#14: How Hardware Startups Get Traction (Ben Einstein, BOLT)

Ben Einstein, Founder/Partner of BOLT, an early-stage VC investing in hardware startups, shares the stories of several connected devices and hardware companies and their tricks and challenges. We compare and contrast software to hardware in this episode, examining three core aspects of building any company:

1) Building early products (customer dev, prototypes, etc.)

2) Acquiring initial customers (including one "magic" number Ben proposes for a hardware startup to reach)

3) Raising seed capital. (In a fun rant, Ben addresses his fellow investors and tells them how they need to change their approaches to hardware startups and their founders.)

Follow Ben @beneinstein and visit bolt.io to learn more.

And let me know what you think of the show -- tweet me (Jay Acunzo) @jayacunzo

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