PRODUCT, TECHNOLOGY & ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR HARD-TECHYou have the tech.
Now you have a company to build.
I partner with hard-tech founders to build the company behind the technology - aligning product, engineering, manufacturing, and how the organization operates, so the company can ship, learn, and scale without burning out.
CONSUMER HARDWARE · ROBOTICS · DEFENSE · AEROSPACE · ADVANCED MANUFACTURING WHO YOU'D BE WORKING WITHI've learned most of this the hard way.
I’m Slade. I’ve spent fifteen years building hardware across robotics, defense and aerospace, consumer products, and advanced manufacturing. I’ve worked inside companies from the earliest startup stages through later-stage growth, including founding one of my own. Most of what I know came from building, getting things wrong, and trying again. The biggest lesson has been that impressive technology is only half the work. A hard-tech company also needs the product judgment, manufacturing discipline, and organizational strength to deliver it. That is what I help founders build through Ply.
15
years building hardware
4
hard-tech startups
9
products to production-ready
3x
team growth, <2% attrition
WHAT I BELIEVEComplexity is inevitable. Chaos is not.
Hard-tech requires optimism. But when optimism drifts from reality, complexity becomes chaos: roadmaps bend to external pressure, dates ignore technical constraints, and priorities shift faster than teams can execute. Reality is a competitive advantage. Clarity shows what is true, and discipline turns that understanding into better decisions. Together, they give ambition a real path forward.
You can build boldly without building blindly.
WHY "PLY"Strength doesn't come from mass.
It comes from how the plies are laid.
A single ply of carbon fiber is thin and flexible. Adding mass alone does not make it strong; the plies have to be bonded in the right orientations. A hard-tech company works the same way. More headcount, process, or capital cannot compensate for misalignment. Product, engineering, manufacturing, and execution create real strength only when they reinforce one another.
STEP 01 - POSITION
STEP 02 - BOND
STEP 03 - TRIMProduct
PLY 01 / 0°What to build, for whom, and what to leave out. Product gives the rest of the company a clear target. Without that clarity, engineering can build the wrong thing well, priorities multiply, and scale amplifies the confusion. A credible roadmap is as honest about what the company will not do as what it will.
PLY 02 / +45°Engineering
The architecture, technical decisions, and interfaces that turn the product vision into something repeatable. A system built for the next stage can evolve without being torn apart because its constraints were considered before they became expensive surprises.
PLY 03 / 90°Manufacturing
Cost, quality, yield, and supply chain have to shape the product early. Otherwise, a successful demonstration can become something the company cannot produce reliably, economically, or at volume. Understanding those constraints early gives the team more room to solve them.
PLY 04 / -45°Team & Execution
The right people, clear ownership, and an operating cadence that turns decisions into progress. Without them, teams rely on heroics, overloaded leaders, and effort that cannot scale. A company becomes stronger when execution grows with the team instead of depending on a few people carrying the weight.
Ply helps hard-tech founders build companies that get stronger as they scale.
FOR HARD-TECH FOUNDERSStart with what the company needs now.
You may already have strong technical leadership and still need experienced help through the transition from promising technology to a company capable of delivering it. Each engagement can stand on its own or become part of a broader sequence shaped around what the company needs now.
DIAGNOSEA focused three-week assessment of what is working, what needs attention, and what the next stage requires.
BUILDEmbedded product and technology leadership for the decisions and foundations that will shape the company’s next stage.
SUSTAINA trusted, ongoing partner for the decisions that are hardest to reverse.
FOR HARD-TECH LEADERSLeadership is the only thing harder than the tech.
Leadership can feel lonely, especially when the answers are not obvious. I coach new managers, first-time founders, experienced leaders, and people navigating meaningful career transitions, giving them a confidential place to work through the hard conversation, the unfamiliar challenge, or the decision with no clean answer. It’s practical support from someone who has been there.
FOR HARD-TECH INVESTORSInvest with a clearer view.
Hard-tech opportunities can be difficult to evaluate from the outside. I assess the technology, path to production, economics, and team to understand what has been proven, what still needs to be demonstrated, and what it will take to deliver at scale. Then I explain the findings in plain English, giving you a grounded view of the opportunity before you move forward.
The strengths and risks that matter most
How credible the cost, yield, and production assumptions are
The team’s ability to deliver and scale the product
A clear recommendation on how to proceed and what to clarify next