David vs Goliath in the Wearables Industry with Eric Migicovsky (Core Devices, Pebble, Beeper)

Jun 13, 2025

Eric Migicovsky, founder of Core Devices and the visionary behind Pebble, dives into the thrilling journey of launching one of Kickstarter's first major successes. He discusses the pitfalls of hardware inventory that nearly derailed Pebble and shares his new sustainable model focusing on pre-orders. Eric also talks about battling Big Tech with Beeper Mini, which took on Apple's iMessage, and his collaboration with Google for open-sourcing Pebble's operating system. Tune in for insights on the future of wearables and the rise of artisanal hardware.

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ANECDOTE

Pebble's Explosive Kickstarter Launch

Eric Migicovsky raised $600,000 on Pebble's Kickstarter launch day against a $100,000 goal.
He and Rajat Suri celebrated by grabbing a late-night hamburger and planned next steps.

INSIGHT

Core Pebble Advantages

Pebble's strengths were an always-on, daylight-visible e-ink screen and seven-day battery life.
Eric needed a smartwatch that told time and handled notifications but didn't have excessive features.

ADVICE

Leverage Authentic Kickstarter Storytelling

Focus on authentic storytelling to create buzz around a Kickstarter campaign.
Nurture press and community engagement instead of rushing product manufacturing.

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Eric Migicovsky is the Founder of Core Devices, and the original founder of Pebble, the pioneering smartwatch that raised $10 million on Kickstarter before being acquired. Eric has launched Core Devices to continue building the smartwatch platform he believes in, complete with Google's newly open-sourced Pebble operating system.

What you'll learn:

1. The Kickstarter phenomenon: How Pebble became one of the first massive Kickstarter successes, raising $600K in the first day with a $100K goal

2. Hardware's inventory trap: Why missing revenue projections by 20% ($80M vs $100M target) created a $20M inventory crisis that nearly sank Pebble

3. The sustainable hardware model: Eric's new approach of targeting profitability at 5,000 units and eliminating inventory risk through pre-orders

4. Inventor vs. founder mindset: The difference between building products you love versus building scalable companies

5. Fighting Big Tech: How Eric's Beeper Mini challenged Apple's iMessage monopoly and led to DOJ antitrust action

6. Getting software from Google: The surprising story of how Google open-sourced Pebble's operating system to enable Core Devices

7. Hardware manufacturing today: Why building smartwatches is easier now than in 2011, and what's still challenging

8. The artisanal hardware movement: Building premium, limited-run products for passionate niche audiences

9. Regulatory battles: Apple's API restrictions and how they limit third-party smartwatch functionality

10. AI integration: Adding ChatGPT and voice capabilities to modern smartwatches

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction and reconnecting with Eric

(01:18) The Core Devices relaunch and getting Pebble IP from Google

(02:33) Eric and Raj's Waterloo connection and early entrepreneurship

(04:48) From Pebble's precursor to YC and the smartwatch vision

(09:30) The legendary Kickstarter launch day and calling Raj at 2am

(14:00) Five years of overnight success and authentic marketing

(16:07) Inventor vs. founder mindset and product obsession

(19:21) The 2015 inventory crisis that changed everything

(27:20) Eric's new sustainable hardware model with Core Devices

(32:00) Using existing Pebble cases and Google's open-source software

(36:58) The artisanal approach: 3 people, no VCs, limited production runs

(41:14) AI integration and ChatGPT on the wrist

(49:36) Secondary markets and public company trading restrictions