# T-24-002 : Kevin Lavelle - Performance Fabric to Pediatric Telemedicine

- Show: [TRADEOFFS](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs)
- Published: 2024-10-02
- Length: 58m
- Episode: 2
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine
- Listen: https://tradeoffs.fm/2

## Summary

Kevin Lavelle, founder of Mizzen and Main and Harbor, discusses the transition from scaling a US-made performance fabric apparel brand to building Harbor, a pediatric telemedicine company. He details the technical trade-offs of designing a failsafe baby monitor with a dedicated tablet and camera that connects to the cloud, emphasizing the decision to avoid smartphone app dependency due to reliability concerns. Lavelle explains the strategic choice to manufacture hardware in Southeast Asia rather than the US, citing the inability of domestic supply chains to support volume, and outlines a 2-year membership model to ensure recurring revenue. He also reflects on the difficulties of fundraising for hardware in the current climate and the importance of building a distributed, high-caliber engineering team.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine#t=1) Introduction: Kevin Lavelle, Mizzen and Main, and Harbor
- [3:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine#t=181) Building Companies in Dallas and the Distributed Team Strategy
- [14:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine#t=878) Harbor's Product Design: Failsafe Monitoring and Cloud Connectivity
- [22:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine#t=1340) Overcoming Investor Skepticism and Sticking to the Vision
- [38:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine#t=2326) Lessons from Mizzen and Main: PR, Manufacturing, and Scaling
- [52:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2024-10-02-t-24-002-kevin-lavelle-performance-fabric-to-pediatric-telemedicine#t=3139) Hardware Longevity, Component Selection, and Fundraising Challenges

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Mizzen and Main (company)
- Harbor (company)
- Nanit (product)
- Motorola (product)
- Juicero (company)
- Brooks Brothers (company)
- Oliver Wyman (company)
- SMU (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#015: Developing kid-safe tech at Gabb: what it takes and why it’s so important](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-08-20-015-developing-kid-safe-tech-at-gabb-what-it-takes-and-why-its-so-important) (Coredump Sessions)
- [#447: Solving the Pediatric MedTech Gap with Edwin Lindsay](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2026-02-16-447-solving-the-pediatric-medtech-gap-with-edwin-lindsay) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [#022: How Two Dads Thoughtfully Scaled Yoto Into One of the Fastest Growing Kid Tech Brands](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-05-13-022-how-two-dads-thoughtfully-scaled-yoto-into-one-of-the-fastest-growing-kid-te) (Coredump Sessions)
- [When our phones are just phones with Kai Tang and Joe Hollier of Light](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-10-when-our-phones-are-just-phones-with-kai-tang-and-joe-hollier-of-light) (How I Built This)
- [Episode 1 - The Hardware Story of Inito w/ Aayush Rai | Building a B2C medical hardware company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2024-06-26-episode-1-the-hardware-story-of-inito-w-aayush-rai-building-a-b2c-medical-hardwa) (The Hardware Story)

## Citing this page

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