We Design & Build Your Hardware

We design & manufacture
Industrial, medical, & consumer electronics
Small enough to fit in an oven

HQ in San Diego, CA. Manufacturing at our wholly-owned factories in Tijuana, Mexico and Dongguan, China.

Connor Bush

36 hours in San Francisco! 

Had a blast cruising around with Kassie Betts & Derek Jackson, MBA 

Great to get some on-site time with:
Dave S Desrochers Intercreate 
Jonathan Thai Hatch Duo LLC 

Super neat to see Optivolt IRL!

Bonus points for this city having some awesome gluten-free baked goods and epic sunrises for my morning run! 

Way too many cool hardware things happening in the bay area. Will be returning ASAP.

Connor Bush 🔋🖥📟

We Manufacture Your Hardware at Scale (USA, Mexico, & China) | Ecosystem, Pipeline & Partner Strategy

My microwave broke today. While shopping for a replacement, I realized it’s a perfect metaphor for the mistake many hardware teams make when vetting manufacturing partners.

Think about it:

The Baseline: It’s a given that a microwave must heat food. If it doesn't, it’s not a microwave. Similarly, a CM must be able to build your device. If they can’t meet the technical floor, they aren't in the conversation.

The Retail Experience: I looked at Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe's, Home Depot, and Amazon. The prices are all within 10-20%. Since the product and price are similar, I’m actually choosing based on the "parking lot" experience...

Is it easy to get to? What is the return policy? Is the customer service helpful when things go wrong? What else is in the neighborhood? Do I like to shop there? What other things are on my list? Do I have a rewards account? 

Here is where most founders get it wrong.

With a microwave, you buy it, take it home, and hopefully never talk to the retailer again. It’s a transaction.

A CM relationship is a marriage.

If you are just "spray and pray" quoting based on the lowest number, you are ignoring the parts of the equation that actually determine if your program succeeds:

The "Parking Lot": How is their logistics agility? Is it a nightmare to get materials in and out?

Customer Service: When a line stops, or a component goes EOL, do they answer the phone, or are you just a ticket number?

RMA & Warranty: How do they handle it when things go wrong? Because in hardware, they will.

Cultural Alignment: Do they actually care about your product, or are you just "filling a gap" in their capacity?

If you're picking a partner solely on the "heating food" part and the sticker price, you’re missing 80% of the value.

In a transaction, the parking lot is a convenience. In a CM partnership, the "parking lot" is your lifeline.

Don't just buy a microwave. Find a partner you actually want to be in the kitchen with for the next five years.

Last weekend I decided to build a storage rack system for the garage.

Drew up the plans.
Bought the lumber.
Cheaper than buying one.
Fun Saturday morning project for the kids and me.

It was step one in a master plan:
* Clear the yard > clear the garage > reorganize the house.

Everything staged. Ready to build.

Five minutes in… I realize my circular saw doesn’t have enough depth for the lumber. 

Facepalm.

Now it’s been a week.
I’m researching new saws.
Spending more than planned.
And the entire project is off schedule because of one 'tooling' oversight.

Too many parallels to hardware manufacturing.
You can have 99% of the components in place…
Missing one “insignificant” capacitor?
Whole build stops.

Tooling costs money.
Tooling takes time.
Test as you go.
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
I should have known better.

It’s CNY. Much of the supply chain is paused.

Which makes this your quarterly reminder:

If you want to ship in 2026, you should already be in motion.

Because it’s not just quoting and tooling.

It’s:

EVT / DVT / PVT.
Certifications.
Longest lead components.
Line setup.
Test fixtures. 
Packaging. 
Shipping. 
Tariffs. 

And then the things you didn’t know you forgot.

This isn’t urgency.

It’s math.

Physics and lead times remain undefeated.

Shoutout to the homie Mike Klein for the launch of Lens Lizard!

If you drive a vehicle, this product is for you!

Open article: Lens Lizard: A remote controlled backup camera cleaner by Mike Klein — Kickstarter by kickstarter.com

Lens Lizard: A remote controlled backup camera cleaner by Mike Klein — Kickstarter

One of the most common missteps I see first-time hardware innovators make:

They build their manufacturing timeline assuming everything will go to plan.

Which is interesting ... b/c in almost no other area of life do we assume a flawless first attempt. 

You do not expect to downhill mountain bike the first time you try to ride a bike.

You do not assume you'll set your campsite up perfectly the first time you go out. 

You do not enter a chili cookoff the first time you've ever made chili.

Yet, when it comes to electronic device manufacturing -- somthing full of firsts like:

- tooling
- NPI builds
- test fixture development 
- sourcing & procurement 
- certification testing
- packaging
- logistics

... the timeline is often built on the assumption that everything will go off without a hitch.

I see this most often when a founder commits to a lunch date for kickstart, a retail partner, or an investor expectation. 

** A HUGE COMMITMENT. 

Can a product go from greenlight to production in 6 months? 

Sure. 

But in reality, 8-12 months is far more common once iteration, supply chain friction, and testing are factored in. 

We don't plan for perfection is almost ANY other area of life.

