2.S997/2.S979: Founder's Journey: Launching and Scaling Hardware Startups

2.S977 UG / 2.S979 G | 12 units (4-0-8),

TR 3-5 5-134

Find and activate your entrepreneurial energy, with a focus on hardware technologies and startup experiences of mechanical engineers. If you’re contemplating starting a company (or joining a startup) after your studies at MIT, come give it a try in this class. You will explore real-life challenges of hardware startups, with the help of mentors and leaders from the Boston tech ecosystem. Topics include: finding product-market fit; intellectual property negotiations; scaling up; addressing quality issues; and reaching strong gross margins. The class includes weekly conversations with distinguished founders in robotics, energy, 3D printing, consumer products, and other frontier technologies – both successful and unsuccessful.

Although we will cover the basics of new venture creation, this is not a class about writing a business plan. Rather, it’s about grasping the essence of the journey of an entrepreneur and startup leader, and understanding the mindset required to develop and scale a hardware product. Altogether, this class provides an exploration of leadership, innovation, and creativity as seen through the lens of a hardware startup founder.

Instructors: Marina Hatsopoulos, Ken Zolot, John Hart

Guest speakers include: Mick Mountz (Kiva/Amazon); Jon Hirschtick (Solidworks/Onshape); Max Lobovsky (Formlabs); Elise Strobach (Aeroshield); Greg Mark (Markforged); John Hart (VulcanForms); Seemantini Nadkarni (Coalesenz); Eran Egozy (Harmonix); Renuka Babu (DOTS Technology); Davide Marini (Inkbit); Loewen Cavill (Amira); and Colin Angle (iRobot).