In this episode of Why Design, Sid Shaikh shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that the hardest engineering problems are the right ones to go after, and that the difference between a startup that scales and one that stalls is almost always about whether the team is solving the actual bottleneck or just the comfortable one.

Rather than staying in large corporations where the problems were well-defined and the teams were fully resourced, Sid has spent his career choosing the inflection point: the moment a company has something that works and needs to figure out how to make it real. That decision led him to Ocado when it was still thought of as a grocer, through a company administration at Hypertunnel, and eventually to Fieldwork Robotics, where he is now CTO building a raspberry-picking robot designed to operate in polytunnels across three continents.

This conversation is about what honest engineering leadership looks like when the stakes are high and the answers aren't in any textbook.

Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign

What You'll Learn

• Why a reachability analysis of berry height, depth, and obstacles explained six months of performance data that improvements to the vision and motion stack simply couldn't shift
• How Fieldwork moved from project-based trials to Harvest as a Service, charging per kilo picked rather than per machine deployed
• Why Ocado's engineering team broke down at around 50 people, and what the right structure looks like when you need doers more than managers
• What Sid learned from Hypertunnel's administration about solving your own part of the stack brilliantly while the harder problem next door stands still
• How AI is being layered across the pick stack, from ripeness classification to berry-level yield forecasting that tells a farm operator exactly when to come back
• What Sid actually looks for when hiring engineers: not a list of CAD packages or coding languages, but the attitude to work from a blank sheet and the drive to pivot without freezing

Memorable Quotes

"I've never heard anybody say you over-communicate."

"We went to suppliers and they laughed at us. And then the outcomes are there."

"The endless prototype is the sign a robotics startup is heading for trouble."

"If the horse next to you in the horse race isn't catching up, you're not going to be successful."

"People in automation mix very well."

Resources and Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon -> whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🔗 Explore Fieldwork Robotics -> fieldworkrobotics.com

🔗 Connect with Sid Shaikh -> [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sid-shaikh]

About the Episode

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.

About Kodu

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.

We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership - bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

In this episode of Why Design, Rob Hallifax shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that half the country has been left behind by clean energy, and that the right physical product can change that. Rob is co-founder of Windfall Energy, a company building a compact home battery specifically for renters and flat-dwellers, the people for whom solar panels, heat pumps and big home batteries have never been a realistic option.

Rather than building another clean tech product for homeowners with garages and south-facing roofs, Rob and his co-founder designed something different: a 2.5 kWh battery that orders online, arrives by courier, and automatically charges on cheap overnight electricity to power your home during expensive peak hours. That decision, to start with who was excluded rather than who already had options, led to Bethnal Green Ventures backing the company, conversations with major UK energy providers, and a pre-order campaign launching in early 2025.

This conversation isn't about home energy storage.

It's about who clean technology is designed for, and who it quietly ignores.

This conversation isn't about Kickstarter tactics.

It's about what a decade of crowdfunding campaigns teaches you about making products people actually want.

Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign

6c. What You'll Learn

1. Why roughly half of UK homes are structurally excluded from every clean energy product on the market, and what it takes to build for that gap.
2. How the economics of battery cells and electricity pricing have only recently made a product like Windfall viable, and why timing matters as much as the idea itself.
3. Why Rob treats the industrial design of a home battery as a commercial priority, not an afterthought, and how that shapes every decision from designer brief to product form.
4. Why Windfall leads on saving money rather than saving the planet, and what it means that cheap and green electricity are effectively the same thing on the UK grid.
5. How a B2B2C strategy through energy companies solves distribution, tariff integration and end-user complexity in one move.
6. What a decade of Kickstarter campaigns actually teaches you about validating physical products, building audiences before launch, and knowing when to walk away from something that is not working.

Memorable Quotes

"We thought, what can we make for the people who've been left behind? Effectively half the country."

"The making of the thing is kind of the easy bit. The hard bit is always finding customers, making a product that people actually want."

"If you're not embarrassed by your first product launch, you've waited too long."

"In terms of marketing stuff, we lead on saving money and the green thing is more than just a happy bonus. They are definitely tightly integrated."

"You need to know when something's not going to work and be prepared to kill it. That can be hard, especially when it's your own."

Resources and Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🔗 Explore Windfall Energy -> windfallenergy.com

🔗 Connect with Rob Hallifax -> robhallifax.com , LinkedIn

About the Episode

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.

About Kodu

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.

We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

In this episode of Why Design?, Liz McGloughlin shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: that hardware problems worth solving are the ones nobody has bothered to solve yet, and that the best place to find them is not a trend report but an operating room.

Rather than following a conventional route into medical devices through engineering alone, Liz brought a clinical lens to a design problem, co-founding Tympany Medical after watching surgeons work around tools that were slowing them down, damaging their bodies, and limiting what they could see.

That decision led to a startup building the first variable-angle, single-use rigid endoscope platform, backed by clinicians at some of the most respected hospitals in the world.

This conversation is not about disruption for its own sake.

It is about the discipline of needs-led innovation: what it means to validate a problem before you fall in love with a solution.

It is about building hardware in a jurisdiction that gives you support but not quite enough, and staying in the game anyway.

It is about what kind of person survives the founding years of a medical device company with two small children at home and no desire to work weekends.

Listen in on this exclusive episode.

Join the Why Design? community - teamkodu.com/whydesign

What You'll Learn

1. 🔬 Why needs-led innovation, not trend spotting, produces the problems worth solving in MedTech.
2. 🛠 How the MVP model must be reframed in a regulated industry, and what the real test cycle looks like.
3. 💡 Why customer conversations in 2023 narrowed Tympany's engineering roadmap and made the product more attainable.
4. ⚖️ What it actually costs to be a hardware founder with young children, and why delegation is a pay equity issue.
5. 🏥 How to build clinical credibility from Galway with surgeons at Mayo Clinic, UPenn, and Johns Hopkins.
6. 🤝 What Liz looks for in early hires, and why character and cultural instinct matter more than CV at the founding stage.

Memorable Quotes

"I fundamentally believe that if we stop developing hardware, we're ghosts."

"Instinct is a combination of knowledge and a community around you. I don't think it happens in isolation."

"The first people in the door are make or break."

"Keep talking to your customers. We were sending prototypes to clinicians, and we still couldn't nail whether we were getting it right. You have to keep going back."

"I sat in the front room of a house with no furniture, on the phone to Rory, and I thought: hold on, this could go anywhere."

Resources and Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon - whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design? community - teamkodu.com/whydesign

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes - https://www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte - linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🔗 Explore Tympany Medical - tympanymedical.com

🔗 Connect with Liz McGloughlin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-mcgloughlin/

About the Episode

Why Design? is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.

About Kodu

Why Design? is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.

We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

🔗 Learn more - teamkodu.com

Build a design identity so thoroughly baked into the product that no one can ever cost-optimise it out?

In this episode of Why Design, Dan Salisbury shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that design isn't a layer you apply at the end, it's the structure you build from the inside, or it's nothing at all.

Rather than staying in consultancy, Dan chose to go in-house at Automata with no design team, no established language, and no precedent for what industrial design should mean in a lab automation company.

That decision led to three years of proof.

This conversation isn't about having the right portfolio.

It's about having the conviction to demonstrate value when no one has thought to ask for it.

It's about the specific decisions, a shade of pink, a custom extrusion, a studio photography budget, that turn a product into a statement.

This time we go beyond the fancy gadgets

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign

What You'll Learn

1. Why industrial design in deep tech isn't about aesthetics, it's about trust, proof, and permanence
2. How Dan survived almost failing probation by doubling down on his actual strengths instead of copying others
3. What presenting to Dieter Rams at 25 taught him about confidence, preparation, and the value of being in the room
4. Why form following function is a design philosophy and a strategy for making your work impossible to remove
5. How to build a design language when your manufacturing constraints are brutal and your volumes are low
6. What a properly considered product launch looks like, and why most B2B companies never bother to try

Memorable Quotes

"Any advice I'd give to anyone is just: stick to your strengths. Don't try and be like other designers because everyone's different in how they approach problems."

"The felt, tip fairy thing, I've heard it more times than I can count. And the answer is always the same: show them. Don't explain. Show them."

"I built the design identity into the extrusion itself. The horizontal lines, the light gap, they're functional. You can't remove them without removing the product."

"The job advert said 'industrial design' in the title. It talked about the impact. I applied within about five minutes of reading it."

"The V2 launch was the proudest moment of my career. I sat there surrounded by studio shots and render posters and I thought, yeah. That's it. That's what this was for."

Resources & Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes → www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🔗 Explore Automata → automata.tech

🔗 Connect with Dan on LinkedIn → Dan Salisbury

About the Episode

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.

About Kodu

Kodu is a specialist recruitment partner dedicated to physical product development. We connect hardware brands and design consultancies with the very best design and engineering talent, from Industrial Designers and Mechanical Engineers to senior leaders across Product, Technology, and Design.

Our clients range from well-funded start-ups and scale-ups under investor pressure to deliver, through to mature enterprises building new innovation teams. They often face the same challenges: scaling beyond generalists, attracting talent without a recognised employer brand, or struggling with slow, inconsistent hiring processes.

We solve these hiring problems with a proven 7-stage recruitment framework, a proprietary hardware network, and storytelling that builds trust with candidates. This results in a faster, smoother, and more engaging hiring experience.

Kodu consistently delivers results that exceed expectations, with an average time-to-offer of 6 weeks, 97% retention after 12 months, and an all-time NPS of +91 (versus the recruitment industry average of +30).

We act as trusted partners, helping hardware innovators hire better, scale faster, and bring groundbreaking products to market.

🔗 Learn more - teamkodu.com

In this episode of Why Design, Tess Cosad shares the belief that sits at the heart of Béa Fertility: that compassionate, clinical-grade care should be available to everyone, not just those who can afford a private clinic, survive a two-year waiting list, or live near the right postcode.

Rather than accepting the gap between DIY conception and IVF, Tess chose to fill it.

That decision led her through 283 investor pitches, a chronic health condition brought on by founder stress, and a phone call from a user in her hospital bed, the day after emergency surgery, who said she wanted to try again.

This conversation isn’t about fertility as a product category.

It’s about design as access.

Design as dignity.

Design as a force that changes what’s possible for real people, in real pain, right now.

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.

In this episode we’ll learn

1. Why intracervical insemination existed before IVF, and why it took a lockdown founder to bring it home
2. How lived experience, not research studies, solved the product’s biggest usability problem in a single session
3. Why compassion and levity aren’t soft brand choices, they’re clinical design decisions
4. What 283 investor rejections reveal about structural bias in venture capital, and how to keep going anyway
5. How Béa is building for the US market, and why it’s already outperforming revenue forecasts by nearly 100%
6. Why the hardest part of scaling isn’t the product, it’s the loneliness, the letting go, and the coping mechanisms that actually work

Memorable Quotes

“I want to try again.”

“You can’t do your entire career on level 10 difficulty and not come out of it better at your job.”

“283 pitches to close 15. That’s the fundraising reality of femtech.”

“She flipped the diagram. And that was it. One session.”

“Make decisions fast”, the advice I ignored too long.”

Resources & Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon - whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community - teamkodu.com/whydesign

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram & TikTok

📸 Follow @kodurecruitment on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes - YouTube

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn - Mr Chris Whyte

🔗 Explore Béa Fertility - beafertility.com

🔗 Connect with Tess Cosad - tess@beafertility.com / LinkedIn

About the Why Design

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it, the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.

About Kodu

Kodu is a specialist recruitment partner dedicated to physical product development.

We connect hardware brands and design consultancies with the very best design and engineering talent, from Industrial Designers and Mechanical Engineers to senior leaders across Product, Technology, and Design.

Our clients range from well-funded start-ups and scale-ups under investor pressure to deliver, through to mature enterprises building new innovation teams. They often face the same challenges: scaling beyond generalists, attracting talent without a recognized employer brand, or struggling with slow, inconsistent hiring processes.

We solve these hiring problems with a proven 7-stage recruitment framework, a proprietary hardware network, and storytelling that builds trust with candidates. This results in a faster, smoother, and more engaging hiring experience.

Kodu consistently delivers results that exceed expectations, with an average time-to-offer of 6 weeks, 97% retention after 12 months, and an all-time NPS of +91 (versus the recruitment industry average of +30).

We act as trusted partners, helping hardware innovators hire better, scale faster, and bring groundbreaking products to market.

🔗 Learn more - teamkodu.com

For Mark Sanders, the answer isn’t the category, it’s the thinking.

In this episode of Why Design, Mark joins host Chris Whyte to reflect on a career that spans more than four decades of designing, engineering, and inventing across radically different industries. From his early work as a mechanical engineer at Rolls-Royce, to retraining at the Royal College of Art, to licensing over 100 commercialised products, Mark’s work is united by a clear philosophy: elegance through simplicity.

