Moving fast in hardware: lessons from lab to $100M ARR
6 hours ago
- #design-philosophy
- #hardware-development
- #lean-engineering
- Adopt the design philosophy of 'Simplify, then add lightness' to reduce unnecessary complexity and weight in physical systems, enabling faster development and better performance.
- Delete non-essential requirements from the start to open new design spaces, as seen with ClearMotion, NASA's Apollo program, SpaceX, and the Gossamer Condor, which accelerates progress by focusing on what truly matters.
- Structure prototypes as focused experiments to retire specific risks sequentially, following examples like Boom Supersonic, NASA's X-planes, and Tesla, rather than trying to solve all problems at once.
- Outsource mature, commoditized components but insource manufacturing and processes tied to core uncertainties to maintain control and speed up learning, as learned from ClearMotion and the Sidewinder missile development.
- Shift complexity from hardware to software ('replace atoms with bits') to enhance flexibility, reduce costs, and enable faster iterations, demonstrated by ClearMotion, Google's data centers, Tesla, and NASA's Curiosity Rover.
- Minimize physical and organizational distance between design, testing, and manufacturing to increase bandwidth and accelerate problem-solving, inspired by Toyota's practices and ClearMotion's experiences.
- Keep teams small to reduce communication overhead and maintain agility, as exemplified by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and ClearMotion's early growth, fostering a culture of lightness and speed.