# 308: From Prototype to Production: Inside Chicago’s Hardtech Innovation Engine with mHUB's Bill Fienup and Kim Blomquist

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2026-10-27
- Length: 42m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Bill Fienup, Co-Founder and VP of Innovation Services, and Kim Blomquist, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, explain how mHUB, a Chicago hardtech innovation center, helps startups move from prototype to production. They detail the facility's labs, accelerator program, and capital access, emphasizing the high barriers to entry for hardware compared to software. The conversation highlights specific success stories like HAAS Alert, which onshored production to avoid tariffs, and Zenblen, a food robotics company, illustrating how mHUB's network supports scaling and regional manufacturing retention.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=0) Introduction: Bill Fienup and Kim Blomquist on mHUB's mission
- [2:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=120) mHUB's hyper-resource environment: labs, network, and capital
- [5:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=355) Barriers to entry: hardware difficulty, capital, and skill sets
- [11:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=702) Navigating capital: accelerator funding, grants, and manufacturing financing
- [20:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=1231) Product-market fit vs. technology: solving the right problem and scaling
- [25:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=1523) Success stories: healthcare, data centers, HAAS Alert, and Zenblen
- [30:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-10-27-308-from-prototype-to-production-inside-chicagos-hardtech-innovation-engine-with#t=1831) mHUB's uniqueness: community, location, and retaining companies in Chicago

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- mHUB (company)
- HAAS Alert (company)
- Zenblen (company)
- Endeavor Health (company)
- Baxter (company)
- Andries (company)
- Horwoods (company)
- PTC (company)
- New Lab (company)
- Hack (company)
- Lacy (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [107: Using Hardware Incubators for Product Startups](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-12-22-107-using-hardware-incubators-for-product-startups) (Product Startup)
- [#027 - Rapid prototyping - a platform and its essential tools, with Finbarr Watterson of Fictiv, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-05-24-027-rapid-prototyping-a-platform-and-its-essential-tools-with-finbarr-watterson) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [#037 - Disrupting with digital manufacturing, with Nick Pinkston of Plethora, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-09-13-037-disrupting-with-digital-manufacturing-with-nick-pinkston-of-plethora-usa) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [#032 - Why manufacturing in USA vs China is becoming interesting, with Scott N. Miller of Dragon Innovation, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [Introducing: It's only a Prototype Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/its-only-a-prototype/2025-04-09-introducing-its-only-a-prototype-podcast) (It's Only a Prototype)

## Citing this page

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