This is a conversation about reducing part count, designing for manufacture, and understanding why the earliest design decisions matter more than almost anything that follows. Mark shares lessons from licensing the Strida folding bike, working with manufacturers, and inventing products where cost, reliability, and accessibility truly matter.

It’s not a conversation about trends or scale.

It’s about invention as a craft, and design as responsibility.

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

💡 What You’ll Learn

⚙️ Why radically different products often share the same design principles

🧠 How simplicity creates elegance across engineering and design

🔩 Why reducing part count improves reliability, cost, and longevity

🚲 Lessons from designing and licensing the Strida folding bike

✈️ What designing electric ultralight aircraft teaches about safety and systems thinking

🧪 Why concept design decisions shape everything downstream

💬 Memorable Quotes

“Concept design is everything. If you get that wrong, you’re fixing it forever downstream.”

“Good design isn’t about adding features. It’s about fewer parts doing more work.”

“Elegance means something to engineers and designers, and that’s why it matters.”

“If you only design for the elite, you’re not designing for people.”

“Invention isn’t a career for security. It’s a career for curiosity.”

🔗 Resources & Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

🌐 Explore Mark Sanders’ work → https://www.mas-design.com

🔗 Follow Mark Sanders on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark77a/

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte

About the Episode

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it, and how their thinking holds up across industries and time.

About Kodu

Kodu is a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product-led businesses.

We help teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership, bringing structure, clarity, and long-term thinking to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

The design businesses that last aren’t built through speed.

They’re built through discipline.

Through showing up consistently.

Through making careful decisions when shortcuts are tempting.

Through taking responsibility for outcomes, not just ideas.

In this episode of Why Design, Paul Metaxatos, Principal and Owner of Motiv Design, joins host Chris Whyte to unpack what it actually takes to build a consultancy that endures, not just commercially, but creatively and personally.

Paul shares his journey from industrial designer to business owner, and why Motive Design has prioritised steady relationships, clear judgement, and long-term thinking over chasing size or short-term wins. It’s a candid conversation about restraint, responsibility, and staying committed to the work even when growth is uneven or unglamorous.

This episode isn’t about scaling for the sake of it.

It’s about the quiet discipline required to build trust, credibility, and a business that lasts.

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

💡 What You’ll Learn

🤝 Why relationships are the real currency of consultancy life

🧠 How trust is built slowly through judgement, honesty, and consistency

🏗️ What running a design consultancy actually demands beyond creative output

💬 Why communication and expectation-setting matter as much as ideas

📉 Why not all growth is good growth, and how to recognise the difference

🎯 How staying in the work, not chasing scale, shapes better long-term outcomes

💬 Memorable Quotes

“There’s little doubt the number one thing is the relationship. That is currency.”

“You’re in the ring. This is what you’re going to be doing, and you don’t step out unless something really massive happens.”

“Design is a conversation. There are always solutions, big and small.”

“If you want design to have influence, it has to carry responsibility.”

“People are the biggest challenge, and the biggest opportunity.”

🔗 Resources & Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Explore Motive Design → http://www.the-motiv.com/

🔗 Connect with Paul Metaxatos → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-metaxatos-037838/

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte

About the Episode

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it, and what that means for teams, careers, and leadership.

About Kodu

Kodu is a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product-led businesses.

We help founders and teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership with structure, clarity, and care.

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

In this episode of Why Design, Tylan Tschopp shares a belief that sits at the heart of his career: that design, when combined with engineering rigour and ownership, has the power to shape better products, better teams, and ultimately, better outcomes for people.

Rather than choosing between design or engineering, Tylan chose the space in between. That decision led him to roles defined by responsibility, momentum and scale where success wasn’t measured by aesthetics alone, but by execution, standards and the willingness to step forward when things were unfinished.

This conversation isn’t about design as decoration.

It’s about design as leadership.

Design as systems thinking.

Design as a force that should influence how we build, decide and deliver.

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

What You’ll Learn

🌍 Why Tylan believes design deserves a seat at the highest level of decision-making

🧠 How hybrid thinking between design and engineering creates better outcomes

🎯 Why ownership, not job titles, accelerates careers and teams

⚙️ What the “last three percent” of execution really demands

👥 How to build product teams around growth, standards and ambition

📈 Why scale exposes weak thinking and sharpens good design

Memorable Quotes

“I believe design should take over the world.”

“It was probably 99% me going and asking.”

“We’re here to build rock stars only.”

“That last three percent might take just as much time as the first ninety-seven percent.”

“I debated between the two professions coming out of high school… design and engineering.”

Resources & Links

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🔗🔍 Explore Westinghouse Electric Corporation → http://www.westinghouse.com/

🔗 Connect with Tylan Tschopp→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylan-tschopp-093ab67/

About the Episode

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.

About Kodu

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.

We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

For Paul Marshall, it’s all part of the same journey: a lifelong fascination with how things work, and a belief that good engineering can solve meaningful problems. 

Paul is the co-founder of Rapid Fluidics, a UK consultancy and prototyping company specialising in microfluidic cartridges. What began as a part-time side project; evenings, weekends and two 3D printers in a rented room has grown into a profitable, globally recognised business serving life sciences startups, research labs and multinational pharma companies. 

But the part that makes Paul’s story compelling isn’t the technology. 

It’s the honesty: 

He never wanted to be a founder. 

He never set out to run a business. 

And yet here he is, leading a team, travelling the world for client meetings, navigating cash flow, BD, branding, and hiring… all while staying open, self-aware and disarmingly human about the whole thing. 

In this episode of Why Design, Paul joins host Chris Whyte to unpack the journey: the technical foundations, the unexpected turns, the small risks, the networking habits, the content strategy, the international expansion, and what it really means to grow a niche hardware business without investment. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. 

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

💡 What You’ll Learn 

🧪 Why microfluidics is exploding, and how Rapid Fluidics carved out a niche 

🎓 How a grandfather, Lego and curiosity shaped Paul’s engineering mindset  

🚀 The step-by-step transition from contractor → founder → employer 

📈 Why transparency about cash flow builds trust inside a team 

🔗 How LinkedIn and trade shows built a global BD pipeline 

🇸 How Paul is expanding into the US without losing his UK roots 

💬 Why the best founders “make it up as they go along”, and why that’s okay  

💬 Memorable Quotes 

“I wanted to see how machines work. I wanted to design machines… building things, breaking things, probably more breaking than building.” 

“If an engineer can design a solution to a problem, it doesn’t matter if it’s a 36-inch pipe or a 200-micron pipe.” 

“Six months in, we hired our first intern… and that’s when I realised: if I’m going to have employees full time, I need to do this full time.” 

“I’m making it up as I go along but as long as I’m one page ahead, that’s all that matters.” 

“You can’t beat sitting in a room showing people what we can make and watching the lightbulb moment.” 

🔗 Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔍 Explore Rapid Fluidics → https://www.rapidfluidics.com/ 

🔗 Connect with Paul Marshall → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-marshall-rapid-fluidics/ 

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 

🔗 Connect with Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product development industry. 

Through candid conversations with designers, engineers and founders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups. We help teams hire world-class talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

For Will Butler-Adams, it became the start of a 20-year journey transforming Brompton from a tiny, chaotic workshop into one of Britain’s most recognisable global brands. 

Today, Brompton bikes are commonplace in cities across the world. But when Will joined in 2002, the company had “a stock turn of one… tons and tons of racking pallets… and squeezed in the edges where people actually adding value.”  

In this episode of Why Design, Will joins host Chris Whyte for a rare look behind the scenes at what it actually takes to grow a purpose-led engineering business without compromising on quality, trust or long-term thinking. 

This is an episode about risk, leadership, hiring, confidence, perspective… and why the world’s most efficient vehicle is still a bicycle. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. 

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign

💡 What You’ll Learn 

🚲 Why Brompton’s mission is urban freedom for happier lives, not bikes 

🎯 The leadership mindset that helped grow Brompton from a small team to a global brand 

💬 Why Will believes most people “worry too much about everything” at work 

💼 The danger of chasing growth too quickly, and why patience beats hyper-scaling 

🧭 Why hiring “perfect people” is a mistake, and why a “motley crew” builds better products 

🔥 How innovation accelerates when you embrace risk and disorder 

🧠 Why the next era of engineering belongs to designers who can think beyond their job titles 

💬 Memorable Quotes 

“Opportunity passes us all the time… The challenge is whether we're prepared to get off our ass and grab it.” 

“Most people regret not taking enough risk. Very few regret taking it.” 

“Perfect doesn’t deliver innovation. It’s the imperfection, the grit in the oyster, that creates the pearl.” 

“Purpose is important, but it must be in parallel with profit. Without profit, you have no business.” 

“The role of the leader is not to create order… it’s to create disorder.” 

“We're not selling a bike. We're selling freedom; health, wellbeing, exploring, decluttering your mind.”  

🔗 Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 

🔗 Explore Brompton → http://www.brompton.com/ 

🔗 Connect with Will Butler-Adams → https://www.linkedin.com/in/eur-ing-will-butler-adams-obe-freng-ceng-frgs-fcgi-fimeche-b05651b/ 

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. 

Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the belief, doubt and persistence behind meaningful innovation. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product-led start-ups. 

We help founders and teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

For Rémi, founder of Diplik, they’re all stops on a creative journey that ultimately led to Bitpong; a tech-enhanced, interactive ping-pong table that feels equal parts sport, art installation, and arcade. 

From early ambitions in car design to studying industrial design in northern France, to guest lecturing and building his own hardware studio in Berlin, Rémi’s story is a reminder that creative careers rarely move in straight lines. Bitpong didn’t emerge from a sudden idea. It came from years of exploring where technology meets physical experience. 

In this episode of Why Design, host Chris Whyte sits down with Rémi to explore the realities of building a hardware product in 2025, the compromises that shape every designer, and why the best ideas still begin with curiosity. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. 

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

💡 What You’ll Learn 

🎨 Why design often begins as a “compromise” between art and engineering 

💡 How a single furniture exhibition changed the trajectory of Rémi’s career 

🎮 The design story behind Bitpong and what makes playful products so hard to build 

🏓 Why running a small hardware company requires resilience, iteration and long-term thinking 

🧰 The role of cross-functional collaboration in bringing interactive products to life 

💬 Memorable Quotes 

“Design became the bridge between engineering and creativity, the compromise that made sense.” 

“You need inspiring things early on. A drill doesn’t make you want to become a designer.” 

“When I say I studied design, what I really mean is I found a way to mix creativity, technology and play.” 

“Building hardware isn’t just about the product. It’s about what it takes to keep going.” 

🔗 Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Connect with Rémi → https://www.linkedin.com/in/remi-bigot-03101a5/ 

🔍 Explore Diplik → http://www.bit-pong.com/ 

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. 

Through candid conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. 

We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

For Joachim, it’s the same mission: design technology that feels intuitive, human, and full of possibility. 

With a career spanning Brussels, Copenhagen and London, and now as co-founder of FutureWave, Joachim has spent the past six years building a 25-strong design and engineering studio working across mobility, consumer tech and deep electronics. From shaping early concepts for startup disruptors to helping global brands reimagine their five-to-ten-year vision, his work sits at the intersection of creativity, engineering, and intuition.  

In this episode of Why Design, Joachim joins host Chris Whyte to explore what happens when designers and engineers stop working in silos and start behaving like one organism. Together they unpack his “human generative design” philosophy, why intuition still matters in a world obsessed with data, and how FutureWave is helping clients design experiences fit for the next decade of hardware.  

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. 

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

💡 What You’ll Learn 

🧠 Why great design blends poetry and industry, and why Joachim believes designers act as the “glue” between disciplines. 

🌍 How FutureWave breaks hardware silos to deliver desirability, feasibility and viability in one loop. 

🔁 What “human generative design” looks like, and why iteration and cross-functional filtering beats isolated brainstorming. 

🚲 Lessons from working with startups vs. corporates from rapid prototyping to de-risking long-term innovation. 

🚆 Where hardware is heading from mobility transformation to miniaturised wellbeing tech and robotics. 

💭 Why intuition still matters in a world dominated by metrics, risk models and strategy decks. 

💬 Memorable Quotes 

“Designers are never experts of anything… but they’re the glue.” 

“Intuition helps you build dreams, strategy and engineering help you de-risk them.” 

“You need diversity of minds to build a great product. It works like an organism.” 

“Sometimes the market doesn’t know what it wants until you show it the experience.” 

“The future of hardware is invisible tech; seamless, human, and meaningful.” 

🔗 Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Connect with Joachim → https://www.linkedin.com/in/joachim-froment-a1920456/ 

🔗 View Joachim's portfolio → joachimfroment.com

🌐 FutureWave → https://www.futurewave.eu/ 

📸 Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 

🎥 Full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. 

Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. 

