Hardware Podcasts

T-24-004 : Tom George - Hardware Startup Engineer to Google Product Lead

TRADEOFFS · 13 Nov 2024 · 48m · Episode 4

What this episode covers

Tom George, now a Product Team Lead at Google leading the Pebble initiative, recounts his journey from early hardware startups like Maritime Broadband and QuadLogic to his current role in Sustainable Cities. He details the engineering trade-offs of building satellite communication systems for cargo ships, including the failure of using commercial stepper motors in marine environments, and the organizational challenges of separating R&D from sustaining engineering at QuadLogic. George explains his decision to halt production at Sidewalk Labs when the Pebble sensor was not ready for scale, and his subsequent pivot at Google away from hardware manufacturing toward policy and urban planning solutions.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Google, Sidewalk Labs, Maritime Broadband, QuadLogic, Broadband Maritime, Lockpower, Tidewalk Labs, Intersection, Replica, Core
Products
Pebble, BlackBerry, Link NYC, Starlink
Also
Waterfront Toronto

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