So why do we do it with hardware? 

--------
*gets off soap box

Happy Friday 😅

I'm heading to ISC West! 

See you there?

#ISCwest #iscwest2026

We're excited to help celebrate Z-Wave Alliance's 15 Years in Monitored Security during their networking event at ISC West in Las Vegas! 

Will you be at ISC West? You can join in on the celebration too! Grab a cocktail, enjoy some tacos, and connect with fellow industry leaders and smart home innovators at this fun happy hour.

Details:
Wednesday, March 25 from 5 – 7 PM
Cañonita Restaurant in The Venetian Resort 
Free to attend — register in advance here: https://lnkd.in/gaPZP8BW

Sonos, Inc.

Senior Commercial Account Manager

InspireX - Software services for hardware manufacturers

Providing best in class software development for AV hardware manufacturers

Director of Business Development

MoxiWorks

As a member of the Mid Market team I work with Real Estate brokerages across the country advising how Moxiworks software can improve their processes, stay top of mind and ultimately sell more homes.

Account Executive

MGME

Business Development Director

PuroClean 

Sometimes you get the opportunity to try something totally new and exciting and after working in the technology and live events space for 8 years, I was recruited by senior leadership to join PuroClean.  

I served two roles in my time at PuroClean, the first on the operational side working directly with our franchise owners to optimize processes, culture, hiring and revenue.  Following this, I transitioned to the sales team to help with enablement and expansion efforts throughout the US. 

Very thankful for my time at PuroClean and the amazing team that put their servant leadership culture front and center every day.

Director Of Development

AP-Live

Driving strategic Account Growth for global clients, qualifying and identifying new prospects, building partnership opportunities to revolutionize how technology & collaboration services are delivered. 

AP Live exists to help our clients communicate their message.   With a variety of industries and channel partners from the pharmaceutical world to start-up technology firms, we strive to be an extension of your team.

Team Lead Account Executive

Business Development Manager

Lead execution of clients' events from the initial planning phase through budgeting, sourcing, design, and implementation.
Attendee counts from 15 to over 5000 across the United States and limited international events focused on advisory boards and marketing.

Project Manager

Technician

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment

Colorado's premier concert and sports venue, the arena has hosted legendary talents from Madonna to Kobe Bryant. 

-Deliver stunning and positive lighting show that enhances the experience for every patron of the Pepsi Center.

-Interface with concert tours and production staff to lead a successful and safe use of Pepsi center lighting equipment for concerts.  Additionally, operate arena lighting when needed.

-Brainstorm creative options for sports promotions.

-Work with television broadcast networks to deliver a brilliant visual experience for in home audiences 

-Ensure visual advertisements are presented in a dynamic and clear focus.

-Maintain lighting equipment for maximum delivery and effectiveness.

Lighting Director

National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCAR is where the worlds top minds in climate research come together to further understand our dynamic earth.  

-Enable and Improve the way our scientists present their academic findings thru various media platforms including audio and web conferences, powerpoint presentations and content creation.

-Utilize Unified Communication tools and platforms ranging from Crestron to Polycom to create a simple and consistent experience from the office to the board room and huddle spaces. 

-Provide technical direction on broadcasting speakers outside of NCAR, including camera direction and editing.

-Plan and implement meetings and general sessions from six to three hundred participants.  

-Serve as a resource to staff about new software programs and technology.

Technology Specialist

Up With People

Up with People is a global education company that utilizes the power of music to deliver a message of understanding and world peace thru a theatrical show consisting of 120 young people from 22 countries.  Each six month world tour sees 10,000 patrons over 3 continents.

-Maintain the artistic integrity of the lighting & video designer while on tour.  Provide lighting design and programming for country medleys and one off shows.

-Provide lighting & video direction for each show.

-Serve as Master Electrician for all show venues, dimmer hook up and electrical safety is followed in every instance.  

-In collaboration with the production team lead the set up & strike of the Up with People show safely and efficiently.  

-Service all lighting and video equipment.

Lighting & Video Technician

🎤 90s Hip Hop fanatic, Coffee Snob, and the world's worst hobby welder 🧑‍🏭

At InspireX, we are helping AV Product teams crush their goals and make their lives easier with our expert developers who know the AV industry.

🤝 PARTNERSHIPS | 📞 SALES | 💻 TECHNOLOGY | 👯‍♀️ RELATIONSHIPS

I've spent my professional career on these four aspects which have given me the opportunity to help countless brands and people communicate their message more vividly and with greater ease.  

I helped grow a small technology company from 1 client to over 20 enterprise pharmaceutical & tech accounts thru cold calling, partner relationships, targeted campaigns, and innovative sales tactics adding over $3M in revenue over 7 years.

Specialties in the area of selling SaaS, UC Solutions, Partnerships and Live events.  

A partial list of accounts include:
-SoftBank Vision Fund
-Gilead Sciences
-Ascendis Pharmaceutical
-Crestron
-Looker
-Truist (BB&T & Suntrust Merger)

I graduated from the University of Denver receiving my B.A. in Communications and International Studies.

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