S1 E4: Cracking the Code of Hardware Manufacturing with Scott Miller

The Builder Circle · 15 May 2023 · 1h 14m

What this episode covers

Scott Miller, a hardware expert who worked on the early Roomba program and Dragon Innovation, explains how startups should navigate manufacturing decisions, emphasizing that the first 100 units should be built in-house to capture domain knowledge before outsourcing. He advises startups to target tier-two or tier-three contract manufacturers, use dual-sourcing for leverage at $50 million in business, and treat factories as partners by sharing founder bios and VC backing to mitigate their risk. Miller also details the importance of robust Manufacturing Service Agreements (MSAs), lifecycle testing, and quality assurance to avoid catastrophic field failures like the Roomba's early optical encoder dust issue.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies: iRobot, Dragon Innovation, Dyson, SpaceX, Flex, Foxconn, Hasbro, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Bolt, Freight Farms, Proto Labs, Dragon Ventures
Products: Roomba
Also: Alibaba

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

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S1 E4: Cracking the Code of Hardware Manufacturing with Scott Miller

What this episode covers

Most relevant to

Topics

Mentioned

Related episodes from other shows

#032 - Why manufacturing in USA vs China is becoming interesting, with Scott N. Miller of Dragon Innovation, USA

An Interview with Scott Miller - Sudden SinoAmerican Synthesis

064: Preparing and Executing Your Product's First Production Run

#134 How to Make and Scale Your Product with Jamie Valenti-Jordan, Catapult Commercialization Services Part 2

Transition from Prototype to Mass Manufacturing with Scott Miller of Dragon Innovation