# #019 - Chairless chair, with Keith Gunura of noonee, Switzerland

- Show: [The Hardware Entrepreneur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur)
- Published: 2017-03-29
- Length: 29m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland
- Listen: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thehardwareentrepreneur/019.mp3

## Summary

Keith Gunura, co-founder and CEO of noonee in Zurich, explains the development of the Chairless Chair, a passive wearable device designed to alleviate back pain for industrial workers who stand all day. He details the product's origin at ETH Zurich, the decision to strip away complex motors and sensors to focus on simple passive dynamics, and the pivotal, albeit chaotic, media exposure from a CNN segment. Gunura also discusses the company's transition from a university spin-out to scaling production with the help of the engineering firm Zulke, and the challenges of pricing and validating the product with early corporate partners like BMW and Audi.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=0) Introduction: Keith Gunura and noonee
- [2:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=146) The Problem: Back Pain in Industrial Workers
- [4:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=278) Founding Story: From ETH Zurich to Simplifying Exoskeletons
- [7:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=479) The CNN Incident: Media Exposure and Broken Promises
- [15:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=904) Product Technology: Passive Dynamics and Weight
- [16:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=992) Pricing Strategy and Competitor Validation
- [18:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=1119) Scaling Production with Zulke
- [22:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-03-29-019-chairless-chair-with-keith-gunura-of-noonee-switzerland#t=1361) Future of Exoskeletons and Personal Insights

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- noonee (company)
- Chairless Chair (product)
- ETH Zurich (other)
- BMW (company)
- Audi (company)
- CNN (other)
- Zulke (company)

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- [Ep. 8 - Ryan from V1 Engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-11-09-ep-8-ryan-from-v1-engineering) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [AI that can be your second brain with Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri of Humane](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-03-14-ai-that-can-be-your-second-brain-with-bethany-bongiorno-and-imran-chaudhri-of-hu) (How I Built This)
- [S2E13 Relentless Empathy & Going Deep On Understanding The Problem | Ryan Eder](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-03-19-s2e13-relentless-empathy-going-deep-on-understanding-the-problem-ryan-eder) (Being an Engineer)
- [T-24-005 : Kaleen Canevari - Mechanical Engineer to Connected Fitness CEO](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-12-11-t-24-005-kaleen-canevari-mechanical-engineer-to-connected-fitness-ceo) (TRADEOFFS)

## Citing this page

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