Ben Thorpe is the Design and Manufacturing Director at Naiad Aqua Systems, a startup revolutionising chemical control for swimming pools through modern connected technology. With nearly two decades of industry experience, he has worked across major companies including SharkNinja and Tech21, developing expertise that spans from early-stage concept development to full-scale manufacturing. Ben made the leap from a large engineering powerhouse to becoming the sole employee at Naiad, where he has been instrumental in bringing their innovative IoT-connected product to market. His unique blend of engineering know-how, entrepreneurial instinct, and natural sales ability makes him a rare and versatile force in the product development world.

💡 What You'll Learn from Ben's Journey:

🔸 The Last 10% Is the Hardest: Getting a product to market is never as simple as having a working prototype. Ben breaks down why the final stage of product development, from design freeze to validation builds, compliance, and pilot runs, is the most challenging and why building buffer time and funding into your plan is essential.🔸 Embrace the Startup Leap: Job security at a large corporation can be a false comfort. Ben shares why taking a role at a startup, even a short-term one, can accelerate your growth, expand your skill set, and strengthen your professional network far more than staying in a comfortable corporate role.🔸 Culture Must Come from the Bottom Up: Forcing a culture onto employees never works. Ben argues that lasting, authentic company culture is built by listening to your team, fostering transparency at every level, and ensuring that senior leaders actively live and breathe the values they promote.🔸 Build Your Network Before You Need It: Ben's path to Naiad came entirely through a relationship he built while at SharkNinja. He emphasizes the importance of nurturing genuine professional connections continuously, not just when you're looking for your next opportunity, because you never know where those relationships might lead.

You can connect with Ben on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey.

👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life.

🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Ben.

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