We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

For Rich Thrush, it’s all part of the same mission: to make products people love to use. 

With a career spanning Hasbro, Motorola, Helen of Troy, and now Guitar Center, Rich has led design and innovation teams across some of the world’s most recognisable brands. From developing Braun’s non-contact thermometer to Revlon’s One-Step Volumizer, his work has shaped how millions interact with everyday products. 

In this episode of Why Design, Rich joins host Chris Whyte to unpack the art and strategy of leading innovation across multiple brands, and why the best ideas start not with technology, but with people. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

💡 What You’ll Learn 

🧠 How cross-functional curiosity fuels innovation in any industry 

🎯 Why “asking why”, five times, leads to better design decisions 

⚙️ Lessons from managing a portfolio of global consumer brands 

📱 How Motorola’s success (and Apple’s disruption) shaped Rich’s leadership mindset 

🎸 Why Guitar Center’s new era of product innovation is rooted in community and passion 

💬 Memorable Quotes 

“Ideas come from people. The trick is knowing how to create the conditions for them to appear.” 

“Even if you have 90% market share, you still need to be inventing the next thing.” 

“Great design isn’t just about form, it’s about understanding what people actually need, even when they can’t say it.” 

“You don’t buy a drill. You buy a hole in the wall. But really, you’re buying what goes in that hole; meaning.” 

🔗 Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Connect with Rich Thrush → https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-thrush/ 

📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. 

Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. 

We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

For Dr Vicky Lofthouse, sustainability isn’t a checkbox or a materials swap, it’s a mindset shift. 

As a designer, educator and now founder of En-Able Sustainability, she’s spent over two decades helping companies move past the buzzwords and into the messy, meaningful reality of sustainable product design. 

In this episode of Why Design, Vicky joins Chris Whyte to explore what sustainability really looks like in practice; from balancing carbon impact with commercial constraints to understanding why context matters more than any single material choice. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn  

🌍 Why “make it sustainable” is the wrong brief 

⚙️ How context defines what “better” actually means 

🔁 What circular design looks like in real product teams 

🧠 Why less plastic isn’t always the right answer 

📈 How evidence beats assumptions in sustainable decision-making 

💡 The mindset shift every designer and engineer needs to make 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “Sustainability isn’t a checklist, it’s a mindset.” 

💬 “Sometimes the right answer isn’t the obvious one.” 

💬 “Context changes everything.” 

💬 “I help companies integrate sustainability and circularity into what they do, not just what they make.” 

💬 “Progress doesn’t start with perfection; it starts with questions.” 

Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🌿 Learn more about Enable Sustainability → EN:ABLE Sustainability | Sustainability support for purpose driven manufacturers 

👤 Connect with Dr Vicky Lofthouse → https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-vicky-lofthouse-41b4a6/ 

🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 

📸 Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 

🎵 TikTok → _whydesign 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 

👥 Share this with a designer, engineer or founder rethinking what better really means. 

About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. 

Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. 

We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

Seven years, countless prototypes, and a steep learning curve later, Dom co-founded Newlane; the company behind the world’s first safety-certified, foldable commuter helmet. 

In this episode of Why Design, he shares how curiosity, persistence, and a touch of naivety helped him turn rejection into progress and an idea into reality. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn 👇 

🧠 Why the “novice mindset” can be a hidden superpower in innovation 

⚙️ How to stay resilient through failure, funding droughts, and endless testing 

🔥 The difference between building a good idea and building a viable product 

📢 Why storytelling sells your vision when prototypes can’t 

💡 What every hardware founder can learn from starting over 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “One of the hardest things is believing in a thing when nobody else can see it yet.” 

💬 “A novice’s mindset can achieve what experts say is impossible.” 

💬 “Everyone wants innovation until you ask them to live through it.” 

💬 “If you’ve got a great product but no story, you won’t sell any.” 

Resources & Links 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🧠 Learn more about Newlane: 

https://newlane.co.uk 

👤 Connect with Dom Cotton on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-cotton/ 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → youtube.com/@whydesignpod 

📸 Follow on Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 

🎵 TikTok → _whydesign 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 

👥 If this resonated, share it with a founder, designer, or team leader navigating their own creative leap. 

🎬 About the Episode 

Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. 

Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. 

We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

Most designers want to make beautiful things. 

Dan Harden wants to make meaningful ones. 

From building dangerous go-karts as a kid to designing more than 1,000 products (and winning 350+ awards), Dan’s career has been a masterclass in lasting impact. As CEO and founder of Whipsaw, Dan has shaped the modern design landscape while staying grounded in what truly matters: solving real problems for real people. 

In this episode of Why Design, Dan shares how he turned a passion for sketching and making into a globally respected studio, why the best designers obsess over details, and how to cultivate curiosity, clarity, and creativity over a 30+ year career. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn 👇 

🌀 Why the “why” of design matters more than ever 

🪚 The discipline behind great design (and why it's more than a sketch) 

🔥 How passion, grit, and inspiration fuel longevity 

📐 What makes a design transcendent, not just functional 

🌍 Why industrial designers must think beyond consumerism 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “There are fundamentals about design that haven’t changed.” 

💬 “Creativity is not a tool you turn on, it’s a way of life.” 

💬 “Don't contribute to the malaise. Don’t do shitty products.” 

💬 “You can be creative designing a bolt.” 

💬 “Design should be gifting, not just commerce.” 

Resources & Links 

🧠 Connect with Dan Harden on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-harden-62389435/ 

🏢 Explore Whipsaw’s work: 

https://www.whipsaw.com/ 

🎧 Listen to Prism, Dan’s podcast: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZHZoL0hOdzZfRcgAXeuvh?si=40de5239ef2548fc 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → youtube.com/@whydesignpod 

📸 Follow on Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 

🎵 TikTok → _whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 

👉 Keep the conversation going. 

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 

👥 If this resonated, share it with a friend, designer, or team leader navigating their own creative journey. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

Most people want to build something. 

Kenny Perkins actually did. 

After nearly dying in a car accident his senior year, Kenny clawed his way into the design world; starting at Fossil, shifting to helmets, and eventually co-founding Osmo, the first kids’ helmet to meet the e-bike safety standard. 

In this episode of Why Design, Kenny shares the journey from rebuilding a Mustang with his dad at 15 to building Impact Lab, a startup studio funding its own consumer brand, Osmo, by designing life-saving protection for others. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn 👇 

💥 How a near-death experience reshaped his entire outlook on work 

🚲 The overlooked safety gap for kids in the e-bike revolution 

🛠️ Why physical product founders need grit, guts, and patience 

📐 How Osmo designed with parents and kids, not just for them 

📈 The smart way Kenny self-funded a startup without outside capital 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “I saw a dad wearing a helmet I designed… and two kids wearing ones I also designed but not for e-bikes. That stuck with me.” 

💬 “We didn’t just design for families. We designed with them.” 

💬 “This changed my relationship with work entirely.” 

Resources & Links 

🌍 Connect with Kenny Perkins on LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethjperkinsdesign/ 

🛡️ Explore Osmo Helmets: https://www.ozmohelmets.com/ 

🏢 Learn more about impctLAB https://www.impctlab.com/ 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → http://www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod 

📸 Follow on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/whydesignxkodu/ 

🎵 TikTok → @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → https://linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → www.whydesign.club 

👉 Keep the conversation going. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 

👥 If this resonated, share it with a friend or colleague navigating their own founder or design journey. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 

🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

Most people panic when they lose a job. 

Jordan Diatlo built a business. 

Just weeks before becoming a dad, Jordan was laid off. Instead of spiraling, he used it as fuel to start Leadoff Studio — now one of New York’s go-to design consultancies for health & wellness brands. 

In this episode of Why Design, Jordan shares how he went from rejected by corporate to building a values-driven studio that’s helped startups like Roman and Dame become category leaders. 

Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn 👇 

🔥 Why getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to him 

🏗️ The 5 values that drive every hire, project, and partnership at Leadoff 

🎯 How “niching down” created bigger opportunities 

📑 The portfolio formula that makes designers stand out 

👨‍👩‍👧 Why time > money when balancing family and business 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “I got laid off with a kid on the way, and I was so happy.” 

💬 “Somebody else’s win should feel as important to you as your own.” 

💬 “Design isn’t just about objects, it’s communication.” 

Resources & Links 

🌍 Connect with Jordan Diatlo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordandiatlo/ 

🏢 Explore Leadoff Studio: https://leadoffstudio.com/ 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → http://www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod 

📸 Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/whydesignxkodu/ 

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn 

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music → www.whydesign.club 

👉 Keep the conversation going! Join the Why Design community and go beyond the podcast → teamkodu.com/events 

📲 Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 

👥 If this resonated, share it with a friend or colleague who’s rethinking their career path. 

⚡ About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more → teamkodu.com 

Christian Reed’s didn’t. 

He turned a basement side project into Reekon Tools, an 8-figure construction-tech brand with tools that don’t break, content that hit 300M+ views, and a cult following of tradespeople. 

In this episode of Why Design, Chris sits down with Christian to break down exactly how he went from MIT → military → Formlabs → scaling one of the most talked-about startups in hardware. 

👉 Want more insights from world-class builders? Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn 

• How a Kickstarter side project became an 8-figure company 
• Why building a product ≠ building a business (and what most founders get wrong) 
• The content playbook Recon used to rack up 300M+ views 
• The difference between scaling hardware and software — and why “muscle beats magic” 
• How to spot talent that thrives in startup chaos 
• The truth about AI in design: why it won’t replace you, but will expose you 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “Hardware development is a muscle activity. You just have to muscle through it. It never gets easier.” 

💬 “If you can’t make content and you don’t appreciate design, you’re just shooting yourself in the foot.” 

💬 “If you’re scared of AI, to be frank, it probably just means you’re not a good designer.” 

👉 Love this? Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or Amazon Music so you never miss an episode. 

Links & Resources 

🌍 Connect with Christian Reed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianrreed/ 

🔗 Explore Reekon: https://www.reekon.tools/ 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 

📸 Follow on Instagram 

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. whydesign.club  

👉 Ready to go deeper? Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

“I like being intellectually promiscuous; finding new tribes, then coming back with fresh ideas.” 

In this episode of Why Design, Chris talks with Jude Pullen; creative technologist, prototyper, and storyteller. Jude’s career spans Dyson, Sugru, and Lego, with projects ranging from poetic air-quality monitors to complex hardware systems. Today, he splits his time between the RCA and Lego, while advising companies on technology, creativity, and play. 

From challenging the myth of the “forever job” to reframing daydreaming as essential design work, Jude shares how portfolio careers unlock creative freedom, and why diversity, vulnerability, and playfulness are the real engines of innovation. 

💬 Keep the conversation going! Join the community and go beyond the podcast! http://teamkodu.com/events 

What You’ll Learn 

💼 Why the “forever job” is outdated and what portfolio careers make possible 

💭 How daydreaming and downtime can fuel serious innovation 

🐦 The evolution of Jude’s open-source Good Air Canary project and why metaphors matter in design 

🤝 The power (and challenge) of building truly diverse teams across age, class, and background 

🌱 How vulnerability and “safe spaces” help unlock team creativity 

☯️ Why design needs more debate, discomfort, and cross-pollination to thrive 

🛠️ The role of prototyping not just products, but ideas and conversations 

👉 Enjoying these insights? Don’t just listen, join the Why Design community. Connect with founders, engineers, and design leaders at teamkodu.com/events. 

Memorable Quotes 

💬 “I follow fear. Where there’s uncertainty in AI, diversity, sustainability, that’s where creativity lives.” 

💬 “I’m not interested in the tech for its own sake. The question is: should we make this, and what are the consequences?” 

💬 “Daydreaming is design practice. Busy isn’t the same as productive.” 

💬 “The best teams aren’t homogenous, they’re messy, diverse, and sometimes uncomfortable.” 

💬 “Play is underrated in business. If you want real breakthroughs, start with curiosity, not quarterly reports.” 

Resources & Links 

🌍 Connect with Jude Pullen on LinkedIn 

🔗 Explore JudePullen.com 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 

📸 Follow on Instagram 

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn 

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music whydesign.club 

👉 Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. If this resonated, share it with a friend or colleague who’s rethinking their career path. 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent in industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com 

“We don’t just design the product. We design the tribe around it.”

In this episode of Why Design, Chris talks with Jordan Nollman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Sprout Studios. For over 20 years, Jordan has helped brands like Nike, Bose, and Microsoft create products that don’t just look good — they shape culture.

From launching a consultancy during the 2008 recession to building a multi-disciplinary team across hardware, packaging, UX, and venture design, Jordan reveals what early-stage founders usually get wrong and how design can make or break a company’s trajectory.

👉 If you’re building hardware or leading a design team, hit subscribe now —

this is 45 minutes that will change how you think about design.

