Your Startup Isn't Special. Here's Why Most Fail | Sera Evcimen (Special Feature)

What if the decision that sinks your hardware startup is one nobody remembers making?In this episode of Why Design, Sera Evcimen shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: most hardware failures are predictable, and the people who talk honestly about their mistakes are the ones others can actually learn from.Rather than staying on one company's payroll, Sera chose to move through startup after startup, from CubeSats to fusion to robotics, and then to go in alongside founders as a hands-on partner. That decision led to Pratik, The Builder Circle podcast and a hardware community that now spans Boston and London.This conversation isn't about startup statistics.It's about the hidden chain reaction between a product decision, a hiring decision and a company strategy.Think of it as the highlights reel. Same conversation, fewer detours, every point that still matters.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 🏭 Why your first operations hire ends up choosing your manufacturing strategy for you🔧 How the in-house decision gets made by accident, one purchase at a time🧭 What hardware-savvy VCs respect in founders who name their own risks🗺️ How to map skills to build milestones before you write a job description⚙️ Why tribology explains so many gearbox and bearing failures🤝 What actually works for engineers who find networking uncomfortable Memorable Quotes "If you hire too early, it will basically make the decision for you in a way.""There's no such thing as bad PR. When you're a startup there is.""I always joke that I'm the happiest when I'm crawling on the floor of a factory floor.""Community is the lifeline for hardware.""I would say focus more on being interested than interesting."Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @why.design_ on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Pratik → pratikdev.com 🔗 Connect with Sera Evcimen → linkedin.com/in/seraevcimen 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.comSponsorThis episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.