Christian Reed, CEO of Reekon Tools, shares how he bootstrapped a hardware company from a side project to a multi-million dollar (8 figure) business without any VC funding. Learn how a $1.2M Kickstarter campaign validated his digital tape measure, the manufacturing lessons from his time at Formlabs, and how 30 minutes of daily social media posting built a 3 million-follower audience.

Key Topics:

• Turning a side project into a viable business through Kickstarter validation
• Why bootstrapping forces better discipline than VC funding
• Finding and vetting contract manufacturers as a startup
• Building 3M+ social media followers with consistency and raw content
• Overcoming user adoption challenges in traditional construction industry
• Hardware horror story: When your chip supplier's factory literally burns down
• Why engineers need to think like entrepreneurs, not just inventors

What You'll Learn:

• How to scale hardware manufacturing without VC backing
• Proven social media strategies for B2C hardware products
• The importance of focusing on product benefits over features
• Why marketing is often harder than engineering in hardware
• How to build authentic brand presence in traditional industries

Connect & Learn More:

• Follow the show’s Substack for hardware tools, frameworks, and tips: https://substack.com/@thebuildercircle
• Reach out to our LinkedIn Page if you have any topics you'd like for us to do a deep dive in!

Music by: Tom Stoke

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