120: People & Mindset at a Hardware Startup

Karin Lindner is the author of the book Make Manufacturing Sexy. She was also an instructor at Sheridan College, and consults many manufacturers on human resources and performance. Today Karin is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can understand the the people needed to succeed in building a hardware company, and the critical mindset both you and your team needs to be the best.

Today you will hear us talk about:

• Creativity in manufacturing
• Figure out what you want in a team to start
• Find out what people are personally interested in
• Ask lots of questions to all of your hires, stakeholders, vendors, partners, etc.
• Make people feel special.
• Build an org chart, but build it upside down, with the President serving everyone else and so on upward.
• Mindset - Think about what you want, not what you don’t want.
• Figure out what kind of a team you would like to create
• Build resilience and grit.

EPISODE LINKS

Karin Lindner / Make Manufacturing Sexy Book Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karinlindner/
• Website: https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Mindset-Passion-Production-Executive-ebook/dp/B007Z4UJ7I

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

• Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent

Mako Design Links:

• Website: https://www.makodesign.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/

Kevin Mako Links:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/
• Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry’s leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about Mako Design + Invent!