What You’ll Learn

🌱 How starting a studio in a recession forced Sprout to out-innovate competitors

🎯 The branding mistake most founders make (and how to avoid it)

👟 What Nike and Burton taught Jordan about community-driven design

📦 Why great products fail without packaging, UX, and marketing in sync

🧠 The rookie errors early-stage teams make around design maturity

🤝 How Sprout partners with founders and VCs to turn design into long-term value

🔄 How Jordan grew from junior designer to CCO while staying hands-on with clients

👉 Enjoying these insights? Don’t just listen — join the Why Design community. Connect with

founders, engineers, and design leaders at teamkodu.com/events.

Memorable Quotes

💬 “If you’re just making objects, you’re already dead. We build tribes.”

💬 “Designers need to speak the language of business, not just form.”

💬 “Culture is the lens we design through. Without it, you’re just making stuff.”

💬 “If you want brand love, you need more than function.”

Resources & Links

🌍 Connect with Jordan Nollman on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnollman/

🏢 Explore Sprout Studios https://sprout.cc/

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube Why Design? - YouTube

📸 Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/whydesignxkodu

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign

👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music

👉 Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. If this resonated, share it with another founder who needs to hear it.

About Kodu

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner

to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We

help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent in

industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more

at teamkodu.com.

Stuart shares how rewiring motors and welding steel during his early apprenticeship helped him think more empathetically about design for manufacture, why he sees himself as a design doer (not a design thinker), and what still excites him after 27 years leading his own studio. 

It’s a rich, no-frills conversation on design craft, business instinct, and the value of simply being a good person in a small industry. 

In This Episode 

The Yorkshire lad who arrived in NYC with a suitcase and a portfolio 

Smart Design, Able, and the building blocks of Prime Studio 

“The design we do is never just design — it's operations, manufacturing, supply chain.” 

Why Stuart never plans too far ahead (and how that’s worked just fine) 

Lessons from building long-term client partnerships, from Unilever to Harry’s 

Teaching the next generation: real talk on job hunting, ChatGPT cover letters, and why “Dear Hiring Manager” just doesn’t cut it 

Royalties, equity, and what designers should really know about contracts 

“As a consultant, your only value is your people.” 

Quotes to Remember 

“It's work you're looking for, so you have to work at it.” 

“I’m not a planner. I kind of ride the wave — but I’ve been riding it for 27 years.” 

“I always say Smart Design is where I learned to be a designer. Able is where I learned the business of design.” 

“Royalties smooth things out. You might not get the big equity payout, but you get forecastable cash flow — and that’s everything in business.” 

🔎 Resources & Links 

🌍 Prime Studio 

💼 Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 

📸 Follow on Instagram 

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at Home - Kodu 

In this episode, Chris sits down with Sam Shames — materials engineer, MIT grad, and co-founder of Ember Labs, the company behind the Ember Wave: a wearable that helps people regulate temperature and reclaim comfort on their terms. 

Over the last 12 years, Sam has led Ember from a student side project to a real business, launching two hardware generations, shipping over 200,000 units, and recently pivoting to a subscription model that’s rare in consumer wearables. 

We talk product-market fit in hardware, solving real pain points like hot flashes, scaling with a lean team, and what it really takes to make a physical product company sustainable, both financially and environmentally. 

Key Takeaways: 

🚀 The prototyping contest that sparked Embr Labs, and the overheated lab that started it all 

🚀 From student side project to Kickstarter success (and 4 years of learning in between) 

🚀 Building circularity into hardware, and why refurbishment isn’t just a sustainability play 

🚀 Subscriptions in wearables, how $20/month changed everything for Ember 

🚀 Designing for real needs, from aesthetics to AI that predicts hot flashes 

🚀 Founder evolution; why Sam stepped back and hired a CEO to scale the business 

Memorable Quotes: 

🟰 “We thought it was going to take six months. It ended up taking four years.” 

🟰 “It's never too early to think about manufacturing. Prototypes and products are worlds apart.” 

🟰 “At some point, we realized this wasn’t just a cool project. It needed to become a real business.” 

🟰 “The leap from Gen 2 to Gen 3 will feel like going from a flip phone to a smartphone.” 

Resources & Links: 

🌍 Connect with Sam Shames on LinkedIn 

🧊 Explore Embr Labs  https://www.embrlabs.com

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 

📸 Follow on Instagram 

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. 

💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode! 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com. 

In this episode of Why Design, I speak with Emilie Williams, industrial designer and co-founder of Hydrific, a new venture within LIXIL focused on building smarter, more sustainable water products for the home. 

Based in New York, Emilie has led the creative direction behind dozens of kitchen and bath products for household names like American Standard, Brizo, and Delta. Now at Hydrific, her work spans product design, branding, and business development — all aimed at rethinking how we use and value water in everyday life. 

We talk about what it takes to build a design-led venture inside a global corporation, why climate-conscious innovation needs both urgency and nuance, and how Emilie’s journey from graphic design intern to IDSA-recognised design leader has shaped her perspective on user needs, brand identity, and long-term impact. 

Key Takeaways: 

Why smart water tech is still underserved — and where the opportunity lies 

Designing a new category vs. launching another product 

What it looks like to build a brand, team and hardware platform simultaneouslyy 

The difference between greenwashing and grounded sustainability 

Lessons from leading design at scale — from Delta Faucet to LIXIL 

How Emilie bridges brand, physical product, and human experience 

Why visibility, equity and representation still need work in design leadership 

📌 Memorable Quotes: 

“Our brief was water stress. Not style, not finish. Water.” 

“You don’t have to have it all figured out — you just have to listen and keep showing up.” 

“We’re not here to make a gadget. We’re here to shift behaviour.” 

“Designing inside a giant corporation takes both conviction and patience.” 

Resources & Links: 

Connect with Emilie Williams on LinkedIn 

💧 Explore Hydrific by LIXIL 

Follow Emilie on Instagram 

 Watch full episodes on YouTube 

Follow Why Design on Instagram 

TikTok: @_whydesign 

Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 

Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. 

PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode! 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com 

We’re kicking off Series 3 with a true heavyweight in the world of industrial design — Brett Lovelady, founder of the legendary ASTRO Studios and spin-off brand ASTRO Gaming.

Brett has spent three decades leading design, brand, and product strategy for culture-shifting companies like Nike, Xbox, HP, Sony, Dell, Logitech, and many more. His work has helped generate over $100 billion in new revenue for clients worldwide, and shaped some of the most iconic tech and lifestyle products of the last 30 years. 

In this conversation, we unpack the story behind ASTRO’s rise, how ASTRO Gaming became one of the most respected brands in gaming hardware, and what Brett’s learned from building design-led companies from the ground up. 

Brett’s focus is now on collaborating with founders, investing in design-led innovation, and helping creative people have more impact — without losing the soul of what makes design matter. 

Key Takeaways: 

🛠️ From agency to venture – How ASTRO Studios evolved from consultancy to brand builder 

🎮 ASTRO Gaming's origin story – What happened when designers built their own product company 

🎯 Design with conviction – Why standing by your ideas is as important as listening to users 

📈 Design drives value – How design leadership contributed to billions in revenue for global clients 

🔁 Building and exiting – Brett's experience co-founding and exiting multiple VC-backed companies 

👥 People, not just projects – Why mentoring, team culture, and design communities matter more than ever 

📌 Memorable Quotes: 

💬

“Designers don’t have to wait to be asked. They can originate ideas, shape strategy, and lead.” 

💬 “We weren’t chasing scale, we were chasing significance.” 

💬 “If you want to build a great culture, start with trust and shared ambition.” 

💬 “We built ASTRO Gaming with conviction. We used our own money, took risks, and made decisions quickly — like a product company should.” 

Resources & Links: 

🌍 Connect with Brett Lovelady on LinkedIn 

🌍 Follow Brett's new studio - AllStar Design

🚀 Explore ASTRO Studios 

🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 

📸 Follow on Instagram 

🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 

👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. 

💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode! 

About Kodu 

Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com. 

In this special live episode, Chris Whyte, founder of Kodu and host of Why Design, delivers an energetic and insight-packed session to design students on how to stand out in a competitive job market. Drawing from 12+ years of experience and dozens of podcast conversations with design leaders, Chris shares practical advice on everything from CV writing to LinkedIn networking, preparing for interviews, and unlocking hidden job opportunities.

This is a must-listen for any early-career designer or student ready to land that first big opportunity.

What You’ll Learn

Crafting Standout Applications

• Why most CVs fail in the first 7 seconds, and how to beat the odds.
• What hiring managers really want to see in portfolios.
• The power of showing process (not just final outcomes).

Cutting Through the Noise

• How a single phone call or mailed portfolio can beat 700 online applications.
• Pro tips for writing effective, personalized cover letters (with a smart use of AI—but not too much).

Nailing the Interview

• How to use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to tell compelling stories.
• Why preparation beats talent when it comes to interviews.
• Questions to expect, and questions you should ask.

Job Search Tactics That Work

• The hidden job market: Why 85% of jobs never make it to job boards.
• How to go beyond LinkedIn job ads and reach decision-makers directly.
• The “3X system” to grow your network, post with purpose, and engage effectively.

Building a Better LinkedIn Presence

• What makes a LinkedIn profile “sticky” to recruiters.
• The benefits of journaling your job search publicly.
• Voice notes, featured posts, and other tactics that boost visibility.

Top Takeaways

• Be proactive: Most candidates aren’t doing half of what’s possible to stand out.
• Show your thinking: Employers care more about how you think than what you made.
• Network now: Relationships > resumes. Word of mouth leads to most opportunities.
• Use the tools: Google Jobs, ChatGPT for research, TotalJobs, and custom GPTs to prep.
• Follow up: Don’t be afraid to reach out twice. Or three times.

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: https://teamkodu.com/

In this final episode of Series 2, I sit down with Nick Ford, founder of PipSqueak 3D and Patent Ferret, to explore how a nontraditional path — from sweeping workshop floors to designing urban furniture used across London — shaped his approach to design, business, and innovation.

Nick shares the full story behind one of his most iconic projects, the Westminster Tulip Bollard, including the now-famous moment when they drove a lorry over the prototype to prove its durability. Along the way, we unpack lessons from 20+ years of running PipSqueak, why small teams often outperform larger ones, and how Nick’s latest venture, Patent Ferret, is helping manufacturers uncover hidden value in their intellectual property.

This conversation is full of practical insights, real-world anecdotes, and a refreshing take on what resilience really looks like in design.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 Why small, nimble teams can solve complex problems more effectively than bigger consultancies

🔹 How the Westminster Tulip Bollard project became a case study in resilience and real-world testing

🔹 What happens when you stress-test your designs by literally driving a lorry over them

🔹 Lessons learned from business insolvency, perseverance, and building a consultancy for the long haul

🔹 Why intellectual property (IP) matters for SMEs, not just big players

🔹 How to unlock value in overlooked ideas, patents, and product concepts

🔹 The importance of building pathways for young people through STEM work experience

📌 Memorable Quotes:

💬 “We weren’t going to prove durability with a spreadsheet — we needed to drive a lorry over it and watch what happened.”

💬 “Failure isn’t the right word — it’s part of the process. We need better language for it.”

💬 “If you don’t understand IP, you don’t understand business.”

💬 “We only work for people we like or respect. That’s been a core principle from the start.”

💬 “Small inventors can change the world, but they need to go in with their eyes open.”

Resources & Links:

🌍 Connect with Nick Ford on LinkedIn

🏢 Learn more about PipSqueak 3D

🔍 Explore Patent Ferret

👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode!

In this episode of Why Design, I’m joined by Sera Evcimen, Founder of Pratik Development, Innovation Advisor at FORGE and Techstars Paris, and host of the hardware startup podcast The Builder Circle.

Sera has built a career around one goal — helping hardware startups avoid the common pitfalls that so often derail promising ideas. She’s worked hands-on across cleantech, space, consumer tech, and robotics before launching Pratik to support deep tech founders with everything from system integration to supply chain and manufacturing strategy.

We explore how Sera made the leap from startup engineer to fractional CTO/COO, what tribology (the study of friction and contact) taught her about mechanical failure modes, why product decisions define hiring needs, and how her podcast and meetups are helping to build a stronger hardware community on both sides of the Atlantic.

If you're working in physical product development or dreaming of launching your own hardware startup, this one is packed with advice you can apply immediately.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 Hardware is Hard – Why 97% of hardware startups fail, and how common pitfalls like sunk cost fallacy and rushing in-house manufacturing decisions play a part.

🔹 Fractional CTO and COO Work – How Sera plugs into teams to solve technical and operational challenges hands-on, from lab benches to factory floors.

🔹 Tribology Matters – Why understanding friction, wear, and lubrication can unlock better mechanical design and reduce failure rates.

🔹 Product Decisions Shape Teams – How technical choices early on define who you need to hire later.

