Startups focused on developing innovative physical products have a unique set of challenges. mHUB, one of the nation's leading hardtech innovation centers, has convened an ecosystem to help founders get from Point A to Point B, and all the points in between as they navigate the complex path to commercialization. When physical product innovators become members at mHUB, they gain access to extensive resources— including a mentor network and Experts in Residence.
As a startup founder, you've probably asked yourself these types of questions before:
- How do I commercialize an innovative physical product?
- Which suppliers should I work with?
- How do I reduce risk when launching a new product?
- How can I ensure the highest quality for the lowest cost?
- What should I consider when designing a product?
- When should I start prototyping?
- What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
- How do I determine market entry, pricing, and sales channels?
- When should I begin fundraising and looking for investors?
When you become a member at mHUB, you can meet with EIRs on a regular basis to ask these questions and get the insights you need to steer your startup in the right direction.
Supply Chain Expert
Karthik Chandramouli's career began at Toyota, where he led supply chain network optimization and growth initiatives. He then moved to Motorola and drove a global Lean Transformation across 14 factories in 10 countries, achieving world-class quality and flexibility— a first in the consumer electronic industry.
Business Strategy & Finance Expert
Jason Kunreuther brings 25+ years of strategy and operational experience at mid-to-large size firms in the Financial Service and FinTech space. He has built and run businesses within larger companies and has a wealth of experience in identifying strong ideas and accelerating them from ideation through execution.
Jason started his post-graduate work as a strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group and has worked at a combination of large banks (Barclays), mid-sized FinTech firms (PEAK6) and market makers (Citadel Securities) in Chief Strategy and Chief Operating Officer roles.
Entrepreneurship & Product Management Expert (Catalyze)
Marcy Capron is a Chicago-based entrepreneur, inventor, strategist, engineer, and designer sitting at the intersection of technology and the human condition. Marcy studied at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and Northwestern University before founding Polymathic in 2010, a digital innovation consultancy that was the go-to technical co-founding team for 30+ Chicagoland startups; acquired by Tandem in 2017. From 2018-2022, Marcy served as Chief Product & Tech Officer at Equilibria ("EQ"), a women's cannabis tech company she co-founded with Coco Meers, focused on personalized wellness routines for real outcomes. Marcy's recent entrepreneurial endeavors have led her to founding Paprika, a medtech startup revolutionizing PAP treatment for patients with sleep apnea. As with her own startups, Marcy evaluates all innovation projects agnostically through the lenses of software, hardtech, CPG, durables, softgoods, and/or service-design, resulting in a uniquely robust and differentiated model. Marcy looks at Product through the eyes of brand, pop culture, and user psychology. She is an Entrepreneurship & Product Management Expert in Residence at mHUB through its Catalyze Initiative.
Engineering Expert
Bob Daniel-Wayman (BDW) brings over 30 years of experience in developing and shipping products along with leading quality efforts in a global product and solutions company. Over his career, he developed large scale telecommunications products, a pioneering consumer IoT product, industrial automation, consumer durables, and consumer electronics. Along the way, he was granted 23 patents and served as VP of Engineering and VP of Quality. His senior-level experience provides insight into the impact of technical, business, and organizational strategies on company success.
Engineering Expert (Catalyze)
Melanie Mosley is the Chief Technology Officer of Adezu Inc., President and Founder of Light Dynamics, Inc., and the President of the Chicago STEM Foundation (a NSBE-Chicago Professionals entity). Before starting Light Dynamics, she had the pleasure of working for Hewlett-Packard in Cupertino California as a R&D Performance Engineer and Philip Morris USA in Richmond, Virginia as a Chemical Engineering Intern. In addition to serving as the CTO of DEZU, she also taught Engineering Basics, Computer Science and Physics at Hales Franciscan High School and is also an Engineer in Residence at mHUB through its Catalyze Initiative.
Take Advantage of mHUB's Experts in Residence
Entrepreneurs who become members at mHUB join a community of over 1,057 engineers, developers, manufacturers, mentors, and entrepreneurs. Learn about the mHUB ecosystem and the mHUB mentorship program, which connects entrepreneurs with business and industry leaders who have extensive experience in manufacturing innovation and cutting-edge technologies.
