We're reposting this episode following major news: Pebble officially relaunched its companion app on iOS and Android, bringing exciting and new apps and watch faces to both new Pebble devices and original watches. The Pebble 2 Duo has begun shipping to customers who preordered earlier this year.
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
Founders in Arms 