🔹 Builder Circle Podcast – Amplifying the voices of engineers and operators, not just founders, to share deep practical lessons for startups.

🔹 Community Building – How meetups and peer support networks like Hardware Meetup London are strengthening the hardware ecosystem.

🔹 Authenticity in Hardware – Why admitting risks, asking for help, and being open about challenges makes you more investable, not less.

📌 Memorable Quotes:

💬 “You shouldn’t wait until every little detail is perfect. Test your product as soon as possible with someone willing to use it and willing to pay for it.”

💬 “Hardware is a system. Product decisions define your hiring needs and shape the future of your company.”

💬 “Tribology sounds obscure but it is everywhere. It’s the hidden science behind why machines fail.”

💬 “Focus on being interested, not interesting. That’s the best way to network in the hardware community.”

Resources & Links:

🌍 Connect with Sera Evcimen on LinkedIn

🎙️ Listen to The Builder Circle Podcast

🏢 Learn more about Pratik Development

Join the Why Design community! Sign up for events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

PS – Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

In this episode of Why Design, I’m joined by Georgios Gkotsis, CTO at Kelpi, a Bristol-based startup creating high-performance seaweed-based coatings to replace fossil plastics in long shelf life packaging.

Georgios has built a career at the intersection of material science, sustainability and engineering strategy. From early R&D at Procter & Gamble and Unilever to cutting-edge biomaterials at Xampla and now Kelpi, he’s seen firsthand what it takes to take an idea from lab bench to supermarket shelf.

We talk about Kelpi’s mission-first approach, the commercial and technical complexity of replacing plastic, and Georgios’ personal journey from hands-on scientist to startup CTO. If you’re working in deep tech, materials innovation, packaging, or care about solving the plastic problem in a commercially viable way—this episode is a must-listen.

Key Takeaways:

🟢 Mission Before Tech – Why Kelpi started with a bold question, not a breakthrough material.

🌱 The Power of Seaweed – A renewable, fast-growing feedstock with real promise for circular packaging.

📦 Replacing Plastic Isn't Plug-and-Play – A deep dive into shelf life, barrier properties, and realistic client expectations.

🧪 From MVP to Market – Why minimum viable products don’t need to be perfect, but they do need validation.

⚙️ Transition to Leadership – How Georgios shifted from doing the work to setting strategy and building a world-class team.

🔁 The Startup Balancing Act – Navigating limited runway, client partnerships, and scaling without owning a factory.

🧠 Using AI in R&D – Why machine learning could accelerate material science and cut years off innovation cycles.

🚀 What's Next for Kelpi – Scaling to tonnes, launching with brands, and expanding the product development team.

📌 Memorable Quotes:

💬 “You can’t just swap plastic for a new material and expect it to behave the same. It’s a journey—not a transaction.”

💬 “If you don’t design for the whole lifecycle—materials, performance, shelf life, disposal—you’re not solving the problem.”

💬 “As CTO, your job shifts from doing things to building the team that can do them better than you ever could.”

💬 “AI won’t replace chemists. But it will speed up the work they do—and that’s how we close the sustainability gap faster.”

Resources & Links:

🌍 Learn more about Kelpi

🔗 Connect with Georgios Gkotsis on LinkedIn

📩 Contact the Kelpi team – hello@kelpi.net

👥 Join the Why Design community!

Sign up for events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

PS – Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

In this episode of Why Design, I sit down with Damon Bonser, founder and CEO of the British Design Fund—a team of operators-turned-investors backing early-stage product businesses with real-world impact.

Damon knows firsthand why most hardware startups fail—because he’s been through it himself. After launching over 400 products, navigating stock finance headaches, and scaling a business across the UK, US, and Asia, he sold his company and switched sides of the table. Now he backs founders with the potential (and grit) to build something meaningful.

We talk about the real markers of investability—TRL5+, commercial clarity, protected IP—and why pitch decks and pretty prototypes don’t cut it. Damon shares his take on cashflow mastery, reshoring opportunities in the UK, and the red flags he sees too often when meeting founders.

If you’re building a physical product, thinking about raising, or want a brutally honest take on early-stage investing—this one’s for you.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 Built, Scaled, Sold – Damon’s journey from novelty bottle openers to running a 400-SKU business with global operations.

🔹 Why Most Hardware Startups Fail – Poor cashflow planning, overengineering, no route to revenue—and no real need for the product.

🔹 What the British Design Fund Looks For – A clear problem, TRL5 or above, manufacturing viability, and a founder with domain obsession.

🔹 Cashflow is King – Why understanding your margins and stock finance is non-negotiable in physical product businesses.

🔹 Sustainable Hardware That Matters – The BDF backs engineering-led solutions to real-world problems—not gadget fluff.

🔹 Red Flags for Investors – Founders who don’t know their numbers, haven’t tested assumptions, or treat manufacturing as an afterthought.

🔹 UK Hardware Advantage – Why the UK’s funding ecosystem, engineering talent, and reshoring momentum are aligned for growth.

🔹 From Founder to Funder – Damon’s switch from doing it all to helping others do it better—with lessons learned the hard way.

📌 Quotes That Hit Hard:

💬 “Most founders overengineer the product, underthink the business, and don’t plan for scale.”

💬 “We didn’t raise a penny—we bootstrapped the whole thing through sheer bloody-mindedness and cashflow juggling.”

💬 “You can’t outsource conviction. If you’re not obsessed with solving the problem, no one’s backing you.”

💬 “Don’t come to us with a pretty prototype—come with a plan to take it to market.”

Resources & Links:

🌍 British Design Fund Website

💼 Connect with Damon Bonser on LinkedIn

📬 Apply for Funding – Check the criteria and submit your startup.

👥 Join the Why Design community!

Sign up for events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

💬 PS – Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

That’s how Josh Valman, CEO of RPDK, describes one of the earliest—and most painful—lessons from scaling his product development business. In this episode of Why Design, we dive into the unfiltered reality of building a hardware startup from scratch.

Josh’s journey is anything but conventional. By age 10, he was designing robots. By 19, he was consulting for global corporates on manufacturing and supply chains—while still in school. What followed was the growth of RPD into a 100-person team working across design, engineering, and global production before being acquired by Kinara International.

We talk about what most founders get wrong, the messy middle between prototyping and mass production, and why investors care less about your idea and more about your plan. Josh also shares what he’s up to now—backing founders through the British Design Fund and filming a new TV show to shine a light on what really happens behind factory doors.

If you're building a hardware product, thinking about scaling, or just want a brutally honest take on how products get made, this episode is a must-listen.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 Started Young – Josh was consulting before clients realised he was still a teenager.

🔹 Pricing Lessons – Why quoting too low nearly broke the business—and how they clawed it back.

🔹 Design to Scale – Why the “middle” (certification, tooling, sourcing) is where most projects fail.

🔹 Spec Work That Pays – How early projects for Bosch and Unilever helped prove RPD’s capabilities.

🔹 No Degree, No Problem – Why Josh skipped uni, and how he built a career by doing, not studying.

🔹 The Founder’s Job – It’s not the product—it’s planning, cashflow, forecasting, and doing the hard stuff.

🔹 British Design Fund – What investors actually want to see from hardware startups.

🔹 TV Project Incoming – A behind-the-scenes series exploring how everyday products get made.

Resources & Links:

🌍 Connect with Josh Valman on LinkedIn

🏭 Learn more about RPDK

💸 Explore the British Design Fund

📺 TV series coming soon—watch this space!

👥 Join the Why Design community! Sign up for events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

💬 PS – Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode!

From scaling consultancies and steering agency acquisitions to guiding in-house teams at major brands like Nokia, McLaren, and Logitech, Tim shares his unique perspective on the intersection of design and business.

We explore why designers and design consultancies often overlook commercial awareness, how consultancies can rethink their positioning in a crowded marketplace, and why commercial skills should be developed just as early as creative ones.

Tim also talks about the common challenges agencies face around business development, the tricky art of saying “no,” and why sometimes less is more when selling your services.

If you’re a designer, consultancy owner, or anyone working at the crossover of creativity and commerce, there’s plenty of actionable advice here.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 From Designer to Strategist – How Tim transitioned from packaging design to leading agency growth and design strategy at Nokia and beyond.

🔹 Lessons from Scaling & Selling – Insights from scaling Web deVlam and overseeing its sale.

🔹 The Positioning Problem – Why agencies often dilute their message by trying to be everything to everyone.

🔹 Specialism vs. Niche – Why focusing your positioning is key, but you can still take on a variety of work.

🔹 Building Commercial Confidence – How designers can develop business development and negotiation skills early in their careers.

🔹 The Power of Networking – Tim’s take on why generosity and curiosity are vital in client-facing roles.

🔹 The LinkedIn Effect – How LinkedIn can help creatives spark conversations and create business opportunities—when used with authenticity.

🔹 Negotiation Lessons – Tim’s real-world story of a high-stakes negotiation that almost went wrong, and what it taught him about holding your ground.

Resources & Links:

🌍 Connect with Tim Perry on LinkedIn

🎯 Check out Tim’s Commercial Skills Training (includes free sample courses)

🎙️ Learn more about Blue Garage – A creative community space in Lewisham, London.

👥 Join the Why Design community! Sign up for upcoming events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!

We unpack Michael’s fascinating journey, from studying manufacturing engineering and design at the RCA, to bootstrapping KwickScreen into a successful healthcare business. Michael shares hard-won lessons about the challenges of starting a hardware company in London, why manufacturing shaped his design thinking, and how listening and tenacity have been key to his entrepreneurial path.

Michael also takes us inside Blue Garage, a space created to provide hardware founders with the facilities and community he wished he’d had when starting out—think WeWork, but with machines.

If you’re curious about bootstrapping hardware ventures, creative collaboration, or building community-driven spaces, this episode is packed with inspiration.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 From Engineering to Design – How Michael’s manufacturing background influenced his user-focused, entrepreneurial approach to product design.

🔹 The KwickScreen Story – How a student project to solve infection control in hospitals evolved into a nationwide healthcare product.

🔹 Bootstrapping in London – The gritty reality of starting a hardware business without outside funding or proper facilities.

🔹 Listening & Learning – Why Michael credits his success to persistence combined with listening deeply to users and stakeholders.

🔹 The Birth of Blue Garage – How Michael turned a 38,000 sq ft former Travis Perkins into a vibrant makespace for London’s maker and hardware community.

🔹 Supporting Founders Differently – Why founders don’t always need accelerators or awards, sometimes they just need space, tools, and community.

🔹 Team & Legacy – How early hires at KwickScreen, including its now-CEO, have grown into leaders and founders themselves.

🔹 Community Events & Collaboration – How Blue Garage is helping freelancers, startups, and creative businesses collaborate and scale in the heart of London.

Resources & Links:

🌍 Learn more about Blue Garage

🏥 Explore KwickScreen

🔗 Connect with Michael Korn on LinkedIn

👥 Join the Why Design community! Sign up for our upcoming events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!

We dive into the balance between process and intuition in product design—when to trust your instincts and when structure is necessary. Hugo shares insights from designing everything from life-saving gas safety devices, where precision and research are crucial, to high-end pizza ovens, where the experience and theatre of cooking take priority over strict engineering constraints.

We also explore how design consultancies can stay competitive in a shifting market, the role of AI in industrial design, and the evolving nature of holistic product development, where storytelling, branding, and user experience are just as important as the product itself.

If you're a designer, entrepreneur, or just fascinated by how great products come to life, this episode is packed with insights!

Key Takeaways:

🔹 The Evolution of a Design Consultancy – How Hugo built a product design division within a family-run creative agency.

🔹 The Power of Process vs. Intuition – When to trust gut instincts and when research and structured validation are essential.

🔹 Designing for Different Markets – How working on gas safety devices differs from crafting premium pizza ovens.

🔹 Holistic Design Services – Why product design is no longer just about form and function but also branding, digital experiences, and storytelling.

🔹 Lessons from Working with Startups and Established Brands – How client expectations shift and how to manage those relationships.

🔹 The Future of Industrial Design – How AI is changing the design process and what it means for the next generation of designers.

🔹 Why Some Brands Ignore Focus Groups – How companies like Nothing and Teenage Engineering use intuition to create standout products.

🔹 Building Long-Term Client Relationships – How WMP Creative’s success is built on repeat business and deep client partnerships.

Resources & Links:

🌍 Connect with Hugo Martin on LinkedIn

🎨 Learn more about WMP Creative

🔥 Check out Gosney Pizza Ovens (One of Hugo’s latest projects)

🔍 Learn more about Crowcon Gas Safety Devices

👥 Join the Why Design community! Sign up for our upcoming events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. Don't forget to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!

She opens up about the highs and lows of startup life—navigating funding rounds, scaling a hardware business, and the personal challenges that have shaped her leadership. From securing patents and raising millions to pivoting the company’s mission and testing breakthrough technology, Claire shares what it truly takes to build a deep tech startup in a male-dominated field.

