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Inside Tony Hsieh's Quiet Plan To Bankroll Hardware Startups

Posted by samzenpus on from the rise-of-the-machines dept.

curtwoodward writes "Tony Hsieh made a fortune turning Zappos into a customer service-obsessed online shoe store. But as an investor, his newest obsession is ... robots? Welcome to the hardware boom, where startups making connected gadgets, smart vehicles, and drones are catching investors' eyes. A combination of cheaper components and crowdfunded pre-orders are behind the surge. But as the woman running Hsieh's hardware investments can tell you, getting those grand plans actually built overseas is the hard part."

7 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. So why not build them in the US, then? by WilliamGeorge · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "But as the woman running Hsieh's hardware investments can tell you, getting those grand plans actually built overseas is the hard part."

    So lets build them here (the US, for this writer) instead of overseas? Or if someone in Germany comes up with a startup idea, build it there. Why must everything be outsourced? Keep production local with design and management for faster communication, better quality, and better paying jobs in your area!

    --
    William George
    1. Re:So why not build them in the US, then? by mythosaz · · Score: 3, Informative

      Because your job running a corporation nowadays is solely to provide a return to your investors soon, and little else, with little regard for anyone's long-term best interests.

      I hate being all, Coprorations are evil, maaaaaaaaaan, but well...

    2. Re:So why not build them in the US, then? by WilliamGeorge · · Score: 2

      After reading the article in more depth, the person interviewed apparently just gives up on the idea of making stuff here in the US:

      "You realize that you can’t make many more products in-house, and you can’t do it in the United States—you have to go overseas."

      I would disagree. You may not be able to make or source every little component here in the US, but the overall product certainly could be built here. It would cost more, that is true, but in many cases the benefits will outweigh the costs IMHO.

      --
      William George
    3. Re:So why not build them in the US, then? by boristdog · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I work for a semiconductor factory in the US. We have factories in Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia as well.
      Which one actually makes the lowest cost and highest quality parts? The one in the US.

      Yes, the average salaries are far lower in most of the other countries. But their quality is crap and we have to fly our engineers over there to supervise their engineers all the time. Innovations and changes only come from the US factory. The rest are content to do it the way they always have and fight us on making any change. It's a cultural thing, really.

      If we had been as resistant to change here in the US we would have closed down a decade ago and all our manufacturing would be overseas. But we're pretty dynamic and we change the way we do things fairly regularly to stay efficient.

    4. Re:So why not build them in the US, then? by ebno-10db · · Score: 2

      Even as a damnyankee I recognize that the South is part of the US. Actually our position has always been that states can't secede, so despite the late unpleasantness, you never left the union. Language can be a problem, but an English speaker can usually get the hang of it more easily than Mandarin.

      All joking aside, I would love to see more of this stuff built in any part of the US. I pray this is not some overly hopeful perception on your part.

      As for semiconductor foundries though, Dallas and Austin have long been big, North Carolina has some specialty fabs, but what are you referring to?

    5. Re:So why not build them in the US, then? by ebno-10db · · Score: 2

      Because while getting them built overseas is hard, getting them built in the US is impossible.

      And on what experience do you make that statement?

  2. Re:Not evil, they're facing senior citizens by ebno-10db · · Score: 2

    So when you complain about Wall Street wanting returns now, bear in mind that this is due to the boomer population retiring and wanting their money right away.

    Of course, it's the evil boomers! Never before has Wall Street concentrated on short term gains. The 80's and 90's never happened.

    the greatest wealth transfer in recorded history is going on right now. It's not the 99% to the 1% as we like to think; it's the younger generations paying off the Boomers, and it's going on around the world.

    So there's something wrong with retired people cashing in on the investments they made so they could retire? If it's happening on such a vast scale, it should mean there are some great deals for younger generations to invest in. BTW, which cliche is correct, the one that says boomers didn't invest for their retirement, or the one that says them cashing in on those investments they didn't make is a problem?

    P.S. You're falling for the oldest trick in the book - letting your attention from the actual responsible parties be distracted by a convenient "them". After Bacon's Rebellion the colonial authorities helped push the idea of racial conflict. In the rebellion it didn't matter if you were black or white, which made for a dangerously united front. Of course racism is rather passe these days, so you're helping to foster the diversion to a different group to be referred to as "those people".