We are excited to announce that Hardware Workshop is coming back to New York on October 19th and 20th.
Hardware workshop is a two day event for hardware startups. Taught by experienced operators, it’s purpose is simple: Teach important lessons to the next generation of hardware entrepreneurs.
What makes this workshop unique is the quality of the content, the deep operational experience of the teachers, and the long term connections you will make. Hand curated, each teacher covers a unique topic that falls within the startup’s life cycle from an idea to reaching market fit.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This is for startups that are going from an idea to successfully shipping their first product. We have 12 different 60 minute sessions, taught by experienced operators, covering a variety of topics from defining your product to picking the right suppliers to successfully launching your company.
WHAT WILL I LEARN?
Lots. We will have 12 different 60 minute sections, taught be experienced operators. The topics are the following:
- Building press relationships.
- Launching a product.
- Product development process.
- Defining your brand.
- Prototyping.
- Selecting a supplier.
- Building your initial team.
- Certifications.
- Funding a hardware startup.
- IP and patents.
- B2B Distribution
- B2C Distribution
- Hardware founder panel.
WHEN?
Thursday, October 19th – Friday, October 20th.
- Doors open at 9:00am
- Sessions run every hour (10am – 1pm, Lunch, 2pm-5pm).
- Followed by Happy Hour
WHERE?
NewLab, Building 128, Brooklyn Navy Yard, 19 Morris Ave Brooklyn, NY
COST?
$75.00
This includes two breakfasts, two lunches, beverages, and happy hour.
Being entrepreneurs we are sensitive to charging for events, but we found a minimum amount enables us to make the events better (good food, audio/video equipment, location, organizer help, etc), while ensuring you are committed to the event.
HOW DO I ATTEND?
First you have to apply. We only have 100 open spots. We are looking for startup teams who are working on a hardware product and who really want to attend. We aren’t judging what people are building, just verifying people are actually building hardware. Otherwise the lessons we’re teaching can’t be applied. If your application is accepted you will get an email to purchase a spot.
HOW DO I BUY A TICKET?
Once you are accepted you will be emailed a code to purchase your ticket.
Who Is Teaching?
Marc Barros – Moment + Contour
Marc Barros is the co-founder of Moment, the best tools in the world for mobile photographers. Prior to Moment, Marc was a co-founder and former CEO of Contour, a hands-free camera company that makes action video easy to capture and share. Shortly after graduating from the University of Washington, Marc co-founded Contour in 2004 and led the organization from a garage to a multi-million dollar company with hundreds of thousands of customers around the world. @marcbarros
Ben Einstein – Bolt
Ben Einstein is an experienced product designer and entrepreneur. Ben is currently a partner at Bolt, a venture capital fund that invests at the intersection of hardware and software. Prior to starting Bolt, Ben ran Brainstream Design, a product design and development consultancy in Massachusetts. Ben has been directly responsible for bringing a long list of products to market covering diverse sectors including consumer electronics, high-performance audio, sporting goods and green energy.@BenEinstein
Maureen Coiro – Peloton
Maureen is a Senior Product Manager at Peloton, where she manages development of next generation fitness equipment with an international team of hardware engineers and designers. Formerly, she held a similar role at MakerBot, managing development of the Replicator Z18 and next generation 3D printers. Maureen holds a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Product Design from RPI and an MBA from Georgetown University. She enjoys running, cycling, and attending various design events.
Bill Drislane – Dragon Innovation
Bill is the VP of Manufacturing and Engineering for Dragon Innovation. Authority on Quality and Reliability Engineering. Formerly VP of Quality for Euro-Pro and Director Asia Pacific for iRobot, Bill holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Engineering, as well as an MBA, from Cornell University. Little known fact: Bill is a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.
Emily Heyward – Red Antler
Emily Heyward is co-founder and Chief Strategist at Red Antler, the leading brand company for startups. Founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, Red Antler is a multi-disciplinary team of strategists, designers, and marketers. Working closely with founders, Emily has led branding efforts for top companies such as Casper, Allbirds, and Birchbox. After beginning her career in advertising, she started Red Antler in order to directly apply consumer insights and brand positioning to business growth. Emily lives in Brooklyn with her wife and dog.
Ted Ullrich – Tomorrow Lab
Theodore Ullrich is the Founder of Tomorrow Lab®, an internationally recognized product design and engineering studio based in New York City. Tomorrow Lab develops smart hardware products for a better tomorrow. Ted believes the combination of science and design can allow small startup teams to develop new technology products that solve big problems. Ted holds a Masters of Industrial Design from Georgia Tech, a Bachelors of Inventive Design Engineering from Purdue University, and has taught design studio courses at Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design in Denmark.
Nora Levinson – Caeden
Nora is the CEO and Co-Founder of Caeden, a fashion-forward wearables company that uses technology and design to inspire dynamic and engaged living. As a Mechanical Engineer with an M.S. from Stanford, Nora quickly built her expertise in manufacturing complex connected devices by moving to China to develop products and strategy for Jawbone, Skullcandy, Incase, and Harman. At Caeden, Nora and team recently launched their Sona Connected Bracelet for mind and body, which focuses on overall wellness by training resilience to stress via guided meditations, along with heart-rate based activity tracking.