If you’re interested in the raw, unfiltered reality of building a hardware company from scratch, this one’s for you.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 From Academia to Entrepreneurship – How Claire’s background in materials science and aerospace led her to founding Untap Health.

🔹 The Evolution of a Startup – How Untap pivoted from large-scale wastewater monitoring to targeted health surveillance in hospitals and care homes.

🔹 Scaling a Hardware Business – The challenges of developing, testing, and rolling out new deep tech solutions.

🔹 Fundraising Realities – Lessons learned from securing pre-seed funding and preparing for the next round.

🔹 Surviving a Tough Year – How Claire navigated personal and professional hardships, including the loss of her co-founder and sister, to keep Untap moving forward.

🔹 Building the Right Team – The impact of hiring a Chief Product Officer and the importance of aligning culture with company vision.

🔹 Women in Deep Tech – Claire’s experience as a female founder and the biases she’s encountered along the way.

🔹 What’s Next for Untap Health – Expanding into new markets, working with hospitals and farms, and the long-term vision for public health monitoring.

Resources & Links:

🌍 Connect with Claire Trant on LinkedIn

🔬 Learn more about Untap Health

📢 Hiring! Untap Health is looking for a Head of Business Development – Check out the role here

💙 Support Claire’s Charity Marathon for Diagnostics Research – Donate Here

👥 Join the Why Design community! Sign up for our upcoming events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/events

🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte

🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. Don't forget to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!

In this episode, host Chris Whyte is joined by Stefan Chmelik, founder of Sensate – a revolutionary consumer product designed to reduce stress and improve well-being through sound and vibration therapy. Before Sensate, Stefan spent 30 years as a clinician specialising in stress, anxiety, trauma, and complex disease management. His expertise in meditation and breathwork led him to develop a technology-first approach to well-being.

This episode explores the intersection of medicine, meditation, and hardware innovation. Stefan shares his journey from working with patients in a clinical setting to co-founding a tech company that now helps thousands of people worldwide. He explains the science behind stress, vagal nerve tone, and how Sensate's wearable device supports relaxation and resilience. We also dive into the challenges of launching a hardware start-up, from product design to fundraising and business strategy.

If you're interested in the role of design in health and wellness, this episode is packed with insights on making well-being more accessible at scale.

Key Takeaways:

✅ The science behind stress and how vagal nerve tone affects well-being

✅ How Stefan’s background in meditation and medicine influenced Sensate’s design

✅ The challenges of bringing a hardware health device to market

✅ Fundraising lessons and why US investors saw the potential before UK investors

✅ Why start-up success is about resilience, adaptation, and the right co-founding team

✅ The importance of cooperation over competition in both business and life

✅ How Sensate is making relaxation effortless through sound and vibration technology

Links & References

Visit Sensate: https://www.getsensate.com/

Connect with Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanchmelik/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/

Sign up for Why Design? events: https://teamkodu.com/events

Learn more about Kodu recruitment: https://teamkodu.com

Nick shares how his early passion for graphic design evolved into a career in industrial design, the importance of hands-on experience over formal education, and his perspective on hiring and mentoring young designers.

From working on consumer and medical products to navigating the fast-paced world of design consultancy, Nick provides valuable insights into the skills that truly matter in the industry. He also tackles the topic of job-hopping early in one’s career, why it shouldn’t be seen as a red flag, and how to stand out in a competitive hiring landscape.

If you're a design student, a career pivoter, or a hiring manager looking for fresh perspectives, this conversation is packed with practical advice and industry wisdom.

Key Takeaways

• The transition from graphic to product design and why early exposure matters.
• Why hands-on experience trumps formal education—Nick’s take on the overemphasis on master’s degrees.
• The reality of short stints in early careers and why employers shouldn’t see them as a red flag.
• How to build a strong portfolio that lands design roles.
• The challenges and rewards of working in design consultancy.
• How IDC balances industrial, consumer, and medical product design.

Links & References

Visit IDC: https://www.idc.uk.com/

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-chubb-3bba9120/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/

Sign up for Why Design? events: https://teamkodu.com/events

Learn more about Kodu recruitment: https://teamkodu.com

Host: Chris Whyte, Founder of Kodu

Sign up for Why Design? events: https://teamkodu.com/events

In this episode of Why Design, I sit down with Nichole Rouillac, founder and creative director of Level, a woman-led industrial design studio in San Francisco. Nichole has spent over two decades shaping consumer tech and medtech, playing a key role in designing the first Fitbit and working with brands like Microsoft, Google, and HTC.

We discuss:

✅ The reality of being one of the only women in the room early in her career

✅ Why so many women leave industrial design before reaching senior roles—and what we can do about it

✅ Her work in healthcare and medtech, from disease detection to AI-driven innovation

✅ How being a mom to a neurodivergent child influences her approach to user-centered design

✅ The importance of mentorship and community in fostering diversity in the industry

Nichole’s story is one of resilience, innovation, and purpose-driven design. Whether you're in industrial design, medtech, or hardware startups, this episode is packed with insights on building a career with impact.

Key takeaways:

🔹 The Gender Gap in Industrial Design – Many women leave industrial design before reaching senior roles due to workplace culture, lack of mentorship, and difficulty balancing long hours with personal life.

🔹 Building a Design Studio with Purpose – Nichole founded Level, a woman-led industrial design studio, to challenge industry norms and prioritize meaningful, people-centered design.

🔹 From Fitbit to MedTech – Nichole played a key role in designing the first Fitbit, which helped create the wearables category as we know it today. Her work now focuses on healthcare innovation, from AI-driven disease detection to non-invasive cancer treatment technologies.

🔹 The Power of Mentorship & Community – As a former chair of Women in Design (IDSA), Nichole helped launch a mentorship program to support women navigating industrial design careers. Having a network outside of your workplace is crucial for career growth.

🔹 Designing for Impact, Not Just Aesthetics – Nichole emphasizes the need for designers to think beyond form and function, considering the long-term impact of their work—whether in healthcare, sustainability, or consumer tech.

🔹 Lessons from Startups & Manufacturing – Having worked both in consultancies and in-house at HTC, Nichole believes designers need full-cycle experience—from early prototyping to manufacturing—to truly deliver great products.

🔹 Parenting, Neurodiversity & Design – Raising a neurodivergent child has influenced Nichole’s approach to inclusive design, reinforcing the importance of creating products that are intuitive and accessible for different types of users.

🔹 Balancing Business and Life – Unlike many agencies, Level prioritizes sustainable work hours, proving that world-class design doesn’t require burnout. Thoughtful planning and client education allow them to deliver great work without overworking their team.

🔹 The Future of Hardware & MedTech – Nichole sees AI, non-invasive diagnostics, and sustainable materials as some of the biggest areas for innovation in industrial design. Her upcoming projects include climate tech solutions and medtech advancements.

Links & Resources

Visit Level: https://leveldesignsf.com/

Connect with Nichole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholerouillac/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/

Sign up for Why Design? events: https://teamkodu.com/events

Learn more about Kodu recruitment: https://teamkodu.com

Host: Chris Whyte, Founder of Kodu

Sign up for Why Design? events: https://teamkodu.com/events

From designing surveillance systems for superyachts to navigating a live war zone in Peru and leading projects at Dyson, Tom Parsons’ journey through product design is nothing short of extraordinary. Now the founder of Aetha Design, Tom shares invaluable lessons on designing under pressure, building trust with clients, and balancing creativity with commercial realities.

In this episode, Tom discusses:

• How his early work in high-stakes military projects shaped his engineering mindset.
• The shift from bespoke high-end tech to mass-market production at Dyson.
• The realities of running a design consultancy—from navigating tough product launches to fostering meaningful partnerships.
• Why "people buy from people" is the philosophy behind Aetha’s approach to business.
• His hands-on approach to understanding clients' challenges, including launching a Kickstarter for sunglasses.

Whether you're a designer, entrepreneur, or just love hearing about the adventures behind innovation, this episode is packed with candid insights and career-defining moments.

Key Takeaways

🔹 Extreme Environments = Extreme Growth – Tom’s experience in a live conflict zone taught him resilience, adaptability, and how to design for unpredictable conditions.

🔹 From Low-Volume Luxury to High-Volume Production – Moving from bespoke surveillance systems to mass-market consumer products at Dyson broadened Tom’s design approach and prepared him for consultancy.

🔹 Why Trust Matters in Design – Building a design consultancy isn’t just about great products; it’s about understanding clients’ needs, mitigating risks, and creating long-term relationships.

🔹 The Reality of Running a Consultancy – The business of design is more than just creativity—Tom shares the behind-the-scenes of managing client expectations, handling setbacks, and keeping projects on track.

🔹 A Designer Who Walks the Walk – Tom doesn’t just design products—he’s been through the process himself, even launching a Kickstarter to understand the challenges his clients face firsthand.

Links & Resources

Visit Aetha Design: https://aethadesign.com

Connect with Tom Parsons on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-parsons-aetha

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/

Sign up for Why Design? events: https://teamkodu.com/events

Learn more about Kodu recruitment: https://teamkodu.com

Andrew’s career journey spans nearly two decades, including roles at Elvie, Shark Ninja, Plexus, and design consultancies across the US, China, and Scotland. Along the way, he’s learned how to balance user-centric design with the demands of sustainability, all while driving impactful product innovation.

This conversation dives into:

• How Andrew’s time at companies like Elvie and Shark Ninja shaped his approach to design and leadership.
• The inspiration behind Bebello and the challenges of launching a hardware startup.
• Why sustainable design must also offer superior user experiences.
• Insights into building a circular economy business model.
• How his personal journey as a parent influenced the creation of Bebello’s first product.

Whether you’re interested in sustainable product development, building mission-driven businesses, or the challenges of hardware startups, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

Key Takeaways:

• Sustainable products must deliver better user experiences to succeed in the market.
• Transparent communication and openness to feedback are critical for early-stage startups.
• Sustainability isn’t just an add-on—it should be embedded into a business’s foundation.
• Great design comes from understanding real-world problems through user research.
• Disrupting entrenched habits (like hand washing) can drive significant environmental benefits.

Links & Resources:

• Visit Babello: https://bebello.club
• Connect with Andrew Carr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-carr-designs/
• Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/
• Sign up for Why Design? events: teamkodu.com/events
• Learn more about Kodu recruitment: https://teamkodu.com

Book Recommendations from the Episode:

• Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough
• Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth

Podcast Recommendations:

• The Economist Podcast
• Lenny’s Product Podcast

Seyi’s journey spans continents and disciplines—from studying mechanical engineering at Oregon State University, working in Taiwan’s manufacturing hubs, and designing at Jaguar Land Rover, to co-founding Gravity Sketch during his time at the Royal College of Art.

This conversation delves into Seyi’s career journey and the innovative ideas behind Gravity Sketch, including:

• The importance of storytelling in design.
• Lessons learned from Taiwan’s manufacturing culture.
• How Gravity Sketch bridges the gap between creativity and functionality for design teams.
• The challenges and milestones of building a tech company from the ground up.
• Why the future of design lies in collaboration and inclusivity.

Whether you’re a designer, an engineer, or simply fascinated by the intersection of creativity and technology, this episode offers insight, inspiration, and a fresh perspective on how tools like Gravity Sketch are shaping the future.

Key Takeaways:

• Storytelling is a vital skill for designers, helping to align teams and inspire clients.
• Immersive 3D tools can accelerate workflows, reduce costs, and enhance creativity.
• Building a company requires balancing passion for the product with the demands of leadership and business development.
• Community and user feedback are invaluable for refining and growing a product.
• Adapting to emerging technologies, such as AI and VR, is essential for staying at the forefront of design.

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Gravity Sketch: https://gravitysketch.com/
• Connect with Seyi Sosanya on LinkedIn: Seyi's LinkedIn Profile
• Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: Chris's LinkedIn Profile
• Sign up for upcoming Why Design? events: teamkodu.com/events
• Book recommendation from the episode: Go for No! by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz

Benn shares his journey, from introducing inclusive design at Bristan to working on cutting-edge projects at LA Design, including the Floatrower—a rowing machine that combines the sensation of water rowing with innovative gamification and performance tracking.

The conversation dives deep into:

• The lessons learned from launching a groundbreaking fitness product.
• How to balance ambition and authenticity in design.
• The value of storytelling and personal branding for designers and engineers.

If you’re curious about how creativity meets practicality in physical product development or looking for insights into launching your own products, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways.

Key Takeaways:

• Building trust with stakeholders and clients is critical for product success.
• Taking risks, even later in your career, can lead to transformative outcomes.
• Storytelling and personal branding are as important as technical skills in design.
• Inclusive design can create meaningful, impactful products when championed effectively.
• Gamification and user experience are key to engaging products like the Floatrower.

