# Cash Is King

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2018-11-26
- Length: 1h 04m
- Episode: 417
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/417-cash-is-king/

## Summary

Dave Jones of AEV and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss the critical importance of cash flow management for hardware businesses, contrasting the capital-intensive nature of manufacturing with software. They explore strategies such as maintaining cash buffers, negotiating payment terms, using ERP systems, and understanding the DUNS number for supplier credit. The episode concludes with Chris Gammell announcing KiCon 2019, a new conference for KiCad users, and noting the show's migration to Pandora.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=0) Introduction and KiCon Announcement
- [3:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=211) Cash Flow Challenges in Hardware vs Software
- [6:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=396) Accounting, Taxes, and Overhead Costs
- [13:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=795) Inventory Management and ERP Systems
- [22:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=1329) Supplier Credit, DUNS Numbers, and Apple's History
- [37:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=2253) Pricing, Margins, and Bootstrapping
- [43:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=2581) Lifestyle Businesses vs. Scalable Ventures
- [51:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king#t=3086) KiCon 2019 Details and Show Migration

## Topics

- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- KiCon (other)
- KiCad (tool)
- DigiKey (company)
- Arrow (company)
- Neoden (product)
- Pandora (other)
- Apple (company)
- Steve Jobs (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep. 7 - Buying Stock](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-26-ep-7-buying-stock) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [272: Working Capital: The Hidden Constraint to Sustainable Manufacturing Growth featuring Klear Co-Founder & CEO Chris Hale](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-01-27-272-working-capital-the-hidden-constraint-to-sustainable-manufacturing-growth-fe) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [#062 - How a hardware SaaS company wants to help you not get lost in your data during product development, with Michael Corr of Duro Labs, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2018-09-26-062-how-a-hardware-saas-company-wants-to-help-you-not-get-lost-in-your-data-duri) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [How to Evaluate Suppliers and Manufacturers with Mike Morena and Shawn Litingtun](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2020-04-10-how-to-evaluate-suppliers-and-manufacturers-with-mike-morena-and-shawn-litingtun) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [35: All These Different Reasons Why You Might Want to Do Something](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-01-15-35-all-these-different-reasons-why-you-might-want-to-do-something) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-11-26-cash-is-king. 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 The Amp Hour.