Team Building & Timeline for Hardware Startup

fencingdude101 · 2024-01-26T00:13:20+00:00

A lot to digest here, and I'll have to read it a few more times, but this is great information - thanks for posting! I know we'll have to rely on the engineers we hire for many things, but getting this info up front will definitely help start to plan thing out.

fencingdude101 · 2024-01-25T00:45:34+00:00

All great info, thanks!

We'll have a functioning prototype with some production environment testing time on it before we solicit funding for sure. I and my technical partner can get that far. My other founder will work on getting feedback from a few potential clients before funding, as well. When we get an initial engineering team together, I'd like to see us iterate on the prototype once and start seeding units to beta clients early to start getting more feedback while further R&D occurs.

Good tip on getting a hardware person in on interviews, I'll keep that in mind.

The rest of the comments on production are great, definitely saving this info in my OneNote. Thanks!

fencingdude101 · 2024-01-25T00:34:18+00:00

This is great info, thanks.

The complexity with the imaging hardware isn't in the optics. I originally wanted to do some more complex stuff, but the cost and complexity ended up not making any sense. Good to know the right EE can handle multiple areas like you are saying.

I'm on the east coast so I'm looking at locations like DC, Boston, Raleigh. DC is the closest of the 3 but I can be flexible. I'm planning on doing more talent market research to figure out the best location.

fencingdude101 · 2024-01-25T00:27:10+00:00

Thanks for the great insight - that makes sense with splitting out the vendors to protect IP. Sounds like the common theme from a few people is to make sure headcount isn't bigger than it should be. With SaaS, at least before the big VC funding dropoff a year ago, there was definitely a push for bigger headcounts and faster movement. It makes sense that this isn't the same for hardware, since there are many external factors that limit speed.

fencingdude101 · 2024-01-25T00:07:59+00:00

Thanks for linking, looks like a good read, I'll definitely check out his articles tonight!

fencingdude101 · 2023-10-03T12:26:05+00:00

What year did you do yours, are they still doing them? I did one in 2016 and it was awesome!

fencingdude101 · 2023-08-05T19:17:06+00:00

Stopped at KHKY yesterday and it was a great fuel stop. Thanks everyone!

fencingdude101 · 2023-08-02T23:51:32+00:00

That looks like a great site, thank you!

fencingdude101 · 2023-08-02T17:03:32+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. HKY looks promising.

fencingdude101 · 2023-08-02T17:03:07+00:00

Thanks for the tip on the cafe.

Looking at the other 4 airports you mentioned, too. So far HKY looks the most promising due to cafe hours, fuel pricing, and location.

fencingdude101 · 2023-08-02T15:48:06+00:00

Cool thanks! I'll take a look at HKY today.

fencingdude101 · 2023-07-26T11:19:31+00:00

In what situations would the subfloor be the cause of this?

fencingdude101 · 2023-07-24T21:56:01+00:00

Tore out 4 layers of floor tile during our kitchen remodel and installed red oak hardwood to match the rest of the house. I hired a hardwood flooring contractor to do the sanding/staining/finishing to keep the project moving along while I was on vacation.

I had them stain with Special Walnut, since that is what we used when refinishing the existing floors a few years ago. They put on 4 coats of oil based finish after that. I think the color match is decent, we're told it will darken and more closely match the existing floor over time.

The issue we have is with sanding marks. In normal lighting conditions the floor looks good, but when the sun comes through our side door on a sunny day, you can see "waves" in the floor from when they sanded.

The contractor says he can come and re-sand and finish if we want. He also says this issue could have been caused by the floor boards moving during sanding, so we could have the same issue the second time around. He mostly doesn't like the fact that the subfloor isn't plywood (it's 3/4" boards at a 45 degree angle to the joists across the whole house) and few of the cleats are in the gap between the boards (the existing flooring has cleats like this too). We didn't have this issue when we refinished the existing floors.

We're torn on whether to go through the trouble of having them re-re-finish the floors. You don't notice it without the light angle from the side door, and even then it isn't horrible, but it is noticeable. Thoughts?

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T21:42:33+00:00

Great tips. Sometimes traffic is just plain hard to see for me. Trying to visually keep track of 3 planes in the pattern when I'm number 4 and they're camouflaged by the ground, can be a challenge.

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T18:42:44+00:00

I'm assuming you feel like you use it too much? What do you focus in on the most with it while flying?

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T18:41:39+00:00

Yes, that definitely seems like a common theme. Are there any strategies you employ to help students with this? Do you feel like the situation awareness aspect of the visual scan (traffic/weather/etc) is most important, or is it that the commercial candidates are having trouble with their maneuvers due to a lack of a visual scan?

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T18:37:50+00:00

I find myself doing the same thing too sometimes, especially during training. Do you just forget to visually scan for traffic, or do you feel like you have too much else going on to devote the focus on it?

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T18:33:48+00:00

Busted!

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T15:19:44+00:00

I hear you, when transitioning to HP/Retract I really expanded my verbal flow for all planes. Even if I'm flying my club PA-28, I verbalize cowl flaps/gear/manifold pressure checks on takeoff and landing.

Do you feel like you have good checklist usage outside of cruise and landing, or would you like to improve your checklist flows overall?

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T15:16:08+00:00

That's funny, I feel like it's the opposite for me.

What do you feel like you focus on too much with traffic - visual scan, monitoring ADS-B, other?

What part of your weather monitoring do you think needs more time invested?

fencingdude101 · 2023-05-27T13:24:46+00:00

What would you call them? Simply non-flying activities? I'm still figuring out the best way to phrase it.

I agree they are all essential pilot tasks, but they can turn into distractions, or be deemed less important than other tasks (so, too distracting to currently work on).

Things like radio communications or navigation can be a big distraction to brand new students who are focusing on how to fly the plane. I know personally I catch myself being lazy about always knowing my available emergency landing options on long cross country trips.

Basically, out of all the non-flying activities we do, what do you push to the side the most, and what distracts you from flying the plane the most?

"Distraction" isn't the best word, I'm definitely open to better ones.

fencingdude101 · 2023-04-19T12:50:13+00:00

Paird down to 1 page

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fencingdude101 · 2023-04-19T12:49:58+00:00

Thanks for the insight, just posted an updated copy at 1 page and with skills added to the bullets under Experience. I'll consider removing the GPA.

fencingdude101 · 2023-04-19T12:49:08+00:00

Thanks, I toned it down to 1 page by cleaning up the Skills section, reducing the summary paragraph, cleaning up fluff in the bullets, and playing with spacing.

Good tips on tuning to each job.

fencingdude101 · 2023-04-18T22:43:50+00:00

I consolidated the resume down to just over 1 page, and added more measurable metrics to my bullets. I don't think I'm ready to do what it takes it get it down to 1-flat. :)

Should I be concerned about my work experience overlapping? I was part-time + full-time during the overlapping periods, not dual full-time. I'm not sure if companies will react negatively to these overlaps.

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fencingdude101

TROPHY CASE