Greg Appelhof – Spring
Greg has over 20 years of experience working with consumer technology manufacturers specializing in launch strategies, growth plans, marketing program management and finance. During his career, Greg has lead retail strategy for companies including Asus, Griffin Technology, Olevia, Skullcandy, Razer, Zip Express, Nest and Adidas. He has successfully developed partnerships for his clients at North American Retailers Best Buy, Target, Amazon and Globally with Apple. Prior to SPRING, Greg served as president and CEO of Netdirect Corporation, where he raised $16 million in capital, completed three acquisitions and grew annual sales to over $150 million. Greg attended the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.
Borjana Slipicevic – Proper Propaganda
Borjana Slipicevic is a Managing Partner at Proper Propaganda, a PR firm that specializes in helping hardware companies turn their big idea into a story that drives action. Since 2013, the agency has generated global media coverage in outlets like: The New York Times, TechCrunch, Wired, Business Insider, Engadget, CNET, CNN and has helped clients raise over $20 million.
Proper Propaganda leverages a unique pricing model that is based on performance and success metrics, meaning some shouldering of risk with emerging start-ups. At Proper Propaganda, Borjana leads the agency’s strategic direction and manages global client accounts.
Aymerik Renard – Hardware Club
Based in San Francisco, Aymerik is a General Partner at Hardware Club focusing on North American investments. Aymerik has over 20 years of business development and venture capital experience, investing and establishing partnerships on behalf of Western Digital, SanDisk, Orange, France Telecom, and PCH International. Under his watch, several of his hardware, software and services portfolio companies have had Initial Public Offerings on the Nasdaq and New York stock exchanges, with others being acquired by Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, SAP, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, Cox Automotive, Keynote, Ericsson, and Cable & Wireless. Aymerik’s computing industry career began while in university when he served as a Campus Representative for Apple Computer. Aymerik is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
Jake Levine – Electric Objects | Notation Capital
Jake is the founder of Electric Objects, a company he started in 2013 to explore ambient computing and the future of art. Before Electric Objects, Jake was the General Manager of Digg, a betaworks company. Jake studied social sciences at Wesleyan and is also a part-partner a the pre-seed venture capital firm, Notation Captial.
Daniela Perdomo – GoTenna
Daniela Perdomo is the co-founder & CEO of goTenna, a technology company creating distributed communication networks that increase scale, resiliency, and access. Born of her experience during Hurricane Sandy, when one-fourth to one-third of cell towers and power stations went down in a 10-state area, goTenna brings communications infrastructure into the 21st-century by decentralizing it. Its bottom-up networks combine cognitive mobile ad-hoc networking protocols with low-power, low-cost, easy-to-use devices. The company’s award-winning first device, goTenna, pairs to regular smartphones to enable texting and GPS location-sharing independent of cell service, wifi or even satellites. In just two years, goTennas have been used by many tens of thousands of consumers, government agencies, and disaster relief personnel.
Michael Turner – Andrew Kurth Kenyon LLP
Michael is a Partner at Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP, in New York, specializing in all aspects of intellectual property, and focusing on patent litigation and prosecution for a variety of electrical, mechanical, telecommunications, software, and energy industry clients. He has represented large multinational companies and small startups in federal courts across the country and in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Michael has been named a “New York Rising Star” in Intellectual Property by Super Lawyers for three straight years. Andrews Kurth Kenyon has been helping its clients tackle complex legal problems for over 135 years, and boasts an Intellectual Property and Technology practice that has received widespread recognition from such publications as Chambers USA, Legal 500, IAM 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, Managing Intellectual Property, and World Trademark Review.
Jesse Pliner – Tomorrow Lab | Prong
Jesse is an experienced start-up founder and entrepreneur. He is currently a Project Strategist at Tomorrow Lab, a hardware innovation studio based in lower Manhattan. Formerly, Jesse founded Prong, a consumer electronics startup focused on mobile power. He held the position of CEO at Prong until the company was sold in 2017. Prior to founding Prong, Jesse spent 6 years in the finance and media industries while working for companies including Bear Stearns, Yahoo, and AOL. He consults and mentors other startups across a broad range of industries. He attended Yeshiva University in New York City where he studied General Business with a focus on Entrepreneurship.
Sean Grundy – Bevi
Sean Grundy is Co-Founder and CEO of Bevi, a beverage technology company that has raised $27M in venture capital. Prior to founding Bevi in 2013, he worked in water conservation at an environmental non-profit organization in the US and China. He has an MBA from MIT and a BA in Philosophy from Princeton University.
Chris Quintero – Bolt
Chris Quintero is an Associate at Bolt where he is a member of the investments team. Bolt is a different kind of venture capital fund, designed from the ground-up to address the needs of early-stage startups at the intersection of hardware and software. Chris has a mechanical engineering background and previously worked on international development projects in Chile, Vietnam, and Cameroon. He splits his time between Boston and NYC.
Thank You To Our Amazing Partners
Image Credit: Anthony Quintano via Creative Commons