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Inond Design: https://www.inond.com/
• Connect with Benn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennklewpatinond/
• Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Sign up for upcoming Why Design? events: teamkodu.com/events

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝?

It's Chris Whyte here, founder of Kodu and host of The Design Journeys Podcast. I wanted to share an important announcement.

After nine months of sharing stories from the world of physical product development, The Design Journeys Podcast is evolving.

Starting in January, we’ll be rebranding as 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧?

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞?

A few weeks ago, the host of Design Journeys, a French-language podcast about digital product design, reached out.

They’d noticed some listener confusion between our two shows and politely asked if we’d consider renaming.

I’ll be honest—hearing that hit hard. Seeing something you’ve built get challenged isn’t easy. But after stepping back, I realised that if the roles were reversed, I’d want to protect my brand too.

So, after a bit of sulking... I saw this for what it really is: 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.

The podcast has grown into something far bigger than I ever imagined—a community of passionate guests and listeners exploring the complexities of physical product development. It’s no longer just about stories—it’s a space where ideas spark, connections form, and learning never stops.

And we’re just getting started.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓:

✅ Online huddles

✅ UK & US meetups

✅ Workshops & webinars

All built around one big question: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧?

Thank you so much to our guests this year and for all of you who have tuned in!

📢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩!

Sign up at teamkodu.com/events to stay up to date with new podcast episodes, events, workshops, and meetups. We’d love to have you with us on this journey. 🚀

In this final episode of The Design Journeys Podcast under its current name, Chris Whyte speaks with Nick Mannion, co-founder and director of Quarterre Studio. Nick’s career journey has been shaped by a love of drawing, storytelling, and exploration, leading him from a degree in Transport Design at Coventry University to an expansive career working with global brands like LEGO, Polestar, Mercedes, and IKEA.

Nick shares stories from his early career at LEGO, where he contributed to iconic projects such as Bionicle and Legoland attractions. He reflects on his global experiences working in California, Tokyo, and Sydney, and the cultural and creative insights gained along the way. The episode delves into Quarterre Studio's evolution from a product-focused business to a consultancy specializing in “product, place, and play,” creating emotionally driven, user-centered designs for some of the world’s most recognized brands.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Value of Play in Design: Nick emphasizes how play, both as a mindset and a process, shapes innovative and engaging designs.
2. Global Perspectives: Working in diverse locations like California, Tokyo, and Sydney has informed Nick’s approach to storytelling and product development.
3. Quarterre’s Evolution: From bike storage solutions to consultancy, the studio’s journey reflects the importance of adaptability and focus.
4. Storytelling as a Design Tool: Nick shares how crafting narratives enhances both the creative process and the final product’s emotional connection with users.
5. The Power of Community: Collaboration and curiosity are essential for personal growth and professional success, as highlighted by Nick’s experiences and advice.

Links:

Connect with Nick Mannion on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-mannion-17182964/

Learn more about Quarterre Studio: https://quarterre.com/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Stay in the loop for future events: www.teamkodu.com/events

Key Takeaways:

1. Navigating Career Transitions: Tracy’s career journey highlights the importance of flexibility, self-awareness, and leveraging your network.
2. Building Confidence and Authenticity: Tracy shares how she found her voice in male-dominated leadership spaces and the value of staying true to yourself.
3. Design Thinking Beyond Products: Tracy explains how design thinking can be used for personal growth, career planning, and building relationships.
4. The Power of Mentorship: Tracy’s mentoring programs aim to empower the next generation of women in engineering and foster inclusivity.
5. Portfolio Careers: By balancing multiple roles, Tracy demonstrates how to build resilience and adaptability in a rapidly changing professional landscape.

Connect with Tracy Sharp on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracychristinasharp/

Learn more about SharpMinds here: https://www.sharpminds.coach/

Listen to Beginners Guide to Design Thinking here: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vP9XJRLbfihGb7ZXlaSSK?si=afcc833494534582&nd=1&dlsi=b3ef013204fe444b

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Stay in the loop for future events: www.teamkodu.com/events



In this episode, Chris Whyte sits down with Fred Russell-Pavier, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Super Smith, a company focused on creative accessible micro-mobility solutions. Fred’s journey started in academia, where he explored complex sensing and measurement technology, leading to multiple patents and innovations. He shares insights on moving from research to a start-up, using sensing technology to enhance mobility scooters, and the challenges of adapting advanced technology for public use. This conversation delves into the balance of safety, design, and functionality needed to create accessible and intuitive products.

Key Takeaways:

1. Transition from Academia to Startups: Fred’s path from a Ph.D. in sensing technology to founding a micro-mobility startup highlights the adaptability needed to turn research into impactful products.
2. Focus on Safety and Stability: Super Smith prioritizes designing stable, user-friendly mobility solutions that cater to various accessibility needs.
3. Prototyping and User-Centric Design: Fred’s experience shows the importance of frequent prototyping and user testing to develop intuitive and accessible products.
4. Challenges in Inclusive Design: Creating for a broad user base requires sensitivity to differing needs and adaptability in design.
5. Community Support and Networking: Fred emphasizes the value of incubator spaces and networking for early-stage startups, offering crucial resources and support.

Connect with Fred Russell-Pavier on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fsrp/

Learn more about SuperSmith here: https://supersmith.co/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode, Chris Whyte interviews Michael König, a design leader whose career journey spans two decades across digital and physical product design. From launching a digital design studio fresh out of university to leading design at Bang & Olufsen and Fiskars, Michael has tackled challenges at some of the world’s most iconic heritage brands. Now, as the founder of a new consultancy, Michael shares how he’s helping legacy brands modernize through storytelling, innovation, and agility.

Listeners will hear about Michael’s creative approach to leading cross-functional teams, building consumer-centric products, and navigating the complexities of balancing tradition with modern market demands.

Key Takeaways:

1. Career Adaptability: Michael’s career demonstrates the power of being adaptable, moving from digital design to physical product innovation and leadership.
2. Importance of Storytelling: Michael emphasizes storytelling as a critical tool for connecting heritage brands with modern consumers.
3. Leading Cross-Functional Teams: Michael shares how collaboration across design, marketing, and engineering drives impactful innovation.
4. Consumer-Centric Product Development: From prototyping in Airbnbs to reducing time-to-market by 50%, Michael shares lessons on keeping consumers at the center.
5. Modernising Legacy Brands: Michael highlights the unique challenges and opportunities of elevating design for long-standing, iconic companies.

Connect with Michael König on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkonigcph/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode, Chris Whyte speaks with Oliver Murphy, founder of SLOWE Living, a brand built around sustainable, minimalist furniture design. Oliver’s career journey began with industrial design at Loughborough University and evolved through branding and freelancing, ultimately leading him to create a brand during the pandemic. He shares how Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics shaped his design philosophy, the challenges of building a furniture brand from scratch, and how he found purpose by creating a business that aligns with his values of simplicity and intentional living.

Key Takeaways:

1. Sustainability in Design: SLOWE Living focuses on minimalist, sustainable furniture that supports thoughtful, intentional living.
2. Influence of Japanese and Scandinavian Design: Oliver’s time in Japan and Denmark inspired his commitment to simple, functional design.
3. Challenges of Transitioning to Product-Based Business: Moving from freelance branding to physical products was a significant, rewarding shift.
4. Community and Support: Oliver emphasizes the importance of community and has created a support network for independent creators.
5. Adapting During the Pandemic: The unique circumstances of the pandemic allowed Oliver to pause, reflect, and start a business that aligned with his core values.

Connect with Oliver Murphy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivermurphydesigner/

Learn more about SLOWE Living here: https://www.sloweliving.com/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode, Chris Whyte speaks with Michael Bambino, founder and creative director of Facility, a design consultancy that brings a strategic, brand-driven approach to product design. Michael shares his unique career journey from engineering and freelance design to launching his own consultancy, emphasizing the challenges and rewards of balancing technical expertise with creative expression. Listeners will gain insights into Michael’s philosophy on consulting, navigating career shifts, and maintaining design quality as Facility grows.

Key Takeaways:

1. Career Path Experimentation: Michael’s background spans engineering, design, and consulting, creating a unique blend of skills that define Facility’s approach.
2. Brand-Centered Product Development: Facility emphasizes strategic, brand-driven product design, offering clients a vision for long-term success.
3. Importance of Versatile Experience: Working in small firms allowed Michael to develop a wide skill set and agility essential for consulting.
4. Challenges of Scaling a Consultancy: Facility aims to grow while retaining high standards and a hands-on approach to client projects.
5. Client-Centric Strategies: Facility partners with clients to deliver not only products but future-focused roadmaps that support sustainable growth.

Connect with Michael Bambino on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbambino/

Learn more about Facility here: https://www.facility.nyc/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode, Chris Whyte chats with Tim Maclean, founder of Cognate, a design consultancy based in Bath. Tim's journey spans decades of experience in the design and engineering field, from Avon Rubber to Herman Miller and Dyson.

He shares insights on his varied career, the challenges of switching between permanent roles and contracting, and the eventual decision to start his own consultancy. With a passion for blending engineering with design, Tim opens up about the balance between the two disciplines and the reality of running your own business.

Key highlights include Tim’s transition from consultancy to in-house roles, his work on high-profile products like the US Joint Services face mask, and the lessons he’s learned from managing redundancies and building client relationships. Tim also dives into the process of scaling a design consultancy and what it takes to maintain work-life balance in an industry where hours can easily blur together.

Key Takeaways:

1. Balance Between Engineering and Design: Tim’s early career was shaped by his desire to bridge the gap between technical engineering and creative design, a focus that has remained throughout his career.
2. Transitioning from Permanent Roles to Contracting: Tim discusses the trade-offs of contract work, including the freedom and flexibility it offers, but also the lack of ownership over projects.
3. Starting a Design Consultancy: Tim highlights the challenges of starting Cognate, including the decision to leave behind a stable career, and how building client relationships has been critical to success.
4. The Importance of Networking: Tim emphasizes the value of networking and reaching out to old contacts when starting a business or looking for work, particularly in industries like design and engineering.
5. Work-Life Balance: Tim shares his strategy for maintaining separation between work and home life by renting an office space, while also balancing the demands of running a consultancy.
6. 
   

Connect with Tim Maclean on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-maclean-32115a156/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode of The Design Journeys Podcast, host Chris Whyte speaks with Mark Joynson-Bickerstaffe, founder of Mark & May and former design leader at Dyson and Kohler.

The conversation explores Mark's career journey, starting from his early influences, his time at Dyson during its startup phase, and his leadership role at Kohler. Mark shares insights on the evolving role of designers, the importance of innovation culture, and his belief in creating sustainable, meaningful products. They also discuss the challenges of scaling design leadership in large organizations and the importance of intuition, financial understanding, and communication for success. Mark highlights the ethos behind Mark & May, a consultancy that focuses on conscious design, pushing clients towards more sustainable and impactful product development.

Here are some of the key takeaways from this episode:

• How to foster a culture of innovation in fast-growing businesses.
• Why intuition and financial understanding are crucial for design leaders.
• The evolving role of designers in creating sustainable and impactful products.
• Mark’s approach to leadership and scaling teams, balancing creativity with business strategy.

Connect with Mark Joynson-Bickerstaffe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-joynson-bickerstaffe-a219b52/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode of the Design Journeys podcast, host Chris Whyte interviews Dale Backus, founder and CEO of Ohsnap, a company known for its innovative phone grip.

Dale shares his journey from a marketing background to product design, detailing his experiences with Small HD, the challenges of transitioning from an agency to a product business, and the lessons learned from selling Small HD.

He discusses the launch of Ohsnap, the importance of retail expansion, and the critical areas of product, marketing, and operations for business success.

Dale emphasizes the significance of curiosity and competence in potential employees and offers insights into navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship.

Takeaways

• Dale Backus founded Ohsnap, known for its innovative phone grip.
• Transitioning from marketing to product design can be challenging but rewarding.
• Small HD's journey involved overcoming numerous challenges and learning curves.
• Retail expansion requires careful planning and execution.
• Curiosity and competence are essential traits for success in any role.
• Building a strong brand is crucial in a competitive market.
• The importance of product quality cannot be overstated.
• Navigating the sale of a business can be complex and requires negotiation skills.
• Understanding the market timing can significantly impact business success.
• Continuous innovation is key to staying relevant in the industry.

Connect with Dale Backus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalebackus/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode of the Design Journeys podcast, host Chris Whyte interviews William Gordon, Vice President of Design at Blendjet. They discuss William's journey in industrial design, his time at Kohler and SC Johnson, and the importance of building relationships in the design industry.

William emphasizes the value of connections and maintaining a network, even during challenging times. He also highlights the role of storytelling in design and the impact of design on facilitating positive relationships between people.

In this conversation, William Gordon discusses the challenges of working with egotistical bosses and the importance of creating a positive work environment. He shares his experiences working at S.C. Johnson Wax and CamelBak, highlighting the diverse range of products and industries he has been involved in.

