston Dynamics (company)
- Kuka (company)
- Dexterity (company)
- Bean Town Pub (other)
- Lafayette Coney (other)
- American Coney (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Product Development Driven By Customer Insights w/ Dan Adams](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2024-05-07-product-development-driven-by-customer-insights-w-dan-adams) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [077: Using Prospective Customers to Develop a Product](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-26-077-using-prospective-customers-to-develop-a-product) (Product Startup)
- [Embracing a Consumer-Centric Approach to Product Development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2021-06-08-embracing-a-consumer-centric-approach-to-product-development) (Over the Air)
- [137: Customer Feedback at Physical Product Launches](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2022-08-17-137-customer-feedback-at-physical-product-launches) (Product Startup)
- [212: The Customer Experience for New Hardware Products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-02-05-212-the-customer-experience-for-new-hardware-products) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-03-239-how-to-build-a-customer-advisory-board-and-create-a-frictionless-customer-ex. 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 Manufacturing Happy Hour.