From PT Clinic to Wearable: Cooper Boydston (Alenthia Run)

June 29th, 2026  |  Season 3  |  43 mins 14 secs

Most runners only get their form analyzed after an injury, in a lab full of motion-capture cameras. Cooper Boydston, CTO of Alenthia Run, joins DeAndre and Grant to explain how his team shrank that lab into a small sensor that lives on your sacrum and reads your running biomechanics on every run. It's part running-science deep dive, part candid hardware-founder story about prototypes, UX, and the long road from "it works" to a product people love.

Moats & Multiples in Hardtech with Venture Declassified

June 8th, 2026  |  Season 3  |  1 hr 4 mins

What actually changes when you raise money for a hardware company instead of a software one? In this Hardtech Podcast crossover with the Venture Declassified crew (Jacob Schpok of Elevate Ventures, Mike Kelly of Start Something Ventures, and Ben Pidgeon of VisionTech), Grant plays the founder and asks three active investors to grill him on how hard tech is underwritten differently at pre-seed, seed, and Series A: the metrics, the moats, the multiples, and why the same traits that make hardware slow and expensive early are exactly what make it defensible later.

One Device for Depression, Anxiety & Insomnia: Fisher Wallace Labs

June 8th, 2026  |  Season 3  |  41 mins 28 secs

Kelly Roman went from a Harvard English degree and a graphic-novel adaptation of "The Art of War" to running one of the only brain-stimulation companies on a path to FDA approval. He joins Grant Chapman and Drew Westrick to unpack Fisher Wallace's nearly 17-year journey: designing a sham device you genuinely can't feel, why depression is regulated as a Class III device, and the brutal economics of clinical trials, reimbursement, and IP in prescription hardware.

The Art of the Hardtech Agency with Justin Sirotin (OCTO)

June 8th, 2026  |  Season 3  |  47 mins 7 secs

Justin Sirotin, founder and CEO of OCTO, industrial designer, and the seasoned agency owner, joins DeAndre and Grant for a candid, founder-to-founder breakdown of what it really takes to build a product agency that lasts. From surviving 2020 without firing anyone, to why sales is the hardest job in the building, to knowing when to let a client "graduate," it's a masterclass in the unglamorous economics of relationship-based businesses.

Inside gBETA: Building Hard Tech Founders Nationwide

May 18th, 2026  |  Season 3  |  47 mins 18 secs

In this episode of The Hardtech Podcast, host DeAndre Harakas sits down with Davide Dantonio, Director of gBETA Accelerators in Indiana, to unpack what it actually takes to build a successful hard tech startup. Davide shares his journey from Naples, Italy through France, Spain, London, Kraft Heinz, and Amazon Pay, to running one of the Midwest's most active accelerator programs. They dig into customer obsession, the difference between customer discovery and "sales discovery," doing things that don't scale, the Pareto principle for early product roadmaps, and Davide's financing-and-milestones framework for fundraising. The conversation features real anecdotes from hard tech founders building truck-scanning AI, advanced optical lenses, pothole-scanning vehicle cameras, and plant compounds for animal gut health; plus details on gBETA's upcoming Industry 4.0 cohort launching in June.

From Clinician to $100M MedTech Giant: Dr. David Albert, Founder of AliveCor

May 6th, 2026  |  Season 3  |  52 mins 20 secs

Dr. David Albert, founder of AliveCor and pioneer of digital health technology, joins DeAndre Harakas and Grant Chapman for a deep dive into building a regulated medical device company from scratch. From prototyping the first smartphone EKG using a gutted Mophie case and ultrasonic signal transmission to bootstrapping early revenue by selling to veterinarians, Dr. Albert shares the guerrilla engineering and entrepreneurial grit behind one of the most impactful consumer medical devices ever created.

Modernizing Legacy Medtech with Norbert Leinfellner

March 20th, 2026  |  Season 2  |  42 mins 23 secs

Join hosts Grant Chapman and DeAndre Harakas on this episode of the Hardtech Podcast as they welcome Norbert Leinfellner from CAIRE!

In this conversation, Norbert shares his firsthand insights into the world of medical device development. We dive into the engineering challenges behind hardware miniaturization, the critical role of intuitive industrial design, and how integrating IoT is actively improving patient outcomes. Tune in to discover the unique hurdles, lessons learned, and future trends shaping the medtech industry today!

Solving Grid Peaks from the Kitchen with Electra

March 9th, 2026  |  Season 2  |  42 mins 52 secs

How do we bridge the gap between high-level climate policy and the appliances in our kitchens? On this episode of the Hardtech Podcast, DeAndre Harakas and Grant Chapman welcome Bert Muthalaly, a leader at Electra who is doing exactly that.

The conversation explores the technical and philosophical journey of moving away from fossil fuels toward a battery-backed future. Bert Muthalaly breaks down the engineering behind Electra’s innovative induction stoves and explains why the safety and efficiency of residential battery systems are the keys to a sustainable grid.

Beyond the tech, Bert offers a candid look at the founder's journey—discussing how to navigate the complexities of power electronics and the importance of fostering a healthy, innovative work environment.

Revolutionizing Golf Training with Power Tee

March 2nd, 2026  |  Season 2  |  56 mins 1 sec

In this episode of the Hardtech Podcast, host DeAndre Harakas and co-host Grant Chapman are joined by Martin Wyeth, the visionary founder of powerTee.

Martin shares the fascinating story behind inventing powerTee and transforming it into a leader in golf training technology. He opens up about the gritty reality of entrepreneurship, discussing how he navigated the company through financial crises and the challenges of scaling hardware. The conversation also looks ahead to the future of golf tech, including innovations that keep powerTee at the forefront and plans for a new home-use version. Tune in for a masterclass on resilience, innovation, and growth in the sports industry.

From Sketch to Scale: Hardware Best Practices with Sam Holland

February 27th, 2026  |  Season 2  |  33 mins 17 secs

Join hosts Grant Chapman and DeAndre Harakas on this episode of the Hardtech Podcast as they welcome Sam Holland from Informal!

In this conversation, Sam shares his expert insights on the nitty-gritty of product development, client relationships, and navigating the unique complexities of hardware startups. Whether you are an aspiring founder or an experienced engineer, tune in to gain practical, actionable advice on choosing the right partners, managing expectations, and ultimately building successful products.

Unlocking Smart Home Innovations with August Home

February 9th, 2026  |  Season 2  |  32 mins 17 secs

In this episode of the Hardtech Podcast, hosts DeAndre Harakas and Grant Chapman engage with Tiffany Mayo, the Director of Product Management for Connected Devices at Yale and August home. The conversation traces Tiffany's professional transition from marketing to product management, highlighting the unique complexities of managing hardware products compared to software.

Tiffany breaks down the critical need for effective communication between hardware and software teams and emphasizes the importance of rigorous testing in the development cycle. She also shares insights on creating a structured curriculum for new product managers and how building strong, authentic relationships within teams is the secret weapon for successful project execution.

Finding the Beachhead: How Bailout Systems Pivoted from Firefighting to Arboriculture

January 26th, 2026  |  Season 2  |  39 mins 10 secs

In this episode of the Hardtech Podcast, hosts DeAndre Harakas and Grant Chapman connect with Michael Ragsdale, Founder of Bailout Systems, and engineer Alex Bowersox. Born from a tragic events of Black Sunday, Bailout Systems has evolved into a key player in the arbor market. Michael explains the strategic pivot that made this possible, while Alex sheds light on the engineering hurdles involved in building life-saving climbing devices.

Together, the group discusses the realities of securing funding through pitch competitions, the necessity of founder-led sales, and the often-overlooked challenge of managing mental health while building a hardware company. This conversation offers a transparent look at the decade of work required to turn a safety concept into a market-ready product.