Gordon emphasizes the significance of understanding the design process and its impact on people, business, and society. He also shares a humorous design story involving Herb Kohler, the CEO of Kohler, testing a toilet seat.

Takeaways

• Building and maintaining relationships is crucial in the design industry
• Don't turn down opportunities, even if they may not align with your ideal projects
• Your network can lead to future opportunities and collaborations
• Design is about storytelling and facilitating positive relationships between people
• Listening and asking questions are key skills in building connections
• Don't sacrifice relationships for projects Working with egotistical bosses can be challenging and detrimental to the work environment.
• Creating a positive work environment is crucial for productivity and employee satisfaction.
• Gaining experience in different industries and product categories can broaden one's design skills and perspective.
• Understanding the design process and its impact on people, business, and society is essential for successful design.
• Design is about consequences and making a positive impact on users, stakeholders, and the environment.
• Humor and storytelling play a role in design, fostering engagement and connection with users.
• LinkedIn is a great platform for networking and connecting with professionals in the design industry.

Connect with William Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-gordon-a6522b1/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode of the Design Journeys podcast, host Chris Whyte interviews Tim Sharpe, co-founder of Better Normal, a consultancy focused on helping non-designers adopt a designer's mindset.

Tim shares his career journey, which includes working in various countries and industries, such as consumer electronics, e-bikes, and medical devices. He emphasizes the importance of international experience in shaping his success.

Tim also discusses how design can become a strategic advantage for non-design companies and shares insights on reframing problems, involving end-users, and staying curious.

In this conversation, Tim and Chris discuss the importance of networking and building connections in the design industry. They emphasize the value of being curious, asking questions, and having broad interests.

Tim shares his experience working on a project to develop equipment for cancer treatment and highlights the importance of teamwork and making choices that contribute to the greater good.

They also discuss tips for creating effective CVs and portfolios, including showcasing problem-solving skills through sketches.

Tim recommends the books 'Loonshots' and 'Ruined by Design' as valuable resources for designers.

Takeaways

• International experience can greatly contribute to career success in the design industry.
• Design can be a strategic advantage for non-design companies.
• Reframing problems and involving end-users are essential in finding effective solutions.
• Curiosity and asking questions are key traits for designers. Networking and building connections is crucial in the design industry. Be curious, ask questions, and show genuine interest in others.
• Having broad interests and diverse experiences can lead to more meaningful connections and collaborations.
• Teamwork is essential in design projects. Embrace diversity and different skill sets to create innovative solutions.
• Make choices that contribute to the greater good and have a positive impact on the world.
• When creating CVs and portfolios, focus on quality over quantity. Showcase problem-solving skills and thought processes through sketches.
• Recommended books for designers: 'Loonshots' and 'Ruined by Design'.
• 
  

Connect with Tim Sharpe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharpetim/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

In this episode, host Chris Whyte interviews Emily Moyer, an independent industrial design strategy and innovation consultant.

Emily has worked with big brands like L'Oreal and Nestle, as well as startups like Aura Home and Bark & Co.

She shares her career journey and highlights the importance of user experience and problem-solving in design.

Emily also discusses the trends she's seeing in the industry, including advancements in design tools and AI.

In this conversation, Chris and Emily discuss the importance of understanding the limitations of design tools like GPT and Mid-Journey. They compare it to the process of designing in industrial design, where it's crucial to flesh out concepts before diving into 3D modeling. They also talk about the elements of a strong industrial design portfolio, including versatility and sketching.

Emily shares a success story of a prescription bottle design that won an award and a failure story of a wearable keyboard that didn't meet consumer expectations.

They discuss the challenges of business development for independent consultants and the effectiveness of personal posts on LinkedIn.

Emily recommends the book 'I Love It, What Is It?' by Turner Duckworth and the podcast 'Design Theory' by John Murielo.

She also mentions Hector Rodriguez and Jonathan Tai as valuable resources in the design industry.

Emily can be reached on LinkedIn or through her website, EmilyMoyer.com.

Takeaways

• Industrial design involves creating physical consumer products that people use every day.
• User experience and problem-solving are at the core of industrial design.
• Advancements in design tools and AI are shaping the industry.
• Collaboration and in-person meetings are still valuable in the design process.
• Building relationships and networking are important for career growth in design. Understand the limitations of design tools like GPT and Mid-Journey and know how to get the best out of them.
• Flesh out concepts before diving into 3D modeling in industrial design.
• A strong industrial design portfolio should showcase versatility and include sketching.
• Success story: A prescription bottle design won an award for design of the decade.
• Failure story: A wearable keyboard didn't meet consumer expectations.
• Business development can be a challenge for independent consultants, but consistency and personal posts on LinkedIn can help.
• Recommended resources: 'I Love It, What Is It?' by Turner Duckworth and the 'Design Theory' podcast by John Murielo.
• Connect with Emily on LinkedIn or through her website, EmilyMoyer.com.
• 
  

Connect with Emily Moyer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-moyer-1b49973/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/⁠

Ashley Sayed, CEO of Supply Chain Pro, shares his career journey in product development, from working at Sendo and Motorola to joining TomTom.

He discusses the transition from engineer to strategic roles and the importance of connecting design and product development with manufacturing.

Ashley also provides advice for young entrepreneurs, emphasizing the need to solve a real problem, have passion, and consider scalability. He highlights the benefits of joining an incubator or accelerator to gain experience and support.

Ashley's experience in high-volume manufacturing and design for manufacture has shaped his expertise in supply chain management. Ashley Sayed discusses his experience in scaling up technology and creating a roadmap of products.

He emphasizes the importance of bringing in engineering and understanding the technical aspects of design. He shares the success and challenges he faced during his time at TomTom and Philips.

Ashley also talks about his current venture, Supply Chain Pro, which focuses on helping companies set up and improve their supply chains. He highlights the importance of prioritizing health, family, and career and shares insights on hiring and standing out in the job market.

Takeaways

• Ashley's career in product development spans over 25 years, working with companies like Sendo, Motorola, and TomTom.
• He emphasizes the importance of connecting design and product development with manufacturing and supply chain management.
• Ashley advises young entrepreneurs to solve a real problem, have passion, and consider scalability when pursuing an idea.
• Joining an incubator or accelerator can provide valuable experience and support for startups. Bringing in engineering and understanding the technical aspects of design is crucial for scaling up technology and creating a roadmap of products.
• Prioritizing health, family, and career is important for maintaining a balanced life.
• Supply Chain Pro helps companies set up and improve their supply chains, considering both technical and business KPIs.
• To stand out in the job market, candidates can showcase their passion and motivation, demonstrate their problem-solving skills, and provide unique insights or projects related to the company they are applying to.
• Hiring is a critical process, and it is important to evaluate technical skills, communication abilities, and how candidates handle stress.
• Forming good habits and continuously learning are key to personal and professional growth.
• 
  

Chapters

00:00 The Journey of a Product Development Expert

03:53 The Impact of Psychology on Design Decisions

10:01 Challenges and Opportunities in Scaling Up Technology

17:05 Valuable Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

28:55 The Journey from Industrial Design to Software Engineering

33:12 Balancing Career, Family, and Health

50:56 Insights on Hiring and Standing Out in the Job Market

01:06:08 Insights on Physical Product Development and Recruitment

Ashley's recommended book:

Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://amzn.eu/d/06iloxge

Connect with Ashley Sayed on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashsayed/

Learn more about SupliChainPRO: https://www.suplichainpro.com/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/

In this episode of the Design Journeys podcast, host Chris

Whyte interviews Tim Morton, Director for Global Design North America for Husqvarna. They discuss Tim's career journey, starting with his studies in industrial design at the University of Wales and his time at Lego.

Tim shares his experiences working at Lego, including the

importance of collaboration, understanding the brand, and designing for children. He also talks about his transition to consulting and his work with PDT, where he worked on projects for clients such as Dell, Corning, and

Qualcomm.

The conversation explores the broad field of consultancy and design, highlighting the importance of understanding the needs and goals of people and designing products to meet those needs. It emphasizes the role of human connection in design and the value of innovation and creativity.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of

leadership, the impact of design on business, and the need to quantify the value of design.

The guest shares his experiences and failures in the design

industry and emphasizes the importance of learning from failures.

The conversation concludes with a discussion on favorite

podcasts and books, and the guest's contact information.

Takeaways

• Tim's journey into industrial design started with his curiosity and desire to create and make things.
• Experience outside of design, such as teaching and working in telemarketing, can provide valuable skills and perspectives.
• Designers need constraints to solve problems and create innovative solutions.
• Understanding the brand and designing for the target audience are crucial in product design.
• Flexibility and the ability to apply problem-solving skills to different industries are valuable traits for designers. Consultancy is a broad field with various specializations, including engineering-led, design-led, innovation-led, and research-led consultancies.
• Understanding the needs and goals of people is crucial in design, and products should be designed to meet those needs.
• Innovation and creativity play a significant role in design, and companies that invest in design and understanding their customers tend to perform better.
• Leadership in design requires the ability to connect with people, inspire them, and quantify the value of design.
• Failures are an essential part of the design process, and learning from failures is crucial for growth and improvement.
• Favorite podcasts and books mentioned in the conversation include 'How I Built This' and 'Remember' by Lisa Genova and 'The Silo Effect' by Gillian Tett.
• 
  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:20 University of Wales and Discovering Industrial Design

06:18 Starting at LEGO and the Importance of Persistence

13:03 Favorite Memories at LEGO and the Value of

Collaboration

23:36 Working on Diverse Projects at PDT

25:23 Design, Innovation, and Creativity in Connecting

People, Technology, and Business

28:39 Design as a Business: Lessons from Working at PDT

33:13 Challenges and Opportunities in the Outdoor Power

Equipment Industry

35:15 Learning from Failure: Lessons from a Smartwatch

Project at LEGO

45:26 Embracing Change and Inspiring Others: The Power of

Human Connection in Design

53:43 Insights on Physical Product Development and

Recruitment

Tim's recommended books and podcasts:

How I Built This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6E709HRH7XaiZrMfgtNCun

"Remember" by Lisa Genova: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remember-Science-Memory-Art-Forgetting-ebook/dp/B08YHZ4ZR6

"The Silo Effect" by Gillian Tett: https://amzn.eu/d/06t6NSe7

Connect with Tim Morton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjmorton/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teamkodu.com/

In this episode of the Design Journeys podcast, Chris Whyte interviews Adrian Berry, co-founder of Factory Design.

They discuss Adrian's design journey, starting from his studies in engineering product design at London South Bank University to his time at Pentagram and Seymour Powell.

Adrian shares the challenges and lessons he learned in business development for design consultancies. They also talk about the importance of placement years, building relationships, and networking in the industry.

In this conversation, Adrian Berry, co-founder of Factory Design, shares his experiences and insights on starting and running a design consultancy. He discusses the early days of Factory Design, the challenges they faced, and the importance of building relationships and rapport with clients.

Adrian also emphasizes the value of being part of a design community and the benefits of working in a studio environment.

He shares his pet peeve of remote work and highlights the importance of in-person interactions for collaboration and creativity.

Adrian recommends the podcast '13 Minutes to the Moon' and the book 'The Modern Middle East' by Jeremy Bowen.

Takeaways

• Adrian Berry studied engineering product design at London South Bank University and started his career at Pentagram before co-founding Factory Design.
• Placement years are valuable for gaining practical experience and building relationships in the industry.
• Business development for design consultancies involves networking, building a strong reputation, and delivering high-quality work.
• Building relationships and maintaining a good rapport with clients is crucial for long-term success in the design industry. Building relationships and rapport with clients is crucial for success in a design consultancy.
• Being part of a design community and working in a studio environment fosters collaboration and creativity.
• In-person interactions are important for building relationships and maintaining a supportive team dynamic.
• Remote work can hinder collaboration and the organic exchange of ideas.
• The podcast '13 Minutes to the Moon' and the book 'The Modern Middle East' are recommended.
• 
  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

06:00 The Value of Placement Years

09:37 Building Relationships and Networking

13:17 Lessons Learned at Pentagram

14:42 The Importance of In-Person Collaboration and Communication

15:38 Working on Diverse Projects

21:13 The Challenges of Business Development

25:03 Starting Factory Design

29:02 Surviving the Early Days

29:31 Advice for Young Designers Starting Their Careers

31:25 Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Success

37:45 Showcasing Process and Building Relationships in Job Applications

49:35 Podcast and Book Recommendations

58:34 Closing Remarks

01:04:02 Insights on Physical Product Development and Recruitment

Adrian's recommended podcast and book:

13 minutes to the Moon Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2/episodes/downloads

The Modern Middle East: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Modern-Middle-East-Personal/dp/1509890890

Connect with Adrian Berry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianberry/

Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