Ep 73 | Learn It Yourself Before Hiring for Expertise (w/ Madison Maxey)

In this episode, I talk with Madison Maxey, founder of LOOMIA, a company building soft, flexible electronics for everything: Everything? Everything! From robotics to automotive interiors.

Maddie’s journey spans fashion school, a Thiel Fellowship, a return to Stanford in her mid-20s to study material science, and a decade of turning prototypes into real-world tech.

We talk about growing up with a soldering iron and a sewing machine, how she designed a smart jacket for Zac Posen and Google, and why building a company means more than building a product.

Maddie shares what it took to land early customers like Airbus, how she balances long timelines with fast-moving industries, and why her goal is to build something meaningful over 30 years, not just raise another round.

We talk about early wins, hard lessons, the beauty of tactile sensing, and why confidence comes from doing hard things until they start to feel normal.