LESSONS LEARNED SHIPPING 500 UNITS OF MY FIRST HARDWARE PRODUCT

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Simon Berens left his job as a software engineer in January 2025 to launch a hardware product, Brighter: the world's brightest lamp. Berens had no prior experience in hardware and was counting on being able to pick it up quickly with the help of other engineers. This article takes a look at the challenges Berens had to overcome, like making the lamp in the first place, tariffs, and manufacturing issues, and details the lessons that he learned along the way.