What does it actually take to convince someone to write a cheque for a business that has to build something physical before it can sell anything?

In this compilation episode of Why Design, nine hardware founders and one investor share the belief that sits underneath every one of their rounds: that raising capital for a physical product is a fundamentally different exercise to raising for software, and treating it like the same game is how good companies lose winnable rounds.

Rather than accept the vague, feel-good pitch that dazzles nobody, this group of founders learned, sometimes the hard way, exactly what an investor is measuring, what a cap table cannot survive, and how far real discipline can stretch a small amount of capital.

This isn't about pitching harder. It's about understanding the room you're actually in.

Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign

What You'll Learn

• 💡 Why an investor calling your valuation too high can be the best call of your fundraise
• 📊 What investors are actually measuring when the product itself is emotionally compelling
• 🧾 How one missing founder vesting agreement can poison every future raise
• 🎯 Why the team slide belongs three slides into a deck, not seventeen
• ⚙️ How the leanest hardware teams turn limited capital into a competitive advantage
• 🚻 What female founders are still asked in rooms where their co-founders are asked about vision

Memorable Quotes

"My CEO thought it wasn't that good a call. But I thought it was a really great call."

Sid Shaikh, CTO, Fieldwork Robotics

"Investors invest in teams. Team slide needs to be like three slides in."

Bill Liao, General Partner, SOSV

"The investment just went poof."

Bill Liao, General Partner, SOSV

"We will always operate in the leanest way possible to keep everyone as creative as they can be."

Mark Tapscott, Co-founder, Longbow Motors

"We exist as a company because raising capital hasn't been easy."

Tess Cosad, CEO, Béa Fertility

Resources & Links

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

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

📸 Follow @whydesign 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: 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