What It Takes to Build a Hardware Startup: Vincent Martinez on Scaling Real Tech

In this week's episode we dive deep into hardware entrepreneurship: Vincent Martinez shares what it actually takes to build and scale a physical product company in a software-first world. From his early PhD research to the successful acquisition of Nanoleq, this episode is packed with raw insights founders need to hear.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why building hardware is 10x harder – and how to survive it

• The real cost of scaling: team, machines, funding, and founder sanity

• How to go from technology to product to full-stack business

• Hiring for innovation: balancing scrappy early teams with experienced specialists

• What most founders get wrong when prepping for an acquisition

• Advice for PhDs and deep tech researchers considering a startup path

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