# He Scaled a $500M Product. His Advice for Water Tech? Slow Down

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/liquid-assets-6572676/he-scaled-a-500m-product-his-advice-for-water-tech-slow-down
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/liquid-assets-6572676/he-scaled-a-500m-product-his-advice-for-water-tech-slow-down.md
Podcast: [Liquid Assets](https://stenobird.com/podcast/liquid-assets-6572676)
Published: 2026-03-15T21:24:14+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ravi-kurani/episodes/He-Scaled-a-500M-Product--His-Advice-for-Water-Tech--Slow-Down-e3gg3mb
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/dc2b3d10/podcast/play/116968587/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-2-15%2F420076734-44100-2-894061c48637b.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/liquid-assets-6572676/episodes/he-scaled-a-500m-product-his-advice-for-water-tech-slow-down
Duration seconds: 2015

## Resource

A working prototype means nothing if you can't manufacture it at scale. Brad Augustine — VP of Hardware Engineering at Inspiren, former VP of Hardware at Lululemon — is the engineer who scaled the Mirror connected fitness device from startup to a $500M acquisition. In this episode, he shares the product development playbook that water tech founders and engineers need to hear. Brad spent 20 years in hardware product development: building LED lighting and ergonomic furniture at Humanscale, leading the engineering team that cut Mirror's production costs by 40% before the pandemic supply chain crisis, and now building AI-powered senior care hardware at Inspiren. We cover: → Why "hardware is hard" is actually "hardware is fun" → The real gap between a working prototype and mass production → How Brad's team cut 40% of Mirror's BOM cost — and why that saved them when the pandemic hit → Why water industry engineers need to think like product managers → The PFAS trap: are you building for wastewater or drinking water? Two very different customers. → How AI is finally helping engineers navigate tangled regulatory requirements (UL, IEC, FCC, SCADA) → Why "me-too" products die in hardware — you can't pivot a mold → What's next: AR beauty tech, AI inside physical products, and solving problems in your own community Guest: Brad Augustine → VP, Hardware Engineering at Inspiren → Former VP, Hardware at Lululemon (Mirror) → Former Design Engineering Manager at Humanscale → LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-augustine Host: Ravi Kurani, LiquidAssets This episode is sponsored by HASA — the leader in water treatment solutions. Keeping communities safe one drop at a time for over 60 years. Learn more at hasa.com.

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