A year and a half ago I launched Jamcorder, a fully automated piano recording device. 2,500 units have sold, and the business stands on its own. Coming from software, I expected hardware to be the hardest part — electronics, plastics, manufacturing, component shortages. It wasn’t. I hand‑assembled the first 500 units myself in four days with zero changes. No scrapped runs, no sourcing crises (tariffs were a close call). The real struggle was software: roughly 200K lines across firmware, app, and tooling, taking over three years in a pre‑LLM world. By comparison, hardware was smooth sailing.

Jamcorder is intentionally simple: 25 unique components, off‑the‑shelf parts except custom MIDI connectors, a single‑screw PCB assembly, generous draft angles, and no slides. I cut low‑battery detection, ambient light sensing, a power button, even USB‑C. That simplicity made hardware easy at this scale.

My takeaway: “hardware is as hard as you make it.” If you protect margins, don’t let hardware scare you. Practical tips: keep BOM simple, avoid single‑source parts, partner with a Chinese assembly house via Alibaba, target 70%+ gross margin, stay lean, implement anti‑counterfeit measures, do final QA in‑house, request samples before each run, write a photo‑illustrated assembly guide, and